VOA常速英语2014--美国继续参与伊拉克事务（在线收听）

US Engagement in Iraq Continues 美国继续参与伊拉克事务

 Western engagement continues to intensify in Iraq, where the United States and Britain are delivering humanitarian supplies while U.S. air strikes target radical Sunni militants.

Airdrops of food and drinking water are providing desperately-needed relief to religious minorities who fled Islamic insurgents in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, a U.S. bombing campaign continues to target posts and equipment used by militants threatening the northern city of Irbil.

空投食物和饮用水给伊拉克北部逃避伊斯兰叛军迫切需要援助的宗教少数民族带来希望。同时，美国继续在北部城市伊尔比尔炮轰目标据点和武装分子使用的设施。

President Barack Obama has ruled out U.S. ground troops in Iraq, but summed up America’s goals this way:

总统巴拉克·奥巴马排除了派地面部队到伊拉克的办法，但他这么总结美国的目标：

“We have to make sure that ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is not engaging in the actions that could cripple a country permanently. I do not think we are going to solve this problem in weeks - it is going to take some time,” said Obama.

“我们必须确保ISIL不再从事永久摧毁一个国家的行动，我认为我们不可能在数周内解决这一问题，是需要花费时日的。”

Ultimately, what Iraq needs is a political solution in Baghdad, according to British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

英国外长菲利普·哈蒙德说，伊拉克最终需要的是巴格达的政治解决途径。

“At the moment, our focus is on supporting humanitarian efforts, trying to deal with the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq and waiting to see as the new government is formed whether it will be an inclusive government that we can get behind in its efforts,” said Hammond.

“目前我们关注于提供人道主义援助，努力解决伊拉克日益加剧的人道主义危机，我们要观望，看组建的新政府是否是统一的政府，这样我们可以提供支持”。

President Obama’s critics in Congress see the stepped up engagement in Iraq as too little too late. Republican Senator Ted Cruz sees no clear objective.

奥巴马总统在国会的批评者称加强在伊拉克的参与力度太少太晚，共和党议员特德·科鲁兹称看不到清晰的目标。

“What is happening in Iraq is the latest manifestation of the failures of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy. I am glad the president is finally demonstrating some leadership, taking the threat from ISIS (aka ISIL) seriously. But unfortunately he is following the pattern that has characterized his foreign policy from the beginning of his tenure. He has laid out no clearly-defined objective that we are trying to accomplish,” said Cruz.

“伊拉克目前的局势再次表明奥巴马-克林顿外交政策的失败，我们高兴看到总统最终展示出一定的领导力，认真对待ISIS带来的威胁。

But Iraq is but one global hotspot demanding America’s attention, according to former U.S. ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill.

但不幸的是，他遵循的路线其实是从他一上任就一直遵循的外交政策，他没有推出我们一直希望达成的明确目标。”

“People are paying attention to Iraq, but there are a lot of other crises in the world that may have drowned it out or reduced the bandwidth for Iraq. ISIS, whatever its origins, it is pretty clear that it is part of a situation in Syria that has metastasized into Iraq,” said Hill, speaking in ABC’s This Week program.

但伊拉克只是需要美国关注的全球热点中的一个，美国驻伊拉克前大使克里斯多夫·希尔说。

“人们在关注伊拉克，但全世界还有很多其他危机会削弱对伊拉克的关注度。ISIS不管其起源如何，显然它是叙利亚局势的一部分，而目前转移到了伊拉克。”

希尔在接受ABC本周节目采访时说。

Gripping images of Islamic State militants captured by Vice News and broadcast by ABC show militants parading captured military equipment, recruiting young followers, and making a bold claim - that their flag will one day be raised at the White House.

Vice News拍摄到的图片和ABC播出的画面显示，武装分子将捕获到的军事设备拿来游行展示，还招募年轻追随者，并发出大胆的口号，即总有一天将旗帜插在白宫上。