美称拉登仍在活动 拟继续追捕

US National security adviser James Jones says Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden still spends some time inside Afghanistan.

Most recent US estimates have placed bin Laden inside Pakistan. But Jones, a retired general, told cnn the Al-Qaida leader is "sometimes on the Pakistani side of the border, sometimes on the Afghan side of the border."

Jones says the US military and its allies in Afghanistan are "going to have to get after that" to ensure bin Laden is "once again on the run or captured or killed."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made similar comments on another Sunday morning talk show.

Earlier, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in one of three talk-show appearances that the US hasn't had any good intelligence for years on bin Laden's whereabouts.

Gates said he couldn't confirm recent reports that bin Laden had been seen recently in Afghanistan.

The defense chief also said Americans should expect a significant US military presence in Afghanistan for another two to four years.

Gates says the initial US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in July 2011 might involve only a small number of troops.

Gates says that just as in Iraq, the US will turn over provinces to homegrown security forces, allowing the United States to bring the number of troops down steadily.

He noted that Afghan President Hamid Karzai talked in his inaugural address about taking over security control in all of Afghanistan in five years.

Gates rejected any suggestion that setting a transition date for withdrawing US forces in Afghanistan will embolden the Taliban.

He said the Taliban read the newspapers and are able to determine public opinion in the United States and Europe.

He doesn't believe the Taliban will become more aggressive and he would welcome it if they lay low until July 2011 - President Barack Obama's target date for the beginning of a withdrawal.

Gates said that would give coalition troops opportunities to make great progress in stabilizing Afghanistan.

美国国家安全事务顾问詹姆斯．琼斯近日称，基地组织领导人奥萨玛·本·拉登现在仍不时活动在阿富汗境内。

而据美国有关方面最近估计，本·拉登现在藏身于巴基斯坦境内。但退役将军琼斯在接受美国有线新闻网采访时称，这名基地组织头目“现在活动于巴基斯坦和阿富汗交界处，有时在巴基斯坦这边，有时在阿富汗那边。”

琼斯称，美军及其在阿富汗的盟军“有必要继续追捕行动”，“以活捉或杀死本拉登，至少也要逼得他再次潜逃”。

美国国务卿希拉里．克林顿在另外一档周日早间访谈节目中也做出了类似评论。

美国国防部长罗伯特．盖茨在其早些时候受邀参加的三档访谈节目中的其中一次访谈中称，美国情报部门已数年来没有得到有关本·拉登行踪的情报。

盖茨称，他无法确定近日有关本·拉登现身阿富汗的报道。

他说，美军还将大规模在阿富汗驻扎两到四年。

盖茨称，2011年7月首批撤军涉及的将只是一小部分部队。

他说，和在伊拉克一样，美国将把各省移交给阿富汗本国的安全部队，从而使美国可以逐步撤军。

他指出，阿富汗总统哈米德．卡尔扎伊在就职演说中谈到，要在五年内接管阿富汗各地的安全防务。

盖茨否认了有关设定撤军时限将为”塔利班“壮胆的论调。

他表示，塔利班武装分子也看报，他们能够判断美国和欧洲的公众舆论。

盖茨认为塔利班不会因此变得更为狂妄，并表示如果塔利班在奥巴马总统设定的撤军时限2011年7月之前能变得低调一点，美国方面将非常欢迎。

盖茨称，这能让驻阿联军有机会在稳定阿富汗局势方面取得更大进展。

Vocabulary:

get after：追捕，攻击

inaugural address：就职演说

embolden：to make bold or bolder; hearten; encourage（使大胆，使有胆量）