VOA标准英语2014--奥巴马的伊斯兰国战略绘制成全球焦点

 

Obama's Islamic State Strategy Draws Global Focus 奥巴马的伊斯兰国战略绘制成全球焦点

LONDON—

World leaders will be watching U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech Wednesday to see how far he has come in developing a strategy to fight the Islamic State group, with particular interest in whether he will be able to bring Middle Eastern countries into the coalition¹ announced in Wales last week.  

The United States has launched more than 100 airstrikes against the militants³ in Iraq, supporting local forces and protecting key installations.  

At the NATO summit last week, nearly a dozen countries agreed to work together on intelligence, logistics and other aspects of the fight.

Now, President Obama is launching a broader strategy and inviting⁴ more countries to join, something he signaled at the end of the summit.

“I think it is absolutely critical that we have Arab states, and specifically Sunni majority states, that are rejecting the kind of extremist nihilism that we’re seeing out of ISIL that say that is not what Islam is about, and are prepared to join us actively⁵ in the fight," said the president.

Experts say the participation⁶ of Middle Eastern countries is crucial to defeat the militant² fighters, who are known as ISIL, ISIS and by their new name, the Islamic State. They have taken over wide areas of Iraq and Syria, and killed or terrorized thousands of local residents.

Yet research consultant⁷ Kathleen McInnis of London’s Chatham House cautions that coalitions⁸ are much more easily built than maintained.

“While everybody agrees ISIS is odious⁹, they need to be defeated, the regional players -- Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar -- they all have very different interests and objectives for the region," said McInnis.

And Obama will have to work hard even to convince U.S. allies to do more in the fight against Islamic State, according to James Boys of London’s King’s College, who spoke¹⁰ via Skype.

“One of the challenges, I think, is it’s very, very difficult for European powers, I think, to take seriously a president and an administration who only a week or so ago were saying there is no strategy with regard to what’s going on," said Boys.

Still, Britain has already announced it will sell weapons to the Iraqi military, and experts say the formation of a new Iraqi government could make it possible to get more Iraqis to join the fight against the militants.

President Obama’s goal is not necessarily to build as large a coalition as the U.S. had in Afghanistan -- nearly 60 countries, which paid tribute to their veterans and fallen troops at a NATO summit ceremony.  

But the experts say it must be broad and capable enough to defeat an enemy similar to Afghanistan’s Taliban -- a militant group that still controls a wide area.

And that’s why Kathleen McInnis said the president’s speech on Wednesday is so important.

"It’s going to be an incredibly important speech because he needs to make the case that not only is the time now for the international community to act, but also that he is serious, that the Obama administration, the United States of America, is willing to do what it takes to eliminate the ISIS threat," she said.

In recent decades, the United States has led coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soon, the world will hear Obama’s ideas for a new coalition to fight a new threat in that same part of the world.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 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。

4 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

5 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

6 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

7 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

8 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

9 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。