非洲－美官员认为非洲的不稳定是反恐的一大挑战

 

US Officials: Instability in Africa a Challenge to War on Terror

 

At public curing, the intelligence officials said Africa has become a recruiting ground for Islamic extremists. They expressed concern about the impact that political instability and poverty are having on the fight against terrorism on the continent.

 

Central Intelligence Agency director Porter Goss was among those who testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

 

Porter Goss: Chronic¹ instability will continue to hamper² counter-terrorism efforts and pose heavy humanitarian³ and peace-keeping burdens on us.

 

Vice⁴ Admiral Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense⁵ Intelligence Agency, agreed.

 

Lowell Jacoby: Certainly it is a fertile ground in the Muslim populations in Africa for recruitment to extremist causes. Disaffected⁶ youth, youth bulge⁷ (large population of young people), socio-economic situation and education shortfalls, unemployment, so forth⁸ make inviting⁹ recruiting targets.

 

CIA Director Goss cited Nigeria, where he said extremist groups are emerging from the country's majority Muslim population. He said the military is struggling to contain militia¹⁰ groups in the oil producing south and to control ethnic¹¹ violence that often erupts throughout the country.

 

In Sudan, Mr. Goss said the peace agreement signed in January will result in de-facto southern autonomy and may inspire rebels in the troubled Darfur province to press harder for a greater share of resources and power. He said Islamic extremists could reassert themselves in the north of the country unless the Khartoum government stays unified¹².

 

The CIA director said unresolved disputes in the Horn of Africa made it vulnerable to exploitation to foreign terrorist groups. He noted¹³ that Ethiopia and Eritrea still have a contested border, and that armed factions¹⁵ in Somalia have indicated they will fight the authority of a new transitional government.

 

Mr. Goss acknowledged that Africa needs more attention from the U.S. intelligence community.

 

Mr. Goss: This is an over-neglected area that is under-resourced for American interests from my perspective.

 

Mr. Goss said Mr. Jacoby made their comments as part of an assessment¹⁶ of world-wide threats to the United States.

 

Daborah Tate, VOA news, Capitol Hill.

 

注释：

Islamic [iz5lAmik] adj. 伊斯兰的，伊斯兰教的

chronic [5krCnik] adj. 慢性的，延续很长的

humanitarian [hju(:)7mAni5tZEriEn] n. 人道主义者

shortfall [5FC:tfC:l] n. 不足，不足量

reassert [5ri:E5sE:t] vt. 再断言，重复主张

faction¹⁴ [5fAkFEn] n. 派别，小集团，小派系

assessment [E5sesmEnt] n. 评估

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

3 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。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

7 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

10 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

15 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

16 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？