美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ayman al-Zawahiri's death is a significant blow to al-Qaida, Kirby says

Ayman al-Zawahiri's death is a significant blow to al-Qaida, Kirby says

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to John Kirby, coordinator² for strategic communications at the White House's National Security Council, about the death of one-time al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

We turn now to the Biden administration and the National Security Council's coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby. Admiral Kirby, Ayman al-Zawahiri became one of America's top targets after Osama bin³ Laden⁴ was killed in 2011. What difference will this death make for counterterrorism efforts in the region?

JOHN KIRBY: Well, we know it's going to have a significant blow to al-Qaida and to their plans, their operations, perhaps even their resourcing. He was the emir, but he also was actively⁵ engaged in urging his followers⁶ to plot and plan attacks, to include the potential for attacks on the United States. So we know this is going to have a significant blow to them. Obviously, it will have a significant psychological blow as well. So we're going to watch the organization going forward, clearly keep our eye on them. It's unclear right now who his successor will be or how that successor will plan to lead al-Qaida. But in addition to removing Mr. Zawahiri from the battlefield, we believe that this has definitely caused them to suffer a significant setback⁷ in terms of what their future might be.

MART?NEZ: But there definitely will be a successor, right? That's definitely going to happen.

KIRBY: Well, I think we have to assume that. Only al-Qaida senior leaders will know for sure if, when and who. But we are just under the assumption, given their past behavior and how they behaved when, for instance, bin Laden was taken out, that they will try to name a successor.

MART?NEZ: Because the hunt for this man - I mean, he was the heart of the 9/11 attacks. I mean, it lasted more than 20 years. And after all the time that the U.S. was in Afghanistan, I mean, are we essentially⁸ back to where we started?

KIRBY: I wouldn't say that at all - not at all. I mean, al-Qaida is a vastly diminished terrorist network than it was 20 years ago and even 10, 11 years ago when we killed bin Laden. They are a diminished force. That said - and this is a really important thing to remember - diminished though they may be, they still represent dangers. And the fact that Zawahiri was actively urging his followers to plot and plan attacks against the United States tells you all you need to know about how vigilant⁹ we need to stay.

MART?NEZ: And he was also right in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul. I mean, is - with the Taliban in power, does it still make the country a safe haven¹⁰ for extremists, for terrorists?

KIRBY: I think - you know, I think you should ask other al-Qaida members in Afghanistan how safe they feel they are right now. We've proven that al-Qaida will not - I'm sorry, Afghanistan will not become a safe haven for terrorists who want to attack our homeland. And this strike that the president ordered proves the case. Now, we said a long time ago, a year ago, we knew al-Qaida was starting to move back in small numbers in Afghanistan. We were honest about that. We also said that the plan isn't to hit every single al-Qaida terrorist with a missile. It's to make sure that we are defeating those threats to our homeland, to the American people. Mr. Zawahiri presented that kind of a threat, and that's why we took him out.

MART?NEZ: How did the Pentagon track him down?

KIRBY: Well, I'm not going to get too much into the specific intelligence stream. I would just tell you that this was the work of the intelligence and the counterterrorism community writ¹¹ large. It was a team effort. And that essentially - and you heard the president talk about this last night - we were able to track the movements of his family. And by tracking the movements of his family, we were able to then track his movements to reunite with them. And then once we knew that there had been a - they had been reunited, we were able to then develop a pattern of life, to watch this individual's behavior so that we could, A, identify, make sure it was, in fact, who we thought it was, and B, then develop a pattern of behavior that would allow us an opportunity to take a strike if and when we could.

MART?NEZ: Admiral Kirby, should Americans feel safer today than they did a week ago?

KIRBY: Yes, 100%. This man, not only as I said, was the emir of al-Qaida, but he was urging his followers. He was trying to resurge the group, and he was urging them to plot and to plan. He was putting out inspirational videos. In fact, we may see additional videos from him. But yes, the American people are safer today. And we will stay at it. This is an important point. We are obviously glad that this mission was successful, but nobody's taking a knee. Nobody's taking a breather. Nobody's patting anybody on the back. We know we have to stay vigilant against this group.

MART?NEZ: National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, thank you.

KIRBY: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

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 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

6 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。

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

10 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

11 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。