经济学人:英国在伊拉克 卡梅伦的困惑

 　　Britain in Iraq

　　英国，在伊拉克

　　Cameron's confusions

　　卡梅伦的困惑

　　The government flip-flops between belligerence¹ and caution

　　政府在交战和警告间犹豫不决

　　HOW seriously does the British government take the threat from Islamic State (IS), an extremist group which has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria? Despite a flurry of pronouncements from the prime minister and from Michael Fallon, Britain's defence secretary, it is growing increasingly hard to judge.

　　英国政府究竟对来自伊斯兰国（IS）这一占领了伊拉克和叙利亚的极端组织的威胁有多认真？尽管有首相和英国国防部长迈克尔·法伦的一系列声明，这一事态还是变得越来越难以琢磨了。

　　Writing in a newspaper on August 17th, David Cameron warned that Britain faces a “generational struggle” against a “poisonous ideology”. Striking a Churchillian tone, the prime minister argued that Britain's very security depended on the country using all its resources, aid, diplomacy² and “military prowess” to vanquish³ this enemy. Tough stuff—perhaps the toughest from any Western leader so far.

　　大卫·卡梅伦于8月17日在报上撰文警告说，英国面临着“代际斗争”和“有毒思想”的抗衡。这位首相带着惊人的丘吉尔语气争论说英国的安全取决于国家能否使用全部的资源、援助、外交和“军事力量”来击溃敌人。手段强硬—这可能是到目前为止西方领导人中最强硬的了。

　　英国在伊拉克.jpg

　　Yet before leaving on holiday the following day Mr Cameron assured journalists that this fiery⁴ rhetoric⁵ did not mean Britain was returning to war in Iraq, and that he had no intention to put “boots on the ground” against IS. That was before the release of a horrific video on August 19th showing the beheading of a captured American journalist, James Foley, by an IS militant⁶ who appeared to have a British accent. Mr Cameron rushed back from his break in Cornwall to confer with ministers in London.

　　然而第二天，在外出度假前卡梅伦向记者保证说这种激烈的言辞并不意味着英国要在伊拉克重燃起战火，他并没有“派兵”对抗IS的意图。这是在8月19号美国记者詹姆斯·福利被一疑似有英国口音的IS成员斩首的恐怖录像发布之前了。卡梅伦立即结束了在康沃尔的度假，返回与伦敦的大臣们协商。

　　Confusion already surrounds the work Britain's armed forces are presently performing in Iraq. Tornado⁷ bombers⁸, helicopters, a spy plane, and some special forces are all operating in the north of the country—in particular near the city of Mosul. The government has said these efforts are merely humanitarian⁹, intended to help refugees besieged¹⁰ by IS fighters (see picture). Yet on August 18th Mr Fallon was reported to have said that British forces were performing reconnaissance missions for Kurdish soldiers battling the jihadists. Some think Britain is also supplying the Kurds with communications equipment and training.

　　关于英国武装力量目前在伊拉克的工作已招致了不少疑问。旋风式轰炸机、直升机、间谍机和一些特殊武力正在伊拉克北方—尤其在摩苏尔附近—进行操练。政府表示这些行为仅仅是人道主义的，目的是为了帮助被IS分子围困的难民（见图）。然而在8月18号，有报道称法伦曾表示英国武装力量在帮助库尔德士兵进行侦察任务以对抗圣战者。一些人认为英国也在为库尔德人提供通讯设备和训练。

　　What explains this prevarication¹¹? Mr Cameron is doubtless eager to avoid a repeat of the fiasco last year, when the House of Commons voted against his urging that British forces intervene against the murderous regime of Syria's President Assad. As well as shattering Western resolve, the episode was a personal humiliation¹² for the prime minister. If the government sounds too bellicose¹³ pressure will grow to recall parliament, currently in its summer recess¹⁴, for a full debate.

　　这种搪塞该如何解释？卡梅伦毫无疑问急于避免重复去年的惨败，当时众议院投票反对他催促英国军方介入叙利亚总统阿萨德恐怖统治的要求。正如粉碎西方的决心一样，这一插曲是对首相的个人羞辱。如果政府看起来过于好战，那么过大的压力会召回目前正处于夏季休会的议会成员来进行一次完整的辩论。

　　Another risk is that Mr Cameron's pronouncements outstrip¹⁵ America's eagerness to act, leaving Britain isolated¹⁶ should the Obama administration commit itself no further. And the prime minister also has a war-weary public to contend with. Polls suggest that a large minority of Britons would support taking some limited action against IS, such as arming the Kurds. But winning public support for a larger scale conflict, however worthy¹⁷ the cause, looks almost impossible at present.

