英国民众向6名驻阿阵亡军人致敬

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.

英国军人和支持者星期五涌入一个小镇的街头，观看最后一组派驻阿富汗的英国军人所举行的驻军前阅兵游行。这次的派驻正值北约部队在阿富汗面临民众和官方强烈反对之际。

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

大批群众星期五聚集在英国一个小镇向即将在4月前往赫尔曼省的250名士兵告别。

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.

许多人同时向这个月早些时候在阿富汗被炸死的5名同营士兵致敬。被炸死的第6名士兵则来自另一团。

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.

大卫.列文史东是伦敦智库英国皇家国际事务研究所的阿富汗问题专家。他说，这些死亡事件使阿富汗重新成为英国公众关注的焦点。

"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."

列文史东说：“媒体的反应我想是反映了全国的想法，确实在政治层面来看，大家对过去这周在阿富汗发生的事情很震惊。6名英国士兵在装甲车内被简易爆炸装置炸死的悲剧，的确使阿富汗重回英国的焦点。”

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.

列文史东说，英国对阿富汗的关注在星期天坎大哈省的事件后升高，在这起事件中一名美国士兵据称杀死了16名阿富汗平民。列文史东说，这起事件将增加驻阿富汗英国士兵的危险。

"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."

列文史东说：“这显然为阿富汗不久的未来制造了许多不确定。首先是军事战略方面，这起最新事件会引发什么报复行动。然后我们跟阿富汗平民的往来会发生问题。”

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.

英国目前有9,500名驻阿富汗部队，大部分驻扎在赫尔曼省中部。英国顾问公司ComRes去年底进行的民意调查显示，超过半数受访者说，他们想要英国士兵立即返家，71%说他们相信这场战争是打不赢的。

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.

伦敦国王学院的阿富汗问题专家安纳托尔.列文说，英国即将驻军的时间点正好是北约联军在阿富汗越来越不受欢迎。