流利阅读 2019.1.29 Described as defeated, Islamic State punches back with guerrilla tactics

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Described as defeated, Islamic State punches back with guerrilla tactics
已被击败？“伊斯兰国”采取游击战回击

For three years, terrorists controlled a huge stretch of territory in Iraq and Syria. All but 1 percent of that territory is now gone, which has prompted the White House to describe the Islamic State as “wiped out,” “absolutely obliterated” and “in its final throes.” But to suggest that ISIS was defeated, as President Donald Trump did when he announced plans to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, is to ignore the lessons of recent history.
在过去的三年间，恐怖分子控制了伊拉克和叙利亚的大片领土。鉴于现在恐怖分子已经失去了 99%的领地，白宫使用“已被彻底摧毁”，“完全被消灭”以及“垂死挣扎”这些字眼来描述现在的“伊斯兰国”。但若是像总统唐纳德·特朗普那样声称 ISIS 已经被击败了（他在公开宣布叙利亚撤军计划时，提出了这一观点）, 则是在无视近期历史留下的教训。

The attack last week by a suicide bomber outside a shawarma restaurant in Manbij, Syria, which killed at least 15 people including four Americans, is one example of how the group still remains a serious, violent threat.
上周在叙利亚曼比季一家沙瓦玛餐厅外发生了一起自杀式爆炸袭击。这场袭击造成了至少 15 人身亡，其中包括 4 名美国人。这起袭击就是一个例子，证明了该组织仍会造成严重的暴力威胁。

“People make the mistake of thinking that when you lose territory, it’s linear—that they will continue to lose,” said Seth G. Jones, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
美国战略与国际研究中心的高级顾问赛斯·G·琼斯说：“人们错误地认为，领土一旦减少，这种趋势就会是线性的，即领土会持续失守。”

“When you lose territory, smart groups shift to guerrilla strategy and tactics, including targeted assassinations, ambushes, raids, bombings,” he added. “That is how you wear the enemy down.”
他还补充说：“当失去领土时，聪明的团队会转向游击战略和战术。这些策略包括有针对性的暗杀、伏击、突袭和轰炸。这就是击溃敌人的方式。”

Trump’s declaration that ISIS has been defeated is the second time the group has been described this way.
特朗普宣称 ISIS 被击溃，这是该组织第二次被这样形容了。

Recent estimates indicate that the Islamic State has more than 20 to 30 times the fighters it had the last time it was left for dead. Although many of its leaders have been killed, the group’s caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and several of his top deputies, are believed to be alive.
最近的估计表明，相比于上一次美军因“伊斯兰国”溃不成军而撤兵时该组织的规模，其现在的武装分子数量超过之前的 20 到 30 倍。尽管该组织的许多领导人已被杀，但人们认为“伊斯兰国”的首领（或称哈里发）阿布·巴克尔·巴格达迪，和他的几名高级副手还活着。

————— 文章来源 / 纽约时报

重点词汇

punch/pʌntʃ/
v. 用拳猛击，打击

• a punch in the face (n.)

guerrilla/ɡəˈrɪlə/
n. 游击队员

tactic/ˈtæktɪk/
n. 战术

stretch
（陆地或水域）连绵的一片, 连续的一段

• a stretch of highway

territory/ˈterətɔːri/
n. 领土，领域

all but
几乎；除…之外全部

• The subject was all but forgotten.

wipe out
消灭，彻底摧毁

obliterate/əˈblɪtəreɪt/
v. 毁掉，清除（痕迹）

• The snow had obliterated their footprints.

throes/θroʊz/
n. （分娩、死亡或巨大变化时的）阵痛；挣扎的痛苦

• The country was in the throes of revolutionary change.

pull (sb./sth.) out of
退出，撤出

• to stop being involved in sth.

shawarma/ʃəˈwɑːrmə/
n. 沙威玛

linear/ˈlɪniər/
adj. （进展）直线式的，线性的

• a linear narrative

assassination/əˌsæsɪˈneɪʃn/
n. 暗杀，刺杀

• assassinate v. 暗杀
• assassinate, murder
  assassinate 和 murder 略有不同，murder 指“谋杀”，通常是在秘密场所进行，杀害人的身份比较多样；而 assassinate 多指“暗杀”、“刺杀”，往往是在公共场所进行，目标对象多是政治人物或重要的知名人士。

ambush/ˈæmbʊʃ/
n. 埋伏，伏击

• The soldiers set up an ambush on the road.

raid/reɪd/
n. 突袭

• an air raid

wear down
消灭…斗志

• Looking after a high-spirited child can soon wear a person down.

leave for dead
把可能快死去的人或动物撇下不管

• They hit the dog with their car and left it for dead on the side of the road.

caliph/ˈkeɪlɪf/
n. 哈里发（尤指旧时穆斯林国家的统治者）

deputy/ˈdepjuti/
n. 副手，代理人