　　另一风险是卡梅伦的声明超过了美国作战的热情，若奥巴马政府不愿进一步行动，便会使英国处于孤立地位。卡梅伦还需应对厌战的公众。投票显示大部分英国人支持对IS采取有限的行动，比如说为库尔德人提供武装。但无论理由看起来多么值得，要赢得公众支持大规模战争在目前看起来几乎还是不可能。

　　Mr Foley's murder may change this. His hooded¹⁸ killer's London accent has focused attention on the thousands of European—and particularly British—Muslims which IS has drawn¹⁹ to its banner. Thomas Hegghammer of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment argues that this represents the “largest European Muslim foreign fighter contingent” that has gone to any conflict in modern history. As many as 500 of them are thought to be British. The clear risk is that these callow, inexperienced volunteers will return home as hardened and skilful²⁰ jihadists, ready, as Mr Cameron puts it, to “target us on the streets of Britain”.

　　福利的谋杀一事可能改变这一情况。这位带有头罩的杀手的伦敦口音引起了成千欧洲—尤其是英国—穆斯林的注意，这些穆斯林已被IS招至旗下。挪威国防研究院的托马斯·黑哥海默称这代表着“最大的欧洲穆斯林国外战斗队伍”已参与现代史中的每一次冲突。其中多达500人被认为是英国人。很明显的风险是这些初出茅庐、毫无经验的志愿者们将成长为久经沙场、技巧纯熟的圣战者归来，如卡梅伦所说，这些人已做好准备“在英国大街上对我们开枪”。

　　Experts disagree on the scale of that threat. But even a very small number of returning extremists could cause considerable harm. After haring back to Whitehall, the prime minister said authorities would redouble efforts to track down British jihadists, and that the grisly video would not lead Britain to ramp²¹ up its involvement in the conflict. There is a limit to how long Mr Cameron can keep his options open.

　　专家对这一威胁的规模持有异议。但即便归来的极端主义者 数目非常小，也能造成严重的伤害。在急忙赶回白厅后，卡梅伦表示当局将付出双倍努力搜查圣战者，这一可怕的录像也不会使英国进一步介入冲突之中。卡梅伦能保持选择权多久是有限度的。

　　1.take over 夺取；接管；接收；接任

　　例句:Prime candidate to take over his job is Margaret Ramsay.

　　接替他工作的首要人选是玛格丽特·拉姆齐。

　　2.between and 之间

　　例句:The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.

　　你是什么样的人和你想成为什么样的之间的差距就是，你做了什么。

　　3.depend on 依赖；依靠；凭借

　　例句:Whether such properties are a good deal will depend on individual situations.

　　这样的地产是否可获得大笔收益还要视具体情形而定。

　　4.appear to 似乎；好像

　　例句:By all accounts, Rodger would appear to be a fine fellow.

　　据说，罗杰是个好小伙。

1 belligerence   

n.交战，好战性，斗争性

参考例句：

• He could be accused of passion,but never belligerence.可以说他很冲动，但不能说他爱挑事。
• He was almost back to his belligerent mood of twelve months ago.他故态复萌，几乎又像一年前那样咄咄逼人了。

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 vanquish   

v.征服，战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• He tried to vanquish his fears.他努力克服恐惧心理。
• It is impossible to vanquish so strong an enemy without making an extensive and long-term effort.现在要战胜这样一个强敌，非有长期的广大的努力是不可能的。

4 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

5 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

6 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。

7 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

8 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

10 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

11 prevarication   

n.支吾；搪塞；说谎；有枝有叶

参考例句：

• The longer negotiations drag on, the greater the risk of permanent prevarication. 谈判拖延的时间越久，长期推诿责任的可能性就越大。 来自互联网
• The result can be a lot of needless prevarication. 结果就是带来一堆的借口。 来自互联网

12 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

13 bellicose   

adj.好战的；好争吵的

参考例句：

• He expressed alarm about the government's increasingly bellicose statements.他对政府越来越具挑衅性的声明表示担忧。
• Some irresponsible politicians made a bellicose remarks.一些不负责任的政客说出一些好战的话语。

14 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

15 outstrip   

v.超过，跑过

参考例句：

• He can outstrip his friend both in sports and in studies.他能在体育和学习方面胜过他的朋友。
• It is possible for us to outstrip the advanced countries in the world.我们能超过世界上先进的国家。

16 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

17 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

18 hooded   

adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的

参考例句：

• A hooded figure waited in the doorway. 一个戴兜帽的人在门口等候。
• Black-eyed gipsy girls, hooded in showy handkerchiefs, sallied forth to tell fortunes. 黑眼睛的吉卜赛姑娘，用华丽的手巾包着头，突然地闯了进来替人算命。 来自辞典例句

19 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

20 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

21 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。