VOA慢速英语2014--2014年,伊斯兰国家改变叙利亚和伊拉克

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-27 Islamic State Changed Syria and Iraq in 2014 2014年,伊斯兰国家改变叙利亚和伊拉克

The actions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, have angered people in many countries. The group enslaved people and executed hostages. They put videos of some of the executions on the Internet. 

Militants¹ who were members of al-Qaida in Iraq helped create ISIS.

Michael Stephens is a director of the Royal United Services Institute, a research group. He says the fast rise of ISIS in 2014 surprised many observers.

“It was very clear that there were problems building up in Iraq at the end of 2013, but everybody was distracted by Syria. When ISIS actually did hit in Iraq, it changed the game completely.”

The group’s first major victory happened in early January, when it seized the Iraqi town of Fallujah. Sajjan Gohel is the director of international security for the Asia-Pacific Foundation, a group that studies terrorism.

“When Fallujah fell, that should have been a wake-up call. We’ve sleepwalked into this problem and have got in very late in the game.”

In June, ISIS took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. Iraqi soldiers fled. ISIS seized the weapons they left behind and about $400 million. The terrorist group then began calling itself the Islamic State and seized large areas of northern Syria and Iraq. Sajjan Gohel says some people in those areas welcomed the group.

“They restored land taken by the Assad regime to the, to the tribes-people.  They allowed them to run their businesses. They married into families. So they enhanced their position locally.”

While some people supported the group’s actions, many opposed the decisions of Iraq’s Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He was accused of poor treatment of Sunnis, which some believed caused attacks against the government. International leaders strongly pressured him to resign. He did so in August.

That is the sound of emergency food being dropped on Sinjar Mountain. The United States and its allies helped Iraqi forces feed and then rescue tens of thousands of minority Yazidis who were trapped on the mountain when the Islamic State took control of large parts of the area. Hundreds of Yazidis had already been killed and thousands captured and forced into slavery.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces then began fighting the Islamic State. And the United States began air strikes against Islamic State positions in Iraq, and later in Syria. The U.S. was joined by Britain, Gulf² Arab states and even Iran. The Islamic State answered the counter-attacks by beheading several Western hostages and showing videos of the killings³. Sajjan Gohel says the Islamic State caused countries that rarely cooperate to work together.

“ISIS has united the international community, where you have partners that have often had very terse⁴ relationships, such as Iran and the United States, also the Gulf Arab countries that have never got involved in the battle against extremists in the past in a meaningful way.”

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continue to attack opposition⁵ rebel forces in Syria. The Free Syrian Army is now fighting both government and Islamist forces. The group has asked Western countries for help. But at this point, they have not given the rebels the weapons they have asked for. Michael Stephens says that may soon change.

“I think next year what you will see is a more expressed commitment from the Americans as they realize more and more is needed in order to stop both Iraq and Syria sort of collapsing⁶ into nothingness.”

As the threat from the Islamic State grows, experts say international leaders will face increasing pressure to fight the terror group both from the air and on the ground in Iraq and Syria. 

Words in This Story

building up – n. idiom an increase in something that occurs as time passes (also “build up”)

distracted – adj. unable to think about or pay attention to something; unable to concentrate

changed the game – idiom when a newly-introduced element or factor changes an existing situation or activity in a significant way; also “game-changer”

sleepwalked – v. idiom to perform acts without being fully⁷ aware

late in the game – idiom (also “late in the day”) far along in a project or activity; too late in a project or activity for action, decisions to be made

enhanced – adj. to increase or improve (something)

terse – adj. brief and direct in a way that may seem rude or unfriendly

expressed – adj. describing something that you are thinking or feeling

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。