美国务卿呼吁国会对IS动武

 　　U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Congress Wednesday to approve President Barack Obama's war powers request for the authority to use military force against Islamic State militants².

　　"We simply cannot allow this collection of murderers and thugs to achieve its ambitions," Kerry told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noting that Islamic State had captured large portions of land in Iraq and Syria, threatening "the death or submission³ of all who oppose it" and "the incitement⁴ of terrorist acts across the globe."

　　Interrupted at one point by the shouts of anti-war protesters in the hearing room, Kerry went on to tell lawmakers that the United States has to present a united front against Islamic State.

　　“They have to understand that they can’t divide us," he said. "Don’t let them.”

　　Kerry Calls for US War Powers to Fight IS

　　In addition to Kerry, Defense⁵ Secretary Ashton Carter and the chairman of the Joint⁶ Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, addressed the Foreign Relations Committee.

　　The meeting was part of a long process toward any authorization⁷, which would need to clear both the full Senate and House of Representatives.

　　Obama last month proposed an authorization of force that would last three years with limits on the use of ground troops, barring them from sustained, long-term, offensive combat.

　　Varying views

　　There has been pushback against the president's plan from Republicans who disagree with limiting the use of ground troops, as well as from Democrats⁹ who do not want to see the use of any forces on the ground.

　　The panel's top Democrat⁸, Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey¹⁰, said Obama's proposal was vague and lacked a clear exit strategy.

　　“What Democrats are not willing to do is to give this or any other president an open-ended authorization for war, a blank check,” he said.

　　Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said the authorization, as written, probably does not go far enough.

　　“The authorization for the use of military force that has been sent up is one that is limited in some ways, both in duration and relative to the activities that the commander in chief, through you, can carry out,” he said.

　　Corker, who was recently in Baghdad and Irbil, said everything Washington has done to combat Islamic State is benefiting Iran.

　　Carter, the secretary of defense, argued that the proposed authorization would provide the authority and flexibility¹¹ needed to go after Islamic State fighters and their affiliates¹² beyond the Iraqi and Syrian borders.

　　The Islamic State group "is likely to evolve strategically, morphing, rebranding and associating with other terrorist groups while continuing to threaten the United States and our allies,” he said.

　　Battles continue

　　Wednesday’s hearing took place as U.S. airstrikes continued to pound Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, and while Iraqi security forces and Shia militias¹³ were fighting to regain¹⁴ control of Tikrit. At the same time, Islamic State fighters launched a major offensive along the Syrian-Turkish border.

　　The U.S. military has been carrying out airstrikes since August in Iraq and since September in Syria as the lead in an international coalition¹⁵ against the militant¹ group.

　　So far, according to Pentagon data, the coalition has conducted more than 2,700 airstrikes against targets such as artillery¹⁶ and fighting positions, vehicles and storage facilities used by the militants.

　　The president has said those operations do not need any new authorization and are instead covered by a measure passed following the September 11, 2011, terrorist attacks.

1 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。

2 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。

3 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

4 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

12 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

13 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

14 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

15 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。

16 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。