VOA标准英语2015--IS Recruiters Target Central Asia

IS Recruiters Target Central Asia

WASHINGTON—

The United Nations estimates that Islamic State and related groups have at least 25,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries.  According to data from the U.S. Counterterrorism Center, Islamic State has already recruited hundreds of people from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and more than 1,000 men from Kazakhstan.

"Just last week we learned that the chief of Tajikistan's counter-terrorism program, someone highly trained by the United States government, abandoned his post to join ISIS," said Rep. Christ Smith of New Jersey¹.

Experts say some of the challenges that Central Asian governments face are of their own making: widespread corruption², lack of the rule of law and violation³ of human rights. Unemployment and poor economic prospects⁴ add to popular discontent. Radical⁵ groups exploit these factors to attract young people to their cause. 

The United States is working with regional governments to prevent the dissemination⁶ of terrorist messages through social media and the cross-border flow of fighters.

"While there are no reliable statistics, research suggests that the vast majority of Central Asian fighters in Syria and Iraq are recruited while outside their own countries, mostly while they are in Russia, where millions of them live as migrant workers," said Daniel Rosenblum, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia.

Experts say there is no simple solution to the problem, but a key long-term effort must include improving the economic prospects so young people can work at home, where radicalization is less likely to take place than in migrant communities.

While the United States can help in that effort, some say that the real solutions will be local.

"They are the ones closest to the action.  They are the ones who know their communities and they are the ones who are ultimately going to either detect and/or prevent, or respond to an incident," said Frank Cilluffo of George Washington University.

Experts say that governments in Central Asia and elsewhere also must improve their human rights record and prevent marginalization of minorities.  

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

5 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

6 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。