奥兰多事件让民众重新聚焦“本土极端主义”

AS IT IS 2016-06-14 Orlando Shooting Renews Focus on 'Homegrown Extremism' 奥兰多事件让民众重新聚焦“本土极端主义”

As Americans mourn victims of the mass shooting over the weekend, authorities are focusing on what can be done to prevent “homegrown” extremist attacks.

Sunday’s shooting at a popular gay nightclub killed 49 people and injured 53 others. It was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation¹ confirmed it had investigated the Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, on suspicion of possible terrorist ties.

FBI Director James Comey told a news conference Monday the FBI conducted interviews with Mateen in 2013 and 2014. Investigators² also followed him and reviewed details of some of his contacts and communications.

But authorities took no action against him because the FBI did not find any evidence of criminal activity. Comey said the FBI is currently reviewing its practices in the case. But at this point, he said he believes the agency acted appropriately.

Comey said the Orlando shooter had “strong indications of radicalization” and may have been “inspired by foreign terrorist organizations.”

But he added that the FBI has so far found no evidence indicating the gunman was assisted or supported by any terror groups outside of the United States.

After he was briefed by Comey, U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters at the White House the massacre⁴ appeared to be an example of “homegrown extremism.”

“At this stage, we see no clear evidence that he was directed externally,'' It does appear that at the last minute, he announced allegiance to ISIL (IS),” he added.

Mateen spoke⁵ with a 911 operator three times during the attack, according to Comey. He claimed allegiance to the leader of Islamic State. In the calls, Mateen also mentioned the Boston Marathon bombers⁶ and a man who carried out a suicide attack in Syria.

On Monday, the Islamic State radio called Mateen “one of the soldiers of the caliphate in America.” The broadcast on Al-Bayan Radio said the attack targeted Christians⁷ and gays. However, the terrorist group did not make any claim of responsibility for the attack.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry⁸ told the Associated Press that Mateen had visited the kingdom twice in 2011 and 2012 for religious rites⁹ known as umrah pilgrimage. It is shorter than the annual hajj and can be performed any time.

Businessman Donald Trump¹⁰ is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee¹¹. Without mentioning the shooter’s name, Trump renewed his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. Mateen, however, was born in the U.S. to Afghan parents.

Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic rival, said stopping “lone¹² wolf” terrorists will be her top priority. The former secretary of state repeated her call for banning assault weapons. “I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets,” she said.

Difficulties in dealing¹³ with homegrown terrorism

National security experts say the FBI has a difficult task, with more than 1,000 active investigations¹⁴ in all 50 states of people suspected of having terrorism ties.

Seamus Hughes is the deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. He says it is hard for investigators to know whether someone’s thoughts and views will ever cause them to commit a violent act.

“The issue always becomes, when someone goes from radical³ thought to actual actions - and that’s what the FBI is trying to grapple with right now.”

The shooting appears to have been a “lone wolf” attack, according to Tom Sanderson of the Centers for Strategic and International Studies.

Lone wolf attacks are usually inspired by extremist groups, but are carried out by individuals without direct support from terror organizations. Sanderson said these kinds of attacks are likely to continue.

“We’ve seen lone wolf actors in the past, we know they’re out there. We know that the ISIS leader Baghdadi has called on them to attack whenever and wherever they can. So when one is able to do it, they will. And this is not the last attack, unfortunately.”

Professor R. Nicholas Palarino, from Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies, said authorities need to find better ways to counter rampant¹⁵ extremist ideology¹⁶ on the Internet.

“You do have to counter the ideology – especially the ideology that’s spreading over social media, and the Internet. And then number two you have to demonstrate that the jihadist movement cannot win.”

Words in This Story

appropriately – adj. correct and suited for a specific purpose

external – adj. coming from outside

allegiance – n. have loyalty¹⁷ to a person, country or group

grapple – v. to struggle with or work hard to overcome

radicalize – v. cause someone to adopt radical political and social views

rampant – adj. growing very quickly in a way that is hard to control

jihadist – adj. a Muslim who advocates of participates in jihad

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

5 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。

6 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

15 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

16 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

17 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。