“伊斯兰国家”获得“象征性胜利”

AS IT IS 2016-07-13 Islamic State Gains 'Symbolic¹ Victories' “伊斯兰国家”获得“象征性胜利”

People claiming to represent the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in the past two weeks.

The attacks came shortly after Islamic State forces lost territory in both Iraq and Syria. They are evidence of the group’s plans to remain the world’s leading terror organization.

The Islamic State, or IS, has been linked to terror attacks in Bangladesh, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. But it is not clear if they were ordered, supported or only inspired by the group’s leadership.

Intelligence officials believe IS will use the attacks to show that its members are leading a powerful movement that cannot be stopped.

A United States anti-terrorism official spoke² with VOA on the condition that the official not be identified. The official said the attacks show that groups like Islamic State are still dangerous. He said they have “the intent and capability³ to direct, support and inspire acts of violence.”

The official said it is not yet clear whether IS militants⁵ carried out the latest terror attacks. But the official said the attacks show that governments around the world face “significant difficulty in stopping groups of determined⁶, suicidal individuals.”

Other U.S. officials note that the Islamic State has lost a lot of the territory it once controlled in Iraq and in Syria. Yet these officials say IS still has the ability to carry out and support terrorist attacks throughout the world.

The group can do this through the internet and social media. U.S. officials told a Senate committee this week that IS supporters are using the latest technology to spread their message and increase the group’s membership.

Last month, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA, met with the Senate Intelligence Committee. CIA Director John Brennan warned that American efforts had “not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach.” He said the Islamic State was likely going to increase its attacks throughout the world.

Malcolm Nance⁷ is a former anti-terrorism and intelligence officer. He now leads a not-for-profit research center called the Terror Asymmetrics Project. He thinks the latest attacks were directed and organized by the main IS leadership.

Nance says those leaders will continue to seek out partners worldwide to help them carry out attacks. He says that will give the group the appearance of power at the same time it is losing control of territory in the Middle East.

“They have deep knowledge of the people and the places which would have the most impact if a terrorist attack was carried out,” Nance says. “It’s very important for them to keep the pressure on -- for people to believe that (IS) is a solid organization.”

This way of thinking could make the militant⁴ group even more dangerous.

Daniel Pipes heads the Middle East Forum⁸. He recently told VOA on Skype that “the brilliance⁹ of the Islamic State has been -- unlike al-Qaida and other groups -- not to get it wrong with logistics, funding (and) planning.”

Pipes said this level of organization “makes it far easier for them to incite¹⁰ such violence and makes it far more difficult for security agencies to stop it. You can’t stop the flow of money. You don’t have chatter¹¹. You don’t have all these mechanisms¹², these vulnerabilities.”

The SITE Intelligence Group studies terrorist activity. It says the Islamic State is already planning more attacks.

In a video released on Tuesday, two Bangladeshi fighters in Syria praised the July 1st attack on a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. The attack killed more than 20. The two fighters said there would be more such attacks.

Some intelligence experts are asking how long the Islamic State can survive if the group has separated from its main territorial¹³ holdings in Iraq and Syria.

Jessica McFate is a former U.S. Army intelligence officer. She now works at the Institute for the Study of War. She says IS “at its core, is still, in my view, an Iraqi military organization that has an outsized global network. It’s never going to cease to orient its entire worldview around Iraq.”

McFate and others say that at least for a time, IS may be willing to inspire attacks whenever and wherever it can, rather than carry them out directly. It says the group’s top leaders may hide and only keep a presence online until they feel they can safely re-group their membership.

Malcolm Nance says as the group “starts to lose its manpower and its central caliphate starts being destroyed -- which may happen in the next year -- it is going to devolve into what I call the ‘Ghost Caliphate’ where they go completely covert¹⁴ and everything is done via the internet.”

He says inspiring others to carry out attacks “is going to become the future. That is so dangerous, because no one can predict that.”

Words in This Story

inspire – adj. to make (someone) want to do something

chatter – n. casual talk that is usually not important or interesting; talk among groups or people planning an event

core – n. the central part of something

outsized – adj. very large in size or influence

orient – v. to change or create (something, such as a book or a film) so that it appeals to a particular group of people or is suitable for a particular group of people; to direct (someone) toward a goal

devolve – v. to gradually go from an advanced state to a less advanced state (chiefly US)

covert – adj. made, shown, or done in a way that is not easily seen or noticed; secret or hidden

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 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。

3 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

4 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。

5 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。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 nance   

n.娘娘腔的男人，男同性恋者

参考例句：

• I think he's an awful nance.我觉得他这个人太娘娘腔了。
• He doesn't like to be called a nance.他不喜欢被叫做娘娘腔。

8 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

9 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

10 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

11 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

12 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

14 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。