美国有线新闻 CNN 2015-04-01

 Let's talk about today's news and those daylight raids on targets in Yemen. What do you think of the airstrike strategy thus far?

 

Um, you know, the Saudis, what I give credit for is that Arab coalition¹ over there made a decision, and they went for it. They did not get everyone else involved. And again I think from our perspective back here in the U.S. what we need the think positive about is this, we have been talking about for months now is these Arab countries are starting to take control themselves. They are looking to do this themselves and not always leaning on the U.S. to be this worldwide policeman.

 

Well, let's walk through that a little more because we know that Reuters videos emerge that these military trucks hauling tanks down a highway in Saudi Arabia and this talk of potential ground incursion to come. Talk about the challenge that's in front of this joint² Arab coalition. They're strong in number, are they well equipped? Are they well trained? Are they ready for a ground offensive?

 

Well, the first thing, Michaela, everyone has to realize is Yemen is a very difficult environment to work in and to fight in, if ever need be. The years I've traveled through Yemen in counter-terrorism support operations, it's mountainous, it's very difficult. Again, any time a force, a military force has to go into an "away game" as I call it, it's difficult. The Houthis have an advantage. Even though the Saudis have a strong military, great Air Force and they bring numbers and M-1 tanks and everything else. It could be a very bloody³ fight for the Saudis trying to do a ground incursion into Yemen.

 

U.S. obviously is providing some support sort of logistically and they voiced their approval of these airstrikes. But do you anticipate the U.S. is going to have get involved, or will get involved at some point?

 

Michaela, I don't. I do not see the United States getting involved. I don't think we need to get involved. There are eight Arab countries that have a very strong air force throughout all of them. They have been training for years, they have very dynamic aircraft that can do these things and again the Saudis and the Egyptians who are leading this fight both have very strong and very large militaries. The only concern militarily on the ground side is they're both trained very heavily in conventional-armored warfare⁴. When you go into Yemen on the aspect, it really becomes a gorilla⁵ warfare type of aspect.

 

And with Yemen becoming a failed state, people have said it might become a failed state. I believe it's been a failed state for a while, that gives al-Qaeda and these other terrorist organizations that want to bring harm on us a taste.

1 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。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

5 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。