VOA常速英语2016--打击恐怖主义须借助外交手段

打击恐怖主义须借助外交手段

In his last scheduled national security address as president, Barack Obama spoke¹ of the importance, as well as the limits, of military power in the fight against violent extremism. In order to counter terrorism most effectively, it is necessary, he said, “to take a long view of the terrorist threat, and…pursue a smart strategy that can be sustained.”

One key component², President Obama said, is “drawing on the strength of our diplomacy³.” Terrorists, he noted⁴, would love for us to withdraw from building international coalitions⁵, which, over the past few years, have proved critically important:

“We’ve rolled back Iran’s nuclear program…We’ve secured nuclear materials around the globe, reducing the risk that they fall into the hands of terrorists. We’ve eliminated Syria’s declared chemical weapons program. All of these steps have helped keep us safe and helped keep our troops safe. Those are the results of diplomacy.”

President Obama noted that the terrorists we are fighting in the Mideast and elsewhere claim to fight on behalf of Islam; but, he said, “They do not speak for over a billion Muslims around the world, and they do not speak for American Muslims, including many who wear the uniform of the United States of America’s military:”

“If we act like this is a war between the United States and Islam, we’re not just going to lose more Americans to terrorist attacks, but we’ll also lose sight of the very principles we claim to defend.”

The U.S., said President Obama, “is a nation where you are judged by the content of your character, rather than what you look like or how you worship or…where your family came from --that’s what separates us from tyrants⁶ and terrorists.”

 

Remembering that, and our commitment to freedom and our common creed⁷ that “right makes might, and not the other way around,” he said, “that’s how we can sustain this long struggle. That’s how we’ll protect this country.”

奥巴马在其总统任职期间最后一场有关国家安全的讲话中提到了在抗击暴力极端主义的过程中，军事力量的重要性和局限性。为了更加有效地抗击恐怖主义，他说，很有必要“对恐怖主义威胁从长计议，并……寻求可持续的明智策略。”

其中一个重要元素，奥巴马说道，就是“借助外交手段的力量。”他表示，恐怖分子希望看到我们停止建立国际联盟，而过去数年间的事实表明，国际联盟是极为重要的：

“我们已经打击了伊朗的核项目……我们确保了全球核材料的安全，降低了核材料落入恐怖分子之手的风险；我们阻止了叙利亚扬言要进行的化学武器项目。所有这些措施都帮助保证过人民和军队的安全。这些都是外交手段所实现的成果。”

奥巴马称，我们所打击的恐怖分子，无论是中东的还是其他地方的，都宣称他们是为穆斯林人而战；但奥巴马说，“他们并没有为全球10亿多的穆斯林人发声，也没有为美国的穆斯林人发声，这些穆斯林中很多是身穿美国军队制服的军人。”

“如果我们表现得如同这是一场美国与穆斯林之间的战斗的话，那么我们将会在恐怖主义袭击中失去更多的美国同胞，还会忽视我们宣称所要捍卫的那些原则。”

美国，奥巴马说道，“这个国家评判人的方式是看这个人的品行，而非他/她的样貌、信仰或者家庭出身——这就是美国和暴君以及恐怖分子之间的区别。”

要始终铭记，我们对自由的承诺以及我们的共同信条，即“正义的一方有力量，并非强权决定正义，”他说，“这才是我们能在这场持久战中获胜的方式。这才是我们保卫美国的方式。”

1 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。

2 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

3 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

4 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。

5 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

6 tyrants   

专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a succession of tyrants. 这个国家接连遭受暴君的统治。
• The people suffered under foreign tyrants. 人民在异族暴君的统治下受苦受难。

7 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。