VOA常速英语:Uprooting a Phony Caliphate

Americans continue to mourn the deaths of the 49 victims and the wounding of dozens more in the recent terrorist attack on a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.This was the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States.
美国人民继续悼念丧生的49名受害者和其他几十名伤员，他们因最近发生在佛罗里达奥兰多一家夜店里的恐怖袭击而遇难。这是美国历史上最严重的大范围枪击事件。

In an address to the nation, President Barack Obama noted that the attack targeted a prominent LGBT gathering place, and emphasized that an attack “on any American – regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation – is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country.”
在一场面向全国民众的演讲中，总统奥巴马指出这起袭击的目标是一个著名的LGBT群体聚会场所，并且强调袭击“任何一个美国人—无论种族、民族、宗教或者性取向—就是袭击所有美国人，并且是对于我们作为一个国家的平等和尊严等最基本价值观的袭击。”

The perpetrator of the massacre died on-site in a shoot-out with police.He declared allegiance to ISIL in a phone call during the attack, although there is no information to this point suggesting that ISIL was in contact with the shooter before the attack. It does appear the shooter was inspired by various extremist information online and points to the challenge of countering extremist ideology and dealing with perversions of Islam generated on the Internet.
这场屠杀的制造者和警方爆发了枪战，当场死亡。在那场袭击中，他曾打了一个电话并声称效忠于ISIL，尽管目前没有证据显示ISIL在袭击前和这名持枪歹徒有过联系。确实，这名持枪歹徒受到网上各种极端主义言论的鼓动，向正面应对极端主义意识形态以及网络上产生的对伊斯兰的曲解提出了挑战。

In a briefing shortly before the attack, Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL,noted that leaders from around the world tell him that the common denominator driving youth toward extremism is “this notion of an historic caliphate” – in the case of ISIL, as he says, “their self-proclaimed…phony caliphate.”
在这起袭击发生前的一场新闻发布上，“打击ISIL全球联盟”总统特使布雷特·麦泽科指出，来自全世界的领导人们告诉他，驱使年轻人染上极端主义的共因是“这个国家是一个历史悠久的伊斯兰王国”—至于ISIL，正如同布雷特所说的那样，“他们自说自话，并不是真正的伊斯兰王国。”

Because of that, it is necessary, Mr. McGurk said, for the Coalition to “shrink the core” of the so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria. And the Coalition is having significant success in doing so. In Iraq, ISIL has lost nearly 50 percent of the territory once controlled; in Syria, 20 percent.Many of its leaders have been killed; its revenue has been drastically cut; its flow of foreign fighters has been reduced; its propaganda stream has slowed; and its morale has plummeted.
因此，麦泽科说道，对于联盟来说很有必要对伊拉克和叙利亚境内所谓的伊斯兰王国进行“核心打击“。而联盟目前正在这方面取得一些显著的成就。在伊拉克，ISIL几乎丧失了它曾经掌控领土的50%；在叙利亚则丧失了20%的领土。该组织许多首领都被击杀了，收入急剧减少，派出的海外战士数量减少了，宣传放缓了，组织成员的士气也急剧下降。

President Obama noted, however, that while the Coalition continues to uproot ISIL overseas,another imperative is countering the kind of “propaganda and perversions of Islam” espoused by ISIL and distributed over the Internet in order to generate home-grown terrorist acts.
但是，奥巴马总统指出，当联盟持续在海外根除ISIL时，另一件紧要是事情是打击这种由ISIL支持的“对于伊斯兰的宣传和歪曲”，它们通过互联网传播，意图造成本土恐怖主义行为。

In any case, in the face of hate and violence, Americans will not give in to fear, Mr. Obama said. “We will stand united…to protect our people, and defend our nation and to take action against those who threaten us.”
奥巴马说道，在任何情况下，面对仇恨和暴力，美国人民绝不会屈服于恐惧。“我们将团结一致，保护我们的人民，保卫我们的国家，并采取行动对付那些威胁我们的人。”