VOA慢速英语2015--土耳其加强与叙利亚边境

AS IT IS 2015-12-20 Turkey Strengthens Border with Syria 土耳其加强与叙利亚边境

Turkey says it is taking steps to strengthen its border with Syria.

But some experts are unsure if the country will take strong action against the Islamic State terrorist group.

Some of Turkey’s Western allies do not know if the country is part of the problem or part of the solution in the fight against the militants¹.

U.S. Defense² Secretary Ash Carter was in Turkey this week. He urged its leaders to secure the border with Syria. Carter said that is the most important step Turkey can take in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Earlier this month, Turkey placed the border with Syria under emergency rule. Semih Idiz publishes his opinions about politics in a Turkish newspaper. He says the decision shows that international pressure on Turkey is working.

He says the policy change happened because “there is a lot of pressure from the West -- from (Turkey’s) closest allies -- (that the) border must be sealed.”

He writes that many people will ask why the border wasn’t sealed sooner.

Late last month, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane along the Syria-Turkey border. Russian defense officials claim that Turkey is involved in illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group. They said top Turkish officials -- including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and members of his family -- are involved in the trade.

But they have not offered evidence.

Erdogan rejected the accusations³. But Russian President Vladimir Putin said oil controlled by the Islamic State and other terrorist groups enters Turkey. He said the Russian plane was shot down to protect “the security of these oil supply routes to Turkey.”

The U.S. has also rejected the accusations.

American officials have called on Turkey to close a 98-kilometer section of its border with Syria. President Barack Obama says the Islamic State group transports foreign fighters and ships “fuel for sale that helps finance their terrorist activities.”

Reports say Turkish forces are cooperating more with Western forces. Earlier this week, a Syrian man was detained after he was suspected of planning an attack on an American government target in Turkey.

But some experts are not convinced that Turkey is serious about fighting the Islamic State group. Atilla Yesilada works at Global Source Partners, a research group in Turkey.

He says “the flow of jihadis and supplies towards (the Islamic State group) has lessened⁴ because of stricter border controls.” But he says nothing has been done to attack the group’s large network. He says the country's ruling party -- the AKP -- must attack the group’s supporters and recruiters in Turkey. He says those who gather money for the group must also be attacked. But he says he is “afraid AKP is unwilling⁵ to take that step, (because) it’s going to involve” a large number of its conservative members.

Words in This Story

seal - v. to prevent someone from going into or through (an area or place)

recruiter - n. a person who works to find suitable people and convince them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.

1 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。

2 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。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。