VOA常速英语2014--西方的措施是否足以应对“伊斯兰国”?

 

Is West Doing Enough to Tackle Islamic State? 西方的措施是否足以应对“伊斯兰国”?

LONDON—

U.S. President Barack Obama has ruled out sending ground troops to Iraq to fight militants² of the so-called Islamic State or ISIS, despite officials in Washington describing the extremist group as the biggest threat the United States has faced in years.  There is growing uncertainty³ over whether the West’s response to ISIS will be enough to defeat the terrorist threat.

伦敦— 虽然美国官员把极端组织“伊斯兰国”形容为美国多年来面临的最大威胁，但奥巴马总统排除了向伊拉克派遣地面部队的可能。英国已经因为“伊斯兰国”在伊拉克和叙利亚的猖獗而提高了恐怖戒备级别。面对“伊斯兰国”，西方所作出的回应措施是否足以击败这些激进分子？人们越来越感到怀疑。

In just two years, the self-described Islamic State group has gone from being a loose coalition⁴ of Islamist rebel groups to a formidable fighting force that controls swaths of Syria and Iraq.

在短短两年时间内，自称“伊斯兰国”的激进组织从一个由伊斯兰主义反政府武装组成的松散联盟发展成为一支强大的武力，控制了叙利亚和伊拉克的大片地区。

America’s response so far has been limited airstrikes launched from an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf⁵.  It will not be enough to defeat the terrorists, says Thomas Hegghammer, director of terrorism research at the Norwegian Defense⁶ Research Establishment in Oslo.

到目前为止，美国的回应是有限空袭。位于奥斯陆的挪威国防研究院反恐研究主任托马斯.黑格哈默认为，这不足以打败恐怖分子。

“Airstrikes alone are not sufficient.  They might just stir the hornet’s nest," said Hegghammer.

他说：“仅有空袭是不够的。有可能只是捅了马蜂窝。”

Speaking Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama again ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Iraq.

美国总统奥巴马8月26日讲话时再次排除了向伊拉克派遣地面部队的可能。

“We’ll not allow the United States to be dragged back into another ground war in Iraq.  Because ultimately it is up to Iraqis to bridge their differences and secure themselves," he said.

奥巴马说：“我们不会让美国被拖回另一场伊拉克地面战争。因为，归根到底，需要伊拉克人来弥合他们的分歧，确立他们的安全。”

There is an element of gamesmanship in the diplomatic strategy between the West and Iraq, says Hegghammer.

黑格哈默表示，在西方与伊拉克之间存在某种外交策略上的博弈。

“The tendency [is] for local countries to wait for a big country like the U.S. to step in and foot the bill in terms of money and human costs.  The challenge is to avoid that, to get the local actors more involved to take more of the cost," he said.

黑格哈默说：“该地区各国的倾向是等待美国等某个大国介入并在人财两方面承担代价。挑战是避免那种情况，让该地区各方有更多的介入，承担更多代价。”

The current inaction is strengthening ISIS, says Shiraz Maher of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at Kings College London.

伦敦国王学院的国际激进化研究中心的希拉兹.马赫尔认为，目前的无所作为助长了“伊斯兰国”的势力。

“At the moment there is absolutely no momentum⁷ or appetite to put boots on the ground in Syria or Iraq.  And without that unfortunately, it looks impossible to challenge ISIS," he said. "The Syrian and Iraqi armies aren’t capable of doing it, no Arab force is going to do it even if it has the capability⁸ to do so, and that’s what makes ISIS such a potent⁹ threat."

马赫尔说：“目前，绝对没有人推动或愿意向叙利亚或伊拉克派遣地面部队。而不幸的是，没有地面部队，似乎就不可能挑战‘伊斯兰国’。叙利亚和伊拉克的军队没这个能力，阿拉伯国家的军队即使有能力，也没有一个肯出兵，这就是‘伊斯兰国’的潜在威胁如此之大的原因。”

Recent actions by ISIS - including the slaughter¹⁰ of Christian¹¹ and Yazidi minorities and the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley - appear to be designed to provoke the West, says Hegghammer.

黑格哈默表示，“伊斯兰国”最近的做法，包括屠杀少数族群基督徒和雅兹迪人以及把美国记者詹姆斯.弗利砍头，似乎是为了挑衅西方。

“ISIS might want a medium-sized Western intervention¹² in Iraq, one that’s big enough to give ISIS political credibility and help them with recruitment, but one that’s not large enough to dent¹ them seriously, in military terms," he said.

他说：“‘伊斯兰国’可能是想挑动西方进行中等规模的干预，规模大到足以让‘伊斯兰国’获得政治资本，帮助他们招募人员，但又不要大到在军事上可以沉重打击他们的地步。”

On the ground in northern Iraq, Kurdish forces have been on the front lines fighting ISIS. Several Western countries have offered them arms.  That will give them the capability to take on ISIS, says the Kurdistan Regional Government Representative in London, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman.  

几个西方国家已经开始向库尔德部队提供武装。库尔德斯坦地区政府驻伦敦代表巴扬.萨米.阿卜杜勒.拉赫曼称，这将让库尔德武装能够迎头抗击“伊斯兰国”。

“We’re not calling for boots on the ground.  We have our own boots: we have the Peshmerga," she said. "But we are calling for more assistance, particularly more airstrikes, weapons for the Peshmerga, logistical support and sharing of intelligence."

她说：“我们不要求派地面部队。我们有我们自己的地面部队，那就是‘敢死军’。但我们要求得到更多的援助，特别是发动更多空袭，向‘敢死军’提供更多武器、后勤支援和情报分享。”

Whether such Western support will lead to the defeat of the Islamic State remains¹³ uncertain.  But the United States and its allies are resolute¹⁴ that ground troops will not be returning to the deserts of Iraq anytime soon.

西方的支援是否能打败“伊斯兰国”，目前仍是未知数。不过，美国和盟国心意已决，不会紧急调配地面部队重返伊拉克沙漠。

1 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

9 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

10 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。