West Faces Long War with Islamic State Group

 

“If they are in Raqqa, they’re gonna die in Raqqa.”

Those are the words of Brett McGurk, the United States’ top representative to the coalition¹ fighting the Islamic State (IS) group.

Last month, McGurk spoke² about IS forces in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa. He declared their foreign fighters would be targeted.

More than 2,000 IS militants⁴ are believed to be fighting in the city, which is the group’s self-declared capital. Many of them are thought to be from North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. But even after the militants are defeated in Raqqa in the coming weeks, IS will still have an estimated 13,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq. American officials and independent security experts warn they are a threat to the area.

Bruce Hoffman and other observers expect the Islamic State to return to its earlier form as a terrorist and rebel group. Most IS leaders have not stayed in Raqqa to fight. They did not stay to fight in Mosul either. They fled both cities to smaller towns along the Iraqi border with Syria in the Euphrates River Valley and Anbar province in Iraq.

Experts say IS hopes to act like other Islamist organizations, which were able to survive after being defeated by U.S. military forces in Iraq in 2007 and 2008.

Observers say the group still controls territory both in west and east Iraq. They believe IS will attack government forces from villages and hiding places, as it began to do in April.

Whether it can be successful depends on the effectiveness of anti-IS security forces on both sides of the border and the support of people in the area.

Many Sunni Muslims are unhappy with heavy-handed security operations against militants, revenge killings⁵ and religious-based governance. Observers say such actions risk feeding into the Sunni disaffection that fueled the rise of IS in the first place.

Experts worry that neither Iraqi nor U.S. officials have developed clear plans to bring security to areas taken from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“We should be concerned about the lack of stabilization⁶ plans for territory from which ISIS is expelled,” says Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of the Foundation for the Defense⁷ of Democracies. “We are in grave danger of once again winning the war but losing the peace,” he adds.

U.S. officials would appear to be taking more of a hands-off policy in Raqqa once the U.S.-aided Syrian Democratic Forces have gained control of the city.

VOA received an email from a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM. The email read “When ISIS has been defeated in Raqqa, authority will rest with the Raqqa Civilian⁸ Council and security will be maintained by the Raqqa Internal Security Force.”

When asked whether U.S. officials have discussed the treatment of suspended militants, CENTCOM said that local officials are responsible for the detainees. But it added, “The Coalition supports the laws of armed conflict and works hard in training to ensure partner forces are aware of and understand the requirement for a professional fighting force to abide⁹ with these laws.”

Violations¹⁰ are already being reported. Locals say some people believe that they must be IS members or supporters since they remained in the city under militant³ rule.

In Iraq, rights groups have already documented revenge killings by Iranian-influenced Shi’ite militias¹¹. And a video of Iraqis questioning suspected militants in Mosul adds to the concern of rights groups. They accuse the Iraqis of using brutal¹² interrogation methods against the suspects.

Like al-Qaida, IS has established militant groups in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa, notably¹³ in Libya and Egypt. Last year, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi told followers¹⁴ that his group would defeat efforts to oust¹⁵ it from its major population centers in Syria and Iraq. But he appeared to be preparing for their eventual¹⁶ loss by urging foreigners to fight for IS affiliates¹⁷.

One of the big questions is whether militants will continue showing interest in Islamic State after its talk of nation-building has been crushed.

Now, al-Qaida will likely seek to show that it is the world’s top jihadist group. Some experts say al-Qaida has already been preparing the 28-year-old son of former leader Osama bin¹⁸ Laden¹⁹ as its new leader. Hamza Bin Laden has appeared in four recent propaganda videos for the group.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

gonna – expression used in writing to represent the sound of the phrase going to when it is spoken quickly

revenge – n. the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you

stabilize²⁰ – v. to become stable or to make (something) stable, such as to stop quickly changing, increasing, getting worse, etc.

grave – adj. very serious; requiring or causing serious thought or concern

authority – n. the power to give orders or make decisions; the power or right to direct or control someone or something

maintain – v. to cause (something) to exist or continue without changing; to provide support for (someone or something)

abide – v. to accept or bear

brutal – adj. extremely cruel or harsh

1 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。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 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。

4 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。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

7 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。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 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

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

14 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

15 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

16 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

17 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。

18 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

19 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

20 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。