Report Says US Plan for Commandos in Pakistan Delayed
报导称美计划追剿巴境内恐怖份子

 
The New York Times reports there is a secret plan to put American commandos in Pakistan's tribal areas, along the Afghanistan border, to hunt for terrorists who take refuge there. But the Times says the plan has not been implemented due to concerns about the impact of such operations.

纽约时报报导说，美国有一项秘密计划，准备向巴基斯坦与阿富汗接壤的部落地区派遣特种兵部队，追剿在那里藏身的恐怖分子。但是报导又说，由于担心行动带来的影响，这项计划一直没有得到实施。

The Times report says the plan was designed to end disagreements among U.S. government agencies about how to pursue leaders of the al-Qaida terrorist network. But the newspaper says those same disagreements have prevented the plan from being implemented.

纽约时报报导说，这项计划的目的是结束美国各机构之间就如何追剿基地恐怖组织头目产生的不同意见。但是，报导说，也正是由于这些分歧使得计划至今无法付诸实施。

In particular, the paper says there is concern about the impact on Pakistan's government, a key U.S. ally, if the presence of U.S. ground troops became public.

报导说，各机构特别担心的是，如果美国派遣地面部队到巴基斯坦境内的消息公诸于众后，会对巴基斯坦政府造成的影响。巴基斯坦政府是美国的一个重要盟友。

The Times reports "mounting frustration" in the U.S. Defense Department about the continuing delay in implementing the plan.

纽约时报说，美国国防部对计划一再被推迟感到“越来越沮丧”。

But Spokesman Bryan Whitman says, although he can not comment on whether any such secret plan exists, he is not aware of any frustration about not using U.S. troops to hunt terrorists inside Pakistan.

但是，国防部发言人惠特曼说，他并没有感到国防部内部因为不能派遣美国部队追剿巴基斯坦境内的恐怖分子而存在任何沮丧的情绪，虽然他对是否存在这样的秘密计划不置可否。

"I, quite frankly, have not sensed that kind of frustration," he said. "I have sensed the same kind of frustration that you have heard from our military commanders, and that is with a border region that is long, challenging, porous, in an area where operations have taken place in the past, and where some elements have appeared to find some safe haven in Pakistan, and what Pakistan is doing to try to address those."

惠特曼说：“坦白地说，我没有感到有这样的沮丧存在。我倒是从我们的指挥官那里感受到了你所说类似的沮丧。他们对边界如此漫长，富有挑战，同时存在这么多的安全漏洞感到困惑。 虽然过去也一直在这个地区采取清剿行动，但是看起来，一些恐怖分子还是在巴基斯坦找到了藏身之处。他们困惑的是不知巴基斯坦方面采取什么样的措施，试图解决这个问题。”

The use of Pakistani territory along the Afghan border as a safe haven for al-Qaida and other terrorist groups has been a cause of growing concern among U.S. officials. The groups regularly send militants across the border to attack U.S., Afghan and allied forces. Pakistan says a U.S. air strike against one such group killed 11 Pakistani soldiers earlier this month.

基地和其他恐怖组织利用巴基斯坦靠近阿富汗的边境地区藏身，这是美国官员的担心与日俱增的一个因素。这些组织经常派遣激进分子越境袭击美国、阿富汗以及联军部队。巴基斯坦这个月早些时候说，美国针对这些组织发动的空袭造成11名巴基斯坦士兵死亡。

Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the situation "a real concern." But he also said the insurgent activity has increased only recently.

Gates indicated the United States is ready to help Pakistan address the problem, but did not specify exactly how.

"The Pakistani government, I think, now understands that it is a problem for the Pakistani government as well," he said. "It is not just a problem for us. So I think this creates an opportunity for us to talk with them and see if we can work together in a better way to try and deal with the problem in the FATA."

The FATA are Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, along the Afghan border.

The New York Times says its story is based on more than four dozen interviews with current and former U.S. and Pakistani officials. It says al-Qaida now has a string of camps in Pakistan's border area that give it a similar capability to what it had in Afghanistan eight years ago, when it planned the September 11th attacks.

纽约时报报导说，他们对40多名美国和巴基斯坦的现任或是前任官员进行了采访，完成了这篇报导。报导说，基地组织目前在巴基斯坦边境地区建立了一连串的营地，他们的战斗力与八年前在阿富汗计划发动9/11恐怖袭击时的战斗力接近。

The article quotes the Pakistani general responsible for the region as denying allegations of a strong terrorist presence, but it also quotes U.S. officials who are critical of the general's efforts to get the facts.

文章援引了负责该区域安全的巴基斯坦将军的话，这位将军否认有关恐怖分子在该地区势力强大的说法。报导同时也援引了美国官员的话。美国官员批评这位将军没有尽力寻求事实真相。

For now at least, the United States is only conducting air strikes in the area, based on intelligence reports or when in 'hot pursuit' of terrorist units.

至少到目前为止，美国只是在得到情报或是“现场追剿”恐怖分子时，才对该地区发动空袭行动。

But Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says the hunt for al-Qaida leaders and the broader war on terrorism are not just U.S. concerns, and American forces will continue to implement the policy outlined by President Bush just after the September 11 attacks.

"We continue to pursue terrorist activities wherever they take place," he said. "We seek to not only deny them operations, but also the ability to plan, seek safe harbor. Our efforts are to identify, capture, if necessary kill."

U.S. officials say when it comes to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, that effort needs to be pursued in cooperation with those two governments, and with other allies in the NATO and coalition commands.