VOA常速英语2014--美国继续参与伊拉克事务

 

US Engagement in Iraq Continues 美国继续参与伊拉克事务

 Western engagement continues to intensify¹ in Iraq, where the United States and Britain are delivering humanitarian³ supplies while U.S. air strikes target radical⁴ Sunni militants⁵.

Airdrops of food and drinking water are providing desperately-needed relief to religious minorities who fled Islamic insurgents⁶ in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, a U.S. bombing campaign continues to target posts and equipment used by militants threatening the northern city of Irbil.

空投食物和饮用水给伊拉克北部逃避伊斯兰叛军迫切需要援助的宗教少数民族带来希望。同时，美国继续在北部城市伊尔比尔炮轰目标据点和武装分子使用的设施。

President Barack Obama has ruled out U.S. ground troops in Iraq, but summed up America’s goals this way:

总统巴拉克·奥巴马排除了派地面部队到伊拉克的办法，但他这么总结美国的目标：

“We have to make sure that ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is not engaging in the actions that could cripple a country permanently⁷. I do not think we are going to solve this problem in weeks - it is going to take some time,” said Obama.

“我们必须确保ISIL不再从事永久摧毁一个国家的行动，我认为我们不可能在数周内解决这一问题，是需要花费时日的。”

Ultimately, what Iraq needs is a political solution in Baghdad, according to British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

英国外长菲利普·哈蒙德说，伊拉克最终需要的是巴格达的政治解决途径。

“At the moment, our focus is on supporting humanitarian efforts, trying to deal with the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq and waiting to see as the new government is formed whether it will be an inclusive government that we can get behind in its efforts,” said Hammond.

“目前我们关注于提供人道主义援助，努力解决伊拉克日益加剧的人道主义危机，我们要观望，看组建的新政府是否是统一的政府，这样我们可以提供支持”。

President Obama’s critics in Congress see the stepped up engagement in Iraq as too little too late. Republican Senator Ted² Cruz sees no clear objective.

奥巴马总统在国会的批评者称加强在伊拉克的参与力度太少太晚，共和党议员特德·科鲁兹称看不到清晰的目标。

“What is happening in Iraq is the latest manifestation⁸ of the failures of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy. I am glad the president is finally demonstrating some leadership, taking the threat from ISIS (aka ISIL) seriously. But unfortunately he is following the pattern that has characterized his foreign policy from the beginning of his tenure⁹. He has laid out no clearly-defined objective that we are trying to accomplish,” said Cruz.

“伊拉克目前的局势再次表明奥巴马-克林顿外交政策的失败，我们高兴看到总统最终展示出一定的领导力，认真对待ISIS带来的威胁。

But Iraq is but one global hotspot demanding America’s attention, according to former U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill.

但不幸的是，他遵循的路线其实是从他一上任就一直遵循的外交政策，他没有推出我们一直希望达成的明确目标。”

“People are paying attention to Iraq, but there are a lot of other crises in the world that may have drowned it out or reduced the bandwidth for Iraq. ISIS, whatever its origins, it is pretty clear that it is part of a situation in Syria that has metastasized into Iraq,” said Hill, speaking in ABC’s This Week program.

但伊拉克只是需要美国关注的全球热点中的一个，美国驻伊拉克前大使克里斯多夫·希尔说。

“人们在关注伊拉克，但全世界还有很多其他危机会削弱对伊拉克的关注度。ISIS不管其起源如何，显然它是叙利亚局势的一部分，而目前转移到了伊拉克。”

希尔在接受ABC本周节目采访时说。

Gripping images of Islamic State militants captured by Vice¹⁰ News and broadcast by ABC show militants parading captured military equipment, recruiting young followers¹¹, and making a bold claim - that their flag will one day be raised at the White House.

Vice News拍摄到的图片和ABC播出的画面显示，武装分子将捕获到的军事设备拿来游行展示，还招募年轻追随者，并发出大胆的口号，即总有一天将旗帜插在白宫上。

1 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 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。

4 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。

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 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

7 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

8 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

9 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。