評論
打印
U.S. Quietly Cuts Troop Strength In Afghanistan.
美國不動聲色撤軍阿富汗
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Mujib Mashal
文/托馬斯·吉本斯-內夫，穆吉布·馬沙爾
KABUL, Afghanistan — The United States has been quietly reducing its troop strength in Afghanistan despite the lack of a peace deal with the Taliban,
（阿富汗）喀布爾——美國已經不動聲色地削減其在阿富汗的駐軍兵力，盡管尚未同塔利班達成和平協議，
weakening its hand in any future negotiations with the insurgents.
此舉勢必削弱日后其與該股叛亂分子談判的主動權。
The top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller,
美國駐阿富汗最高指揮官奧斯汀·S·米勒將軍周一表示，
said Monday that the size of the force in the country had dropped by 2,000 over the last year,
過去一年里，駐阿富汗部隊的規模已經縮減2000人，
down to somewhere between 13,000 and 12,000.
目前已經縮減至1.3~1.2萬人之間。
American negotiators had tried to use troop reduction as a bargaining chip in their long peace talks with the Taliban,
美國與塔利班的和談一直僵持不下，美方談判代表試圖將此次撤軍作為談判籌碼，
hoping to get some concessions from the insurgent group.
希望叛亂分子能夠做出些許讓步。
President Trump abruptly aborted those talks last month.
上個月，特朗普總統突然中止了與塔利班的談判。
The disclosure that the United States has in fact already begun pulling back troops in Afghanistan, deal or no deal,
美國已經開始從阿富汗撤軍，無論是否已經達成協議，
came just weeks after Mr. Trump stunned allies and adversaries alike by pulling American forces from parts of Syria.
消息公布的幾周前，特朗普剛從敘利亞部分地區撤軍，一舉震驚了敵我各方所有人。
In both cases, critics said Washington was giving up invaluable leverage in negotiations to shape the future of the two countries.
批評人士評論稱，兩次撤軍意味著華盛頓已經接連兩次放棄在決定兩國未來的談判籌碼。
In peace talks with the Taliban aimed at ending the United States’ longest war,
同塔利班和平談判意在結束美國最長的一次戰爭，
American negotiators worked hard to try to convince the insurgents
為此，美方代表絞盡腦汁，試圖說服叛亂分子相信
that Washington was truly committed to Afghanistan, and that they should not try to wait out the Americans.
華盛頓對阿富汗是勢在必得，他們最好別動跟美國耗到底的心思。
But Mr. Trump has made no secret of his desire to pull the United States out of “endless wars” — and the Taliban knows that.
然而，特朗普毫不掩飾他想讓美國退出這場“無休無止的戰爭”的愿望——塔利班又何嘗不知。
Like much of the world, the insurgents have been closely watching the events in Syria,
特朗普政府已經同意土耳其政府對美軍長期以來的友軍——庫爾德武裝采取行動，
where the Trump administration allowed Turkey to move against Kurdish fighters who had long been closely allied with American forces.
世界各地都在密切關注著敘利亞的事態，塔利班也一樣。
“The U.S. follows its interests everywhere, and once it doesn’t reach those interests, it leaves the area,”
“美國到處追逐自己的利益，一旦達不到這些利益，他們便會離開那個地方，”
Khairullah Khairkhwa, a senior Taliban negotiator, said in an interview posted on the group’s website recently.
塔利班高級談判代表凱魯拉·凱赫瓦最近在該組織的網站發布的采訪中說道。
“The best example of that is the abandoning of the Kurds in Syria.
“最好的例子就是他們已經放棄了敘利亞境內的庫爾德人。
It’s clear the Kabul administration will face the same fate.”
顯然，喀布爾政府即將面臨同樣的命運。”
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
