奥巴马发表反恐讲话安抚民心

Obama Says of Terrorist Threat: ‘We Will Overcome It’
奥巴马发表反恐讲话安抚民心

WASHINGTON ― President Obama sought on Sunday to calm a jittery American public after the terrorist attack last week in California, delivering a prime-time address designed to highlight the government’s campaign against an evolving threat.

华盛顿――继上周加州发生恐怖袭击之后，美国总统奥巴马力图安抚紧张不安的美国公众。他在周日的黄金时段发表讲话，突出强调美国政府针对不断升级的恐怖威胁所展开的行动。

Speaking from behind a lectern in the Oval Office, Mr. Obama bluntly acknowledged the heightened fears that followed attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino, Calif., which his administration over the weekend called an “act of terrorism” that was inspired, but not directed, by members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

奥巴马是站在椭圆办公室内的一个讲台后发表这番讲话的，他明确表示，巴黎和加州圣贝纳迪诺相继发生的恐怖袭击，加剧了人们的担忧。奥巴马政府在上周末称圣贝纳迪诺事件是受到伊拉克和叙利亚境内伊斯兰国成员启发的“恐怖主义行径”，但行动并非由他们指挥。

“The terrorist threat has evolved into a new phase,” Mr. Obama said. “I know that after so much war, many Americans are asking whether we are confronted by a cancer that has no immediate cure.”

“恐怖威胁已经演化到一个新的阶段，”奥巴马说。“我知道经过这样的长期斗争之后，很多美国人都在问，我们面对的是不是一种无法迅速治愈的癌症。”

He added: “The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it.”

他还表示，“恐怖主义的威胁不容否认，但我们必将战胜它。”

The president’s speech was not intended to announce a shift in strategy, or new policies to combat the terrorist threat at home and overseas. Rather, it was designed to inform Americans of the administration’s continuing efforts, and to urge Americans not to give in to fear.

奥巴马此番讲话的意图不在宣告他的政府政策有所转向，或在国内外抗击恐怖威胁方面有何新政策。只是为告诉美国公众，政府一直在努力解决这一问题，并呼吁美国人不要向恐惧低头。

In the prime-time speech, only his third from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama sought to reassure Americans by ramping up his public response to the massacre in San Bernardino.

在椭圆办公室内于黄金时段发表讲话，此前在奥巴马任内只发生过两次，他试图通过升级自己对于圣贝纳迪诺屠杀事件的公开反应，来安抚美国公众。

The rampage last week, which killed 14 people, was the first time that terrorists inspired by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, had successfully struck in the United States. It came shortly after the Paris attacks; assaults in Beirut, Lebanon; and the takedown of a Russian airliner over Egypt, all attributed to elements of the Islamic State.

上周发生的致14人死亡的暴行，是第一起在美国成功实施的、由伊斯兰国（也称ISIS或ISIL）启发的恐怖袭击。此前的巴黎和黎巴嫩贝鲁特恐怖袭击，以及一架俄罗斯客机在埃及坠毁，都和伊斯兰国的组织有关联。

For Mr. Obama, the arrival in the United States of successful attacks inspired by the Islamic State underscores urgent questions about the military and diplomatic effort initiated by his administration more than a year ago, when the group surged into Iraq, seizing territory there and in neighboring Syria.

对奥巴马而言，在美国境内发生由伊斯兰国引起的恐怖袭击，令人们愈发质疑他领导的政府在一年多前开启的军事和外交行动，伊斯兰国从那时大举进入伊拉克，在当地及邻国叙利亚攫取领土。

The decision to address the American people from the Oval Office, a venue he has largely shunned during his presidency, reflected the gravity of a subject that has come to define Mr. Obama’s presidency, especially in his second term. And it suggested the importance that the president and his advisers have placed on responding to mounting criticism of his strategy to defeat the group.

