美国国家公共电台 NPR Pentagon Says It's Staying In Syria, Even Though ISIS Appears Defeated

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

There may still be terrorist attacks carried out in its name, but the state of Islamic State is really no more. ISIS is down to a handful of enclaves, but there are still hundreds of U.S. forces fighting ISIS in Syria. And the Pentagon says they are sticking around. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR's State Department correspondent Michele Kelemen are both here to talk us through what's happening in that country.

Hello to you both.

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE¹: Hey, David.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Hi, David.

GREENE: Tom, I want to start with you because the Trump² administration came in talking about no foreign entanglements³, America First, no nation-building. So why does the U.S. still have troops in Syria?

BOWMAN: Well, they have troops in Syria to deal with ISIS. And they consider ISIS a threat to the United States. That's why the U.S. forces are there advising the local troops - Sunni Arabs and Kurds. And the caliphate is quickly coming to an end, but there's still a little fighting along the border with Iraq. Now, Defense⁴ Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters this week that U.S. troops inside Syria will remain fighting ISIS, quote, "as long as they want to fight."

Now, most of the Americans are advisers⁵ working with Kurdish and Arab forces, as I said. And Mattis says that American troops can stay and set the conditions for a political settlement. He said, we're not going to just walk away.

GREENE: Where does that leave what has been this civil war that we've been following for so many years? If ISIS is now dwindling⁶ - I mean, you have Bashar al-Assad, who seems to be ready to win this civil war. Right, Michele? So these groups in Syria that the United States was backing, is there any future for them?

KELEMEN: There's not much of a future to them. What the U.S. is hoping is to get them around the table with Bashar al-Assad's government and talk about a future constitution, future government...

GREENE: The political settlement that Tom was talking about.

KELEMEN: ...Without Bashar al-Assad there. There's been a big question, though, hanging over what they call this Geneva peace process. And that is, will Russia and Iran deliver Bashar al-Assad to negotiations⁷ meant to pave the way for a post-Assad Syria? That doesn't look likely in a case where that side is really winning. So the next big test for this Geneva process is later this month, on the 28, the U.N. special envoy⁸ is hoping to have a new round of peace talks.

GREENE: Well, Michele, let me ask you about a big player once a political settlement is or is not coming together. And that is Russia, which has been trying to play a very big role in the future of Syria. Right?

KELEMEN: That's right. The Russians have always provided diplomatic cover to Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Two years ago, it sent in warplanes and really changed the course of the war. But the Russians are not the only players here. Iran is also a major player on the ground in Syria. The Americans want to see the Russians kind of push Iran out, but Russia's foreign minister made clear this week, as he does quite often, that Russia and Iran were invited by the Syrian government. The Americans weren't.

GREENE: Michele Kelemen, you have the United States government that wanted Assad out of power. That looks like that might not happen. You have President Trump who wants to put America first. We have hundreds of troops there. What role does the United States want to play now in the future of Syria?

KELEMEN: Well, so far what - at least the State Department is doing, they have a very small number of development and diplomatic personnel on the ground in Syria around Raqqa. And the goals are much more minimal⁹. First of all is de-mining, which they say is going to take a really, really long time, and then just to provide basic services.

BOWMAN: And it's important to note that in Raqqa, what the U.S. is doing there - they're calling it stabilizing¹⁰. It's not reconstructing or certainly not nation-building in Raqqa. They're being very pointed¹¹ on that. But they are providing money and, as you say, de-mining, bringing back sewer¹² and water and electricity. But some would call that, clearly, reconstructing if not nation-building.

GREENE: Is it a concern for the United States if Syria is rebuilt with a lot of influence and support from countries like Iran and Russia?

KELEMEN: Yes, it is a big concern. The U.S. isn't planning on spending a huge amount of money in reconstruction¹³ aid, but it is rallying Europeans, the Arab countries to do this. And they're saying that they don't want this reconstruction aid going to Syria until there's a political process underway.

GREENE: Just listening to you both, I mean, it sounds like putting Syria back together as a country is going to be something that is so much more daunting¹⁴ than actually going after ISIS as a terrorist group. Right? I mean, that's a different thing.

BOWMAN: You're absolutely right. People I talk with in the Pentagon said they knew ISIS was going to eventually come to an end. They were guerrilla fighters. They didn't have a lot of heavy weaponry. They didn't have aircraft and so forth¹⁵. So defeating them just was a matter of time. What they say now is, this is much more complex - trying to put this country back together again.

GREENE: Tom Bowman, Michele Kelemen. Tom covers the Pentagon. Michele covers State Department.

Thanks so much.

KELEMEN: Thank you.

BOWMAN: You're welcome.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

6 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

10 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

13 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

14 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

15 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。