VOA常速英语2013--美国担心基地组织也门分支

 

US Concerned about Al-Qaida's Yemen Branch 美国担心基地组织也门分支

The State Department says the U.S. still maintains a presence in Yemen, after ordering nonessential personnel at the U.S. Embassy to leave the country due to the "extremely high" potential of a terror attack. Nineteen U.S. embassies and consulates¹ will remain closed through Saturday. 

As non-emergency staff quietly left the country, a suspected U.S. drone snuck in, killing² four alleged³ members of al-Qaida.  

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has thrived in Yemen for years. The United States calls AQAP the most active and dangerous group plotting against America, as reaffirmed by State Department Spokeswoman Jan Psaki. 

“The fact that they continue to pose a serious threat to the United States and its interests, we consider this to be one of the foremost national security challenges we face,” she remarked. 

Yemen is said to be the poorest Arab country and it suffers from political instability. 

The instability breeds terrorists, according to former ambassador James Jeffrey, now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 

 “They operate in areas where you do not have the best of border controls.  They operate in areas where you don’t have the best of modern security forces plugged into Interpol and international intelligence channels.” 

In a region where attacks can sometimes be as frequent as the morning call to prayer, terror groups aim high.

“The only propaganda that really counts in the Middle East is when you take down an embassy," noted⁴ Jeffrey. "When you sink or almost sink a ship or when you otherwise show America is weak and vulnerable.”

But the U.S. and its allies know that even though terror groups plan big attacks, these attacks can be foiled. James Carafano, with the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said terrorists depend on predictability.

“They want to know how many guards, they want to know what time they change, they want to know what the traffic patterns are like," Carafano explained, "they want to know what people are doing that day. So, when you make an announcement, oh we’re closing things or ramping⁵ up security, you have changed the conditions.”  

State Department officials say Yemen continues to work closely with the United States to fight terror groups like AQAP.  Secretary John Kerry has spoken with Yemen’s president to thank him for his efforts during this latest threat. But it is still unclear when the departed staff will return and when the embassy will reopen.  

1 consulates   

n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
• The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. （七）家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 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。

5 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？