In confirming the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden, the terrorist group al-Qaida is threatening more attacks against the United States and its allies. And top U.S. security officials say they are on alert for possible terrorist retaliation attacks. While the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not issued specific terror warnings, law enforcement agencies have heightened security around the country to guard against attacks by al-Qaida-affiliated groups or by terrorists acting on their own.
恐怖主义组织--基地组织证实本拉登的死亡，威胁要对美国及其盟国发动更多的袭击。美国高级安全官员说，为防止恐怖分子可能进行的报复袭击已经加强警戒。虽然美国国土安全部没有发出特别警告，但是执法机构在全美范围提升了安全戒备，防备与基地组织有关联的团伙或者某些自行其事的恐怖分子发动袭击。
Law enforcement agencies across the United States have stepped up patrols at travel hubs and government facilities, following warnings that Osama bin Laden's death might inspire home-grown extremists.
在得到有关本拉登之死有可能激起美国国内的极端分子采取行动的警告之后，全美范围的执法机构在主要旅游交通枢纽和政府设施都加强了巡逻警戒。
"You're not going to have 19 hijackers taking down aircraft, but kids trying to find AK-47s or buy handguns or buy hand grenades on the street and go do something at a commercial facility like a mall or a 7-11 [convenience store]," said Philip Mudd, a former CIA officer and FBI counterterrorism agent.
菲利浦.马德曾经担任美国中央情报局官员和联邦调查局的反恐特工，他说：“下一回的袭击不会再是19名劫机犯劫持飞机，而是某些年轻人设法搞到AK-47自动步枪，或者买到手枪或手榴弹，然后去一些像购物商场或者便利店那样的地方发动袭击。”
Analysts say authorities have stopped 38 terrorism plots in the United States since September 11, 2001. And U.S. officials say documents seized from bin Laden's compound in Pakistan showed al-Qaida considered attacks against trains in the U.S. this coming September 11th. Al-Qaida-affiliated groups have been linked to rail transport attacks in Europe.
分析人士说，2001年911事件之后，美国当局已经成功阻止了38起恐怖袭击阴谋的实施。美国官员说，在本拉登被击毙的住所里截获的文件显示，基地组织正在策划今年911事件10周年之际，对美国的火车发动袭击。欧洲的火车交通曾经遭到的恐怖袭击跟基地组织所属的恐怖组织有关联。
Just a year year ago, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen - Faisal Shahzad - tried to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square. And Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan who has been in the U.S. since 1999, attempted to bomb New York City's subway system in 2009.
就在一年前，巴基斯坦出生的美国公民费萨尔.沙赫扎德企图在纽约时报广场引爆一枚汽车炸弹。自从1999年就居住在美国的阿富汗人扎兹企图在2009年制造了纽约地铁爆炸案。
James Carafano, a national security expert with The Heritage Foundation in Washington, says security officials are keeping a close eye on al-Qaida-affiliated groups.
华盛顿智囊机构传统基金会的国家安全专家詹姆斯.卡拉法诺说，美国国家安全官员正在密切关注与基地组织有关联的组织。
"The U.S. has always been concerned about al-Shabab, that is a group based in Somalia," he said. "They have links to the Somali community in the United States. They are a declared enemy of the United States and a supporter of al-Qaida. We have also been very concerned about 'LeT' - Lashkar-e-Taiba - which is a group based in Pakistan, which launched the horrifying [2008] attacks in Mumbai."
他说：“美国一直担心索马里的激进组织--青年党。他们跟美国的索马里社区有联系。他们公开宣称与美国为敌，还支持基地组织。美国还非常关注巴基斯坦的伊斯兰武装--虔诚军，这个组织2008年在孟买发动了一起残暴的恐怖袭击。”
Counterterrorism experts say a group based in Yemen, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, might try to stage an attack. The group is linked to radical cleric Anwar al-Alawki, an American believed to have ties to the failed 2009 Christmas Day plot to blow up a U.S.-bound jetliner, and a scheme to plant parcel bombs on U.S. cargo flights last November.
反恐专家说，阿拉伯半岛的基地组织在也门的分支有可能要发动一场袭击。该组织与激进的美籍穆斯林教士安瓦尔.奥拉基有联系。美国认为奥拉基策划了2009年圣诞节期间一架飞往美国的航班的恐怖袭击未遂事件，以及去年11月份企图用包裹炸弹炸毁货运飞机的阴谋。
Tim Starks, who covers intelligence and homeland security issues for "Congressional Quarterly," says bin Laden's followers target transport facilities.
为《国会季刊》撰写情报与国土安全议题文章的蒂姆.斯塔克斯说，本拉登的追随者把交通设施作为袭击目标。
"They definitely have a tendency to go back to the targets that they know. those are targets that are easy to plot against in some ways. You don't have to have a lot of sophisticated efforts to go after them."
“他们当然具有一种趋向，瞄准他们所熟悉的目标。这些都是些容易策划出以某种方式发动袭击的目标。追踪这些人并不需要大量高新技术。”
Analysts say the U.S. remains vulnerable to terrorist attacks, but the best way to protect the country is not adding more layers of security, it is stepping up intelligence efforts before terrorists can attack.
分析人士认为，美国仍然非常容易遭受恐怖袭击，但是，保护美国的最佳途径并不是增加更多层次的保安，美国要在恐怖分子发动袭击之前加强情报工作。 |