密歇根新闻广播 美国代号"翡翠头盔15"的大规模军事演习引发了民众恐慌

Fear, reality and Jade¹ Helm 15

The U.S. military has been very active in Michigan and around the country this summer.

The Pentagon insists it's just routine training. But others see something more sinister² at work.

The ground shook as Apache helicopters fired rounds of ammunition³ and A-10 airplanes dropped 500 pound bombs on targets while soldiers on the ground move into positions during a training exercise at Camp Grayling. 

More than 3,000 soldiers and airmen have been taking part Operation Northern Strike, a two-week-long training exercise which wraps up today.

"In terms of level of complexity⁴, this is about as complex an operation you can plan and execute," says Major General Greg Vadnais, the head of Michigan's National Guard. "This is PhD level work being done here today."

Military leaders say the stepped up training is important, especially for a shrinking military.

Among those observing Operation Northern Strike was four-star general Frank Grass, the chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon. He oversees⁵ the nation's National Guard units.

"The National Guard probably by 2019 will be the smallest National Guard we've been since 1955, and our Army and Air Force are getting smaller," Grass says, "So we have to be ready even faster than we've been before."

People who live near Camp Grayling are used to sounds of war in their own backyards. But others in Michigan also got a taste of urban warfare⁶ training.

The U.S. Army conducted more secretive exercises in June in several other Michigan cities, rattling⁷ windows and nerves in Flint when explosions rang out without prior warning. And a helicopter blew bricks off a building in Port Huron, damaging the awning⁸ below. 

Michigan's not alone. Many parts of the U.S. are seeing military exercises this summer. 

The biggest exercise, called Jade Helm 15, prompted some groups to claim something more sinister is afoot.

"Whether it's drones, or the billions of bullets, the emergency FEMA camps, the preparations to attack the Tea Party and veterans, or the veterans' secret death lists or don't treat lists," says Alex Jones, counting down a long list of threats he sees the federal government posing.

Jones' Infowars website is an influential⁹ source for people who don't trust the federal government. This summer's military exercises, including those in Michigan, are on his mind.

"People are coming up to me on the street, saying 'Is it true martial¹⁰ law is coming? Have you heard about this?' They don't even know that we're where the story came from," Jones told his listeners. "They're asking me if it's true. No, they're not going to take over this summer…probably."

"The idea that these exercises are preludes¹¹ to imposing¹² martial law are completely hogwash," says Mark Potok, with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The center tracks hate groups in the United States.

Potok says radical¹³ right wing groups have been warning about the federal government arresting 'patriotic¹⁴' Americans for decades. And those fears are often fanned by large-scale military exercises. He says it's a message that is not confined to extremist chat rooms on the internet.

"While I don't think millions and millions of citizens believe this, there are quite a few who do," says Potok, "And they are not all people who are in radical groups or have extreme radical right ideologies¹⁵."

Eventually, this summer's military exercises will come to an end.

And in all likelihood, the federal government will not round up and arrest Tea Party members, impose martial law in parts of Texas or any of the other claims made by the some Jade Helm 15 critics.

But Mark Potok with the Southern Poverty Law Center does not expect the critics to say they were "wrong."

In fact, he expects them to take credit for the fact none of those things happened.

"That's the nature of conspiracy¹⁶ theories," says Potok, "Just as it is the nature of religionist profit-types who say the world is ending next Tuesday. There's always a reason why that didn't happen. But it's again coming in the near future."

Potok expects the extreme right wing blogs will soon start talking about the next big military exercise and how it will be much worse.

1 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

2 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

3 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

8 awning   

n.遮阳篷；雨篷

参考例句：

• A large green awning is set over the glass window to shelter against the sun.在玻璃窗上装了个绿色的大遮棚以遮挡阳光。
• Several people herded under an awning to get out the shower.几个人聚集在门栅下避阵雨

9 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

10 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

11 preludes   

n.开端( prelude的名词复数 )；序幕；序曲；短篇作品

参考例句：

• In the moribund patient deepening coma are the usual preludes to death. 病人弥留之际，加深的昏睡通常是死的前兆。 来自辞典例句
• She preludes her remarks with a jest. 她开始讲话时先说一个笑话。 来自互联网

12 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

13 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。

14 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

15 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

16 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。