VOA常速英语2007年-Al-Qaida Leader Claims US Failing to Subdue Mil

By Ravi Khanna
Washington
18 December 2007
 

Al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Monday said the United States was failing in its efforts to subdue¹ militants² in Iraq. And in a tape released on the internet, Osama bin³ Laden's deputy told an unseen interviewer Britain's decision to hand over security responsibility for Basra province to Iraqi authorities is actually a sign that British forces are "fleeing." But a key U.S. defense⁴ official says al-Qaida's ideology⁵ carries the seeds of its own destruction among local residents of Iraq. VOA's Ravi Khanna looks at some the lessons the U.S. military says it learned in what was a violent place.

Coalition⁶ efforts to combat al-Qaida in Iraq's Anbar province led to major battles in Fallujah and Ramadi.

But later, local Sunni residents later turned against al-Qaida insurgents⁸. And by the middle of 2007, the commandant of the U.S. Marine⁹ Corps¹⁰ said local tribesmen in Sunni provinces were joining Iraqi government forces in record numbers.

A senior U.S. defense official says the lessons learned in the local struggle can help fight the terrorist network worldwide.

The U.S. official says al-Qaida has spread its ideology globally through its cult¹¹ of violence and simplicity¹² of message.

But Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Doran says one element of the network's ideology carries the seeds of its own destruction. "Al-Qaida makes it legitimate¹³ for a Muslim individual to designate other Muslims as apostates¹⁴ and to kill them on the basis of that designation. And this is an ideology has been spread globally. And that is what allows them to engage in such indiscriminate use of violence."

The deputy assistant secretary of defense says al-Qaida's practice of attacking Sunni Muslims is hurting the insurgent⁷ troupe's image in Iraq. "This puts al-Qaida in a very difficult position because ideally, they would like ideologically¹⁶ to present themselves as the representatives of the Iraqis as well as of the Islamic tradition."

U.S. success, he says, does not mean that al-Qaida in Iraq is less dangerous. But, he says, the Anbar experience has shown the way to combat ideological¹⁵ support for terrorism. "When people are put face to face with the choice of this ideology and what it really means and the alternative, if given the capability¹⁷ to counter it, they will choose the alternative. But for us to do it effectively that means we will have to really understand the specific local conditions in which people are living, what the choice is that they feel that they are facing and to craft policies that are responsive to those conditions."

Doran says the struggle against al-Qaida in Iraq will be won acre by acre [hectare by hectare] as is evident from the success of an ongoing¹⁸ experiment in Anbar province. The overall fight against al-Qaida, he says, cannot be won by the military means only but also by working together with Muslim allies.

1 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

2 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。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

12 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

13 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

14 apostates   

n.放弃原来信仰的人( apostate的名词复数 )；叛教者；脱党者；反叛者

参考例句：

15 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。

16 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

17 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。

18 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。