VOA慢速英语2014 Obama: No ‘Quick Fixes’ in Fight against Islamic State

 

Obama: No ‘Quick Fixes’ in Fight against Islamic State

Military leaders from more than 20 countries were in the United States this week for talks with President Barack Obama. They spoke¹ about U.S.-led efforts to defeat the Islamic State militant² group. The militants³ now control large parts of Iraq and Syria.

President Obama told the leaders that he was concerned about the gains of Islamic State forces in western Iraq and near the Syrian town of Kobani. But he did not suggest any changes to what he called “a long-term campaign” against the militants. He said the campaign would include “days of progress and periods of setback,” but would not involve what he called “quick fixes.”

Mr. Obama said the situation in Kobani shows the threat from Islamic State forces. He said the U.S.-led coalition⁴ is united on wearing down and destroying the militant group. But he noted⁵ the operation is “not simply a military campaign.”

“This is not a classic army in which we defeat them on the battlefield and then they ultimately surrender. What we’re also fighting is an ideological⁶ strain of extremism that has taken root in too many parts of the region.” 

Some critics have questioned the plan of action against the militants. Last Sunday, U.S. Senator John McCain noted the apparent success of Islamic State forces in battle. The United Nations reported on Monday that up to 180,000 thousand people fled fighting in western Iraq after militants captured the city of Hit.

The United States has intensified⁷ its bombing of Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria. But observers are calling for consideration of ground troops to strengthen the campaign against the militants.

In recent weeks, Turkey has come under pressure to send its troops into northern Syria. Militants and Kurdish forces there are fighting for control of Kobani. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party has called on Kurds to defend the town. But the group -- known as the PKK -- has battled the Turkish government for 30 years in its campaign for self-rule.

UN officials and Kurds have urged the government to permit creation of a safe area so that Kurdish volunteers can help those defending Kobani. But Turkey distrusts the PKK, and fears being pulled into the fighting. Earlier this week, Turkish aircraft attacked Kurdish rebel bases in Turkey. The Turkish military said the raids were meant to answer attacks on one of its bases.

Two other countries -- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- are active in military operations against the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia has long competed against Iran and its allies, including Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The U.S. government wants the Syrian leader to surrender power. It has accused him of using acts of terrorism against his own people. Both the United States and Saudi Arabia support Syrian rebel groups they describe as “moderate” -- in other words, they are opposed to Mr. Assad and the Islamic State.

Robert Blecher is with the International Crisis Group. He says the Syrian rebels are having trouble believing members of the coalition. The reason: coalition forces have been attacking Islamic State fighters with the approval of Syrian officials.

"That's their line, but it's awfully⁸ hard to hold up that argument when you have rebels on the ground who are saying, 'OK, if you want to support us, why aren't you going after the regime?'"

He warns that U.S. support for President Assad, whether real or not, could push the rebels away from the coalition.

For now, Saudi Arabia remains⁹ firm in its opposition¹⁰ to the Assad government. It says the first goal should be defeating the Islamic State.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 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。

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 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

7 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

9 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。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。