關於美英法空襲敘利亞,你需要了解的七大問題

LONDON — The United States, in coordination with France and Britain, carried out a series of predawn airstrikes on Saturday in Syria in response to what it said was a chemical weapons attack this month in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma.

倫敦——週六，美國聯同法國和英國，在黎明前對敘利亞進行了一連串空中打擊，以迴應本月在大馬士革郊區杜馬發生的所謂化學武器襲擊事件，那裏是反對派的地盤。

The strikes were the latest development in a long-running and complex conflict with consequences far beyond Syria itself — including in the United States, Iran, Russia and other parts of Europe.

這次空襲是一場曠日持久的複雜衝突之最新進展，其後果遠超敘利亞本身——還會將美國、伊朗、俄羅斯和歐洲其他地區包括在內。

Here are seven takeaways from the airstrikes and their aftermath:

以下是本次空襲及其後果的七個要點：

The strikes were intense, limited.

本次襲擊是猛烈的、有限度的。

The United States and its allies tried to walk a fine line with the airstrikes, sending a strong message to President Bashar Assad of Syria without provoking a military response from Russia and Iran, Assad’s two strongest allies.

美國及其盟友小心把握本次空襲的分寸，既要向敘利亞總統巴沙爾·阿薩德(Bashar al-Assad)發出強有力的信息，又不能激起阿薩德最強大的兩位盟友——俄羅斯和伊朗的軍事反擊。

The operation on Saturday was more powerful than an airstrike ordered by President Donald Trump last year — this time there were three targets, rather than one, requiring twice as many weapons. But it was limited to one night, at least for the moment; was specifically aimed at chemical weapons facilities’ and steered clear of Russian soldiers and bases.

與唐納德·特朗普總統去年下令發動的那次空襲相比，週六的行動更加有力——這一次，目標不是一個，而是三個，需要的武器達兩倍之多。但只侷限於一晚——至少目前如此；並且專門針對化武設施，避開了俄羅斯的士兵和軍事基地。

“Right now this is a one-time shot, and I believe it has sent a very strong message to dissuade him, to deter him from doing it again,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said of Assad, although Trump suggested there might be more to come. “We are prepared to sustain this response,” he said, until Syria abandons its use of chemical weapons.

“目前這是一次性打擊，我相信它已經傳遞了十分強硬的信息來阻止他，防止他再這麼做，”國防部長吉姆·馬蒂斯(Jim Mattis)在談到阿薩德時說道，儘管特朗普表示可能還會有更多行動。“我們準備維持這一反應，”他說，直到敘利亞放棄使用化學武器。

The U.S. chose not to wait.

美國選擇不再等待。

The United States and its allies went ahead with the airstrikes in the face of several developments that suggested they could be delayed.

儘管一些事態發展表明可以推遲打擊行動，美國及其盟友還是繼續實施了空襲。

Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday to investigate the attack in Douma, the group said in a post on Twitter.

禁止化學武器組織(Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)在Twitter上表示，該組織的檢查人員已在週六抵達敘利亞大馬士革，對本次發生在杜馬的襲擊展開調查。

Mattis was working to slow the move toward a military response, concerned that a missile strike could spark a wider conflict between Russia, Iran and the West.

馬蒂斯曾努力減緩軍事迴應的進程，擔心導彈襲擊將引發俄羅斯、伊朗和西方之間更大範圍的衝突。

And Trump sent mixed signals about timing. On Wednesday, he warned Russia on Twitter that missiles “will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!'” But the next day, he added: “Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!”

而關於時機，特朗普發出了混亂信號。週三，他在Twitter上警告俄羅斯，稱導彈“會來的，又好又新又智能”。但第二天，他又說：“從沒說過什麼時候會對敘利亞發動襲擊。可能很快，也可能不是很快！”

At a news conference Saturday morning, Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain said that the strikes had been “the right thing to do,” in part for the “operational security” of those carrying them out.

英國首相特麗莎·梅(Theresa May)在週六上午的新聞發佈會上表示，本次襲擊是“一件正確的事”，部分是出於確保襲擊執行者的“行動安全”。

Assad absorbed another blow.

阿薩德再受打擊。

The airstrikes sent an unambiguous message to Assad, and it was not clear that it would change his thinking. He remained firmly in power thanks to the support of Russia and Iran.

