VOA慢速英语:Can Islamic State Militants Attack the US?

The United States is seeking to build an international alliance to stop the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The State Department announced this week that U.S. officials are working to put together a coalition of countries from Europe, the Arab world and other areas. The Department's Jen Psaki says these nations could work jointly against the militants in a number of ways.
美国正在寻求建立一个国际联盟以阻止伊拉克和叙利亚境内的伊斯兰国武装分子的威胁。美国国务院本周宣布，美国官员正努力与欧洲、阿拉伯世界和其它地区的一些国家组成联盟。美国国务院的Jen Psaki表示，这些国家可以以多种方式共同对抗武装分子。

"There's humanitarian, military, intelligence, diplomatic, and we know this is an effort that is going to require a significant focus and ‘all hands on deck' – not just the United States, but a range of countries."
“可以通过人道主义援助、军事、情报和外交等方式（来共同对抗武装分子），而且我们知道这是一项需要全神贯注和全员参与的努力，这不仅仅关系到美国，而是同时关系到很多国家。”

The United States has begun flying military aircraft over Syria to watch Islamic State fighters. The Sunni Muslim extremists executed American reporter James Foley earlier this month.
美国已经开始派遣战机在叙利亚上空飞行监视伊斯兰国武装分子。这些逊尼派极端分子在本月初处决了美国记者James Foley。

Since then, there have been mixed messages coming out of Washington about whether Islamic State militants could attack the United States. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has called the group, an "imminent threat." South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham warned that the militants are willing and able to "hit the homeland." But are these threats overstated?
此后，就伊斯兰武装分子是否会袭击美国不断有不同的消息从华盛顿传出。美国国防部长哈格尔称该组织是“迫在眉睫的威胁”。南卡罗来纳州参议员格雷厄姆警告说，这些武装分子有意愿也有能力打击美国本土。但这些威胁是否言过其实呢？

At least one terrorism expert has noted stronger ties between the Islamic State and the group called al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. Max Abrahms teaches at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. He says al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula may be smaller than the Islamic State, but he thinks it is better at making bombs. He says the concern is that the IS militants may be influenced by the al-Qaida group and then strike Western countries.
至少有一位反恐专家指出伊斯兰国武装分子和阿拉伯半岛基地组织之间的紧密联系。Max Abrahms在美国马萨诸塞州的东北大学任教。他说，阿拉伯半岛基地组织可能比伊斯兰国规模更小，但他认为基地组织更擅长制作炸弹。他说值得关注的是，伊斯兰国武装分子可能受到基地组织影响，然后打击西方国家。

But other experts believe it is too soon to talk about threats to the U.S. "homeland." Daniel Benjamin formerly served as the State Department's anti-terrorism coordinator during the presidency of Bill Clinton.
但也有专家认为，现在谈论美国本土威胁尚为时过早。Daniel Benjamin曾在克林顿总统任期内担任美国国务院的反恐协调员。

"At this point, this group is overwhelmingly an insurgent group focused on holding territory in Iraq, in killing Shi'a and in stoking the sectarian conflict in that region."
“在这点上，该组织绝对是一家专注于在伊拉克开疆僻壤，并在该地区杀害什叶派和煽动教派冲突的叛乱组织。”

Daniel Benjamin says the Islamic State has no experience with what he calls "out-of-the-area attacks." He adds that such attacks are much more difficult to carry out than most people realize.
Daniel Benjamin说，伊斯兰国没有他所说的离开该地区发动袭击的经验。他补充说，这种攻击比大多数人想得更难。

"It takes a great deal of training and practice and expertise. It takes people who understand how to deal with masking their identities, with exercising a great deal of communications security and other aspects of operational security."
“这需要大量培训、实践和专业知识，需要有人懂得如何掩盖自己的身份，同时运用大量通信保障和别的方面的行动保障。”

He also says the United States has time to develop a long-term plan for containing and limiting the ability of Islamic State fighters.
他还称，美国有时间制定用于遏制和限制伊斯兰国武装分子能力的长期计划。

The U.S. military has helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces regain territory captured by the fighters. The military also has increased airstrikes against the IS forces in Iraq.
美国军方已经帮助伊拉克和库尔德部队重新夺回被伊斯兰国武装分子占领的领土。美国军方还增加了对伊拉克境内的伊斯兰国武装分子的空袭。

For days, U.S. officials have talked about expanding the airstrikes to Syria. It appears, however, that such action may be delayed. On Thursday, President Barack Obama told reporters that he is still developing a plan to deal with the militants.
几天来，美国官员已经谈到了扩大对叙利亚的空袭。然后似乎这类行动可能会被推迟。周四，美国总统奥巴马告诉记者，他还在制定一项计划，以对付武装分子。

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said it welcomes U.S. help with the Islamic State. But Syria has warned that bombing IS targets without its permission would represent an "act of aggression."
叙利亚阿萨德政府表示欢迎美国帮助打击伊斯兰国。但叙利亚也警告说，未经其许可轰炸伊斯兰国目标将会是一种侵略行为。

The Obama administration rejected the idea that it is cooperating with the Assad government. Syrian rebels have been fighting government forces for more than three years. The United Nations says more than 191,000 people have been killed since the conflict began.
奥巴马政府否认了它们同阿萨德政府合作的想法。叙利亚反政府武装同政府军对抗了三年多时间。联合国称，自冲突开始以来已经有19.1万人被杀害。