担任美国总统期间，奥巴马一般会避免在椭圆办公室这样的地方向美国公众发表讲话，此举反映了这件事在他的总统任期，尤其是第二任期内的重要性。同时也在表明，面对外界越来越多地指责打击伊斯兰国不利，奥巴马及其顾问十分重视这一次的回应。

The president has relied since the summer of 2014 on a combination of airstrikes, financial sanctions and targeted special operations to counter the growth of the Islamic State, while building a diplomatic coalition of dozens of nations and resisting any call for the reintroduction of large numbers of American ground troops in the Middle East.

自2014年夏以来，奥巴马主要依赖空中打击结合金融制裁和有针对性的特别行动来对抗力量不断增强的伊斯兰国。他和几十个国家建立起外交联盟，但一直拒绝响应再次往中东派驻大量地面部队的呼吁。

But despite thousands of airstrikes since then, the Islamic State militants continue to occupy large areas of land in the region. And a sophisticated social media campaign by the terror network has succeeded in helping it recruit believers across the globe, including, officials have said, in the United States.

尽管美国自那时起实施了数千次空中打击行动，但伊斯兰国在这一地区持续占领了大量领土。这个恐怖网络还通过社交媒体娴熟地展开宣传，成功地在全球招募信徒，有官员表示，其中不乏美国人。

After announcing that he would deliver Sunday’s address, Mr. Obama had initially decided to cancel his previously scheduled appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors event, which honors pioneers in the arts, on Sunday evening. But a few hours before the speech, the White House said he had reconsidered and would be going to the Kennedy Center after all.

在宣布自己将于周日发表讲话之后，奥巴马起初决定取消原定的于周日晚上出席肯尼迪中心荣誉奖颁奖活动的计划，该活动是为表彰为美国文化艺术领域的先驱人物。但是，在发表讲话几个小时前，白宫表示，奥巴马重新考虑了这一问题，最后决定依然前往肯尼迪中心参加颁奖活动。

In the short speech, Mr. Obama did not offer a new strategy or give ground to critics who claim he has been too cautious in the face of a mounting global threat. But the president repeated his call for a more intense effort by the coalition to counter the Islamic State on the ground, and for a renewed attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the civil war in Syria.

在这个简短的讲话中，奥巴马没有提出任何新策略，也没有就外界的指责――面对不断加重的全球威胁，他的态度过于谨慎――做出让步。但他反复呼吁反伊斯兰国联盟加强对该组织的地面打击，还呼吁各方再次为结束叙利亚内战寻求外交解决方案。

For weeks, the president has sought to reassure Americans that they remain secure at home, while chiding politicians and others for what he described as their giving in to fears stoked by terrorists. In the days after the Paris attacks, Mr. Obama repeatedly urged people not to let fear of further assaults turn them against Muslims or others in the country.

过去几周，奥巴马竭力让美国公众相信他们在国内依然安全，他形容一些政客和其他人是向恐怖主义者引发的恐惧低头，并对此进行指责。在巴黎袭击事件发生后的几天里，奥巴马反复呼吁，不要因为担心会发生更多袭击，而对国内的穆斯林或其他人产生敌意。

At the same time, Mr. Obama has sought to use the attack in San Bernardino, as he has used other recent mass shootings, to advocate stricter gun laws in the United States. Initially, Mr. Obama’s reaction to the deaths in San Bernardino was similar to speeches he gave after shootings in Roseburg, Ore., and Charleston, S.C. ― somber, saddened and more determined to implement new gun restrictions.

与此同时，和他就近期发生的其他大规模枪击事件发表的评论一样，奥巴马也竭力利用圣贝纳迪诺的袭击对人们的影响，倡导在美国实行更严格的枪支管制。一开始，奥巴马就圣贝纳迪诺遇难者所做的讲话，与他之前在俄勒冈州罗斯堡和弗吉尼亚州查尔斯顿枪击事件之后的类似，都显得沉重而悲伤，对实施新的枪支限制表现出了更坚决的态度。