VOA慢速英语2014 伊斯兰国家武装分子会攻击美国吗?

 

Can Islamic State Militants¹ Attack the US? 伊斯兰国家武装分子会攻击美国吗?

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.

The United States is seeking to build an international alliance to stop the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The State Department announced this week that U.S. officials are working to put together a coalition² of countries from Europe, the Arab world and other areas. The Department’s Jen Psaki says these nations could work jointly³ against the militants in a number of ways.

“There’s humanitarian⁴, military, intelligence, diplomatic, and we know this is an effort that is going to require a significant focus and ‘all hands on deck’ – not just the United States, but a range of countries.”

The United States has begun flying military aircraft over Syria to watch Islamic State fighters. The Sunni Muslim extremists executed American reporter James Foley earlier this month.

Since then, there have been mixed messages coming out of Washington about whether Islamic State militants could attack the United States. Defense⁵ Secretary Chuck Hagel has called the group, an “imminent threat.” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham warned that the militants are willing and able to “hit the homeland.” But are these threats overstated?

At least one terrorism expert has noted⁶ stronger ties between the Islamic State and the group called al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Max Abrahms teaches at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. He says al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula may be smaller than the Islamic State, but he thinks it is better at making bombs. He says the concern is that the IS militants may be influenced by the al-Qaida group and then strike Western countries.

But other experts believe it is too soon to talk about threats to the U.S. “homeland.” Daniel Benjamin formerly⁷ served as the State Department’s anti-terrorism coordinator⁸ during the presidency⁹ of Bill Clinton.

“At this point, this group is overwhelmingly an insurgent¹⁰ group focused on holding territory in Iraq, in killing¹¹ Shi’a and in stoking the sectarian conflict in that region.”

Daniel Benjamin says the Islamic State has no experience with what he calls “out-of-the-area attacks.” He adds that such attacks are much more difficult to carry out than most people realize.

“It takes a great deal of training and practice and expertise¹². It takes people who understand how to deal with masking their identities, with exercising a great deal of communications security and other aspects of operational security.”

He also says the United States has time to develop a long-term plan for containing and limiting the ability of Islamic State fighters.

The U.S. military has helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces regain¹³ territory captured by the fighters. The military also has increased airstrikes against the IS forces in Iraq.

For days, U.S. officials have talked about expanding the airstrikes to Syria. It appears, however, that such action may be delayed. On Thursday, President Barack Obama told reporters that he is still developing a plan to deal with the militants.

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said it welcomes U.S. help with the Islamic State. But Syria has warned that bombing IS targets without its permission would represent an “act of aggression¹⁴.”

The Obama administration rejected the idea that it is cooperating with the Assad government. Syrian rebels have been fighting government forces for more than three years. The United Nations says more than 191,000 people have been killed since the conflict began.

And that’s In The News from VOA Learning English. I’m Mario Ritter.

1 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。

2 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。

3 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 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。

6 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。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

13 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

14 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。