英國民衆向6名駐阿陣亡軍人致敬

Soldiers and well-wishers poured into the streets of an English town Friday in a pre-deployment parade for the latest unit of British soldiers going to Afghanistan. The deployment comes as NATO forces face tough opposition in Afghanistan, both popular and official.

英國軍人和支持者星期五涌入一個小鎮的街頭，觀看最後一組派駐阿富汗的英國軍人所舉行的駐軍前閱兵遊行。這次的派駐正值北約部隊在阿富汗面臨民衆和官方強烈反對之際。

Large crowds gathered in an English town Friday to bid farewell to 250 soldiers who will be heading to Helmand Province in April.

大批羣衆星期五聚集在英國一個小鎮向即將在4月前往赫爾曼省的250名士兵告別。

The pre-deployment parade drew in large numbers in tribute to five soldiers from the same battalion who were killed by a bomb in Afghanistan earlier this month. A sixth soldier from another regiment was also killed.

許多人同時向這個月早些時候在阿富汗被炸死的5名同營士兵致敬。被炸死的第6名士兵則來自另一團。

David Livingstone, an expert on Afghanistan at the London-based research group Chatham House, says the deaths have put Afghanistan back in the public spotlight.

大衛.列文史東是倫敦智庫英國皇家國際事務研究所的阿富汗問題專家。他說，這些死亡事件使阿富汗重新成爲英國公衆關注的焦點。

"I think the media reaction and, I suppose, that is reflected throughout the nation, certainly at a political level is one of astonishment about the goings-on in Afghanistan over the past week," he said. "Certainly in the United Kingdom the tragedy of the loss of six soldiers in the armored car accident when they were blown up by an IED set Afghanistan back in focus."

列文史東說：“媒體的反應我想是反映了全國的想法，確實在政治層面來看，大家對過去這周在阿富汗發生的事情很震驚。6名英國士兵在裝甲車內被簡易爆炸裝置炸死的悲劇，的確使阿富汗重回英國的焦點。”

He says the focus on Afghanistan has intensified following Sunday’s incident in Kandahar province, in which an American soldier allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians. Livingstone says that incident will heighten the security risks for British soldiers in Afghanistan.

列文史東說，英國對阿富汗的關注在星期天坎大哈省的事件後升高，在這起事件中一名美國士兵據稱殺死了16名阿富汗平民。列文史東說，這起事件將增加駐阿富汗英國士兵的危險。

"This has obviously created a lot of uncertainty about the immediate future of Afghanistan," said Livingstone. "First, tactically - militarily - what reprisal attacks will come out of this latest incident. Then we have got the problem with the engagement of the Afghan civilian community, the general population shaking their resolve to see the emergency through."

列文史東說：“這顯然爲阿富汗不久的未來製造了許多不確定。首先是軍事戰略方面，這起最新事件會引發什麼報復行動。然後我們跟阿富汗平民的往來會發生問題。”

Britain currently has 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, mostly based in central Helmand. In a poll conducted by the British consultancy ComRes at the end of last year, more than half the respondents said they wanted British soldiers to return home immediately and 71 percent said they believed the war is unwinnable.

英國目前有9,500名駐阿富汗部隊，大部分駐紮在赫爾曼省中部。英國顧問公司ComRes去年底進行的民意調查顯示，超過半數受訪者說，他們想要英國士兵立即返家，71%說他們相信這場戰爭是打不贏的。

Anatol Lieven, an expert on Afghanistan from King’s College London, says the upcoming British deployment comes at a time when NATO forces are also increasingly unpopular within Afghanistan.

倫敦國王學院的阿富汗問題專家安納托爾.列文說，英國即將駐軍的時間點正好是北約聯軍在阿富汗越來越不受歡迎。"There have been a whole series of disasters, of course when it comes to relations with not just ordinary Afghans, but with the Afghan government and with the Afghan security forces," said Lieven. "The Koran burning, the pictures of American soldiers urinating on Taliban corpses and now this massacre in Kandahar province by an American soldier. It's very bad, indeed."

列文說：“當然不只是和阿富汗民衆的關係，還有跟阿富汗政府和安全部隊的關係，這陣子發生了一連串的災難。先是焚燒可蘭經，然後美國士兵向塔利班屍體灑尿的照片，現在則是一名美國士兵在坎大哈屠殺。這真的很糟。”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Friday he’s “at the end of his rope” with the United States following Sunday’s shooting spree.

阿富汗總統卡爾扎伊星期五說，在星期天的槍殺鬧劇後他已經受不了美國。

On Thursday, Karzai said international troops should pull out of rural areas of Afghanistan and return to their bases.

卡爾扎伊星期四說，國際部隊應該從阿富汗偏遠地區撤出，回到他們的基地。

Lieven says if Afghan officials stick to this demand, it will be a major blow to the NATO strategy in Afghanistan.

列文說，如果阿富汗官員堅持他們的要求，這對北約在阿富汗的戰略將是重大的挫敗。

"The latest demands from the Afghan government go clean against military strategy in Afghanistan," he said. "If the Afghan government and parliament stick to this - well, the U.S. will have to abandon much of its existing strategy."

列文說：“阿富汗政府的最新要求不利於北約的阿富汗戰略。如果阿富汗政府和議會很堅持，美國將必須放棄很多它現有的戰略。”

This week, British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed their commitment to transferring full security responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. Both leaders also said despite recent challenges, the situation in Afghanistan has improved considerably over the last few years.

這星期，英國首相卡梅倫和美國總統奧巴馬重申要在2014年底前將安全責任完全移交給阿富汗部隊。兩位領導人也說，儘管有最近這些挑戰，但阿富汗的情況在過去幾年已經有顯著的改善。