研究发现美国裔外国武装分子几乎没有短期威胁

Study Finds Little Short-Term Threat from US Foreign Fighters

United States citizens who joined extremist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq appear to present little immediate¹ threat to Americans or U.S. territory.

A new study found that the same is true of non-citizens who left their American homes to fight in Syria and Iraq.

In fact, only a handful of the fighters have returned to the U.S. from the battlefront, the study notes.

The findings are from a project of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. It identified 64 individuals who fought or assisted Islamic State, al-Qaida and other groups in Syria and Iraq.

Of the 64 travelers, only 12 are known to have returned to U.S. territory, the study found. Nine of them have been arrested and charged with crimes relating to terrorism.

The study noted² that none have successfully carried out an attack in the United States.

“The risk of returned travelers being engaged in terrorist attacks has, to date, been limited,” said a report on the study.

The writers of the report noted, “There is currently no publicly available evidence to suggest that American travelers have slipped into the country without the knowledge of authorities.” They said that "homegrown" extremists currently appear to be more likely to carry out jihadist attacks than returning travelers.

Compared to European countries, the U.S. faces a smaller risk from returning travelers. That is partly because of the greater distance and difficulty in reaching the Middle East from the United States.

U.S. intelligence officials estimated that more than 40,000 foreign fighters have traveled to Syria and Iraq. Of these, only 5,000 to 6,000 were said to come from Western countries.

The exact number who successfully left from the United States is unclear. Officials have said that about 250 to 300 U.S.-based people left or tried to leave to join groups fighting in Syria. Not all of them made it.

The study found at least 50 were arrested before leaving the United States. That represents about one-third of all U.S. residents who have been charged with crimes related to the Islamic State group.

Of the 64 travelers identified in the study who did leave the U.S., 22 are thought to have died in Syria or Iraq. Officials are unsure of the condition and whereabouts of the others.

Lone³ returnee charged

The study identified a single returning traveler who sought to carry out an attack in the United States. That was 23-year-old Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, a naturalized citizen from Somalia.

Mohamud left his home in Ohio to join Jabhat al-Nusra, a group allied⁴ with al-Qaida, in April 2014. While in Syria, he was trained in explosives and hand-to-hand fighting. He was sent back to the United States in June to carry out an attack.

But in February 2015, while still plotting the attack, Mohamud was arrested. He admitted guilt⁵ to the charges and was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Other than Mohamud, only one other traveler sought to carry out a terror attack. But that attack, a suicide bombing, happened only upon returning to Syria after avoiding prosecution⁶ in the United States.

In any case, the study’s authors say the findings suggest fears once voiced by U.S. officials of a “terrorist diaspora” seem to be overstated.

Possible concerns

Yet the George Washington University study did find some reasons for concern.

Study co-author Seamus Hughes says the average prison sentence for those who went overseas to take part in the fight in Syria and Iraq is only 10 years. He noted that that sentence is shorter than the average prison term for a would-be U.S.-based jihadist arrested at the airport.

Part of that might be linked to the difficulty in making a criminal case based on terrorist activity in another country.

Hughes said another issue could be that the returnees may have been able to share information with investigators⁷ and anti-terrorism officials in exchange for lighter⁸ sentences.

But just like with the would-be jihadists, these travelers will eventually get out of prison. And Hughes and others believe the United States should be doing more to help these individuals. They note the lack of U.S. programs for former prisoners returning to society could lead to problems in the future.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

engage – v. to take part in

authorities – n. officials

jihadist – n. a Muslim who supports a campaign against non-believers

resident – n. a person who lives in a place for some length of time

whereabouts – n. the place where someone or something is

prosecution - n. the act of trying someone accused of a crime

diaspora – n. a group of people who live outside their homeland or the home of their ancestors

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

4 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

5 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

6 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。