本次空襲向阿薩德傳遞了明確信息，但是否會改變他的想法目前尚不清楚。由於有着俄羅斯和伊朗的支持，他仍然權力穩固。

Assad has essentially been under siege since the Syrian civil war began more than seven years ago. In that time, he has dealt with the war, airstrikes, sanctions, Islamic State militants, a variety of rebel groups and a crumbling economy.

自敘利亞內戰於七年多前開始以來，阿薩德基本上一直深陷困境。在這段時間裏，他應對過戰爭、空襲、制裁、伊斯蘭激進分子、各種反抗組織以及崩潰的經濟。

As Syrian state media reported that many of the missiles had been intercepted, the Syrian presidency’s Twitter account posted a video that appeared to show Assad showing up for just another day at the office.

敘利亞的官方媒體報道稱許多導彈已被攔截，敘利亞的總統Twitter賬號也同時發佈了一段視頻，顯示阿薩德照常出現在了辦公室。

The events depicted could not be independently verified.

所稱事件未能得到獨立覈實。

Capitol Hill remained divided.

美國國會仍然處於分裂狀態。

The reaction in Washington was divided along party lines, with the strikes bringing praise from Republicans and criticism from Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House minority leader.

華盛頓的反應依黨派涇渭分明，軍事打擊引起共和黨人讚揚，亦招致加州民主黨議員、衆議院少數黨領袖南希·佩洛西(Nancy Pelosi)等民主黨人的批評。

“The Butcher of Damascus learned two lessons tonight the hard way,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in a statement. “Weapons of mass destruction won’t create a military advantage once the United States is done with you and Russia cannot protect its clients from the United States.”

“大馬士革屠夫今晚以殘酷的方式得到了兩個教訓，”阿肯色州共和黨參議員湯姆·科頓(Tom Cotton)在一份聲明中說。“一旦美國打算對付你，大規模殺傷性武器也不會產生軍事優勢；還有，俄羅斯也無法保護其委託人不受美國威脅。”

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., complained that Trump had not sought permission from Congress. Proceeding with the strikes, he said, was “illegal and — absent a broader strategy — it’s reckless.”

弗吉尼亞州民主黨參議員蒂姆·凱恩(Tim Kaine)抱怨特朗普沒有向國會申請許可。他說，軍事打擊是“非法的——而且缺乏更大的戰略，是魯莽的做法。”

Russia deploys angry rhetoric.

俄羅斯憤怒喊話。

Russia called for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council, and offered some harsh warnings before the attack. (At the meeting, the Security Council rejected a Russian resolution condemning the missile strikes.) But the speed and the tone of the Russian reaction on Saturday, stressing that the attack had not resulted in a direct confrontation and was rather limited, suggested almost relief on the part of the Kremlin.

俄羅斯要求聯合國安理會召開緊急會議，並在襲擊發生前，發出了嚴厲警告。（在會上，安理會拒絕了俄羅斯關於譴責導彈襲擊的決議。）但週六俄羅斯反應的速度和口氣——強調此次襲擊沒有導致直接對抗，而且後果相當有限——表明克里姆林宮幾乎是鬆了一口氣。

According to Russian state news media, President Vladimir Putin condemned the missile strikes as an “act of aggression against a sovereign state” and against the United Nations Charter.

據俄羅斯國家新聞媒體報道，弗拉基米爾·普京(Vladimir Putin)總統譴責導彈襲擊是“侵略主權國家的行爲”，違背了《聯合國憲章》。

May avoided a conflict at home.

梅避免了一場國內衝突。

May has said she believed there was a need to send a strong message about the use of chemical weapons, but she also had compelling diplomatic and political reasons to support the United States — and to carry out the strikes as soon as possible.

梅說，她認爲有必要發出關於使用化學武器的強烈信息，但她也有令人信服的外交和政治理由來支持美國，並儘快實施空襲。

One imperative was the desire to reciprocate the support London has received from the United States in the dispute with Russia over the poisoning of a former spy, Sergei V. Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia S. Skripal, on British soil.

英國與俄羅斯就前英國間諜謝爾蓋·V·斯克裏帕爾(Sergei V. Skripal)及其女兒尤莉亞·S·斯克裏帕爾(Yulia S. Skripal)在英國領土被下毒一事產生爭端，在這個過程中，英國獲得了美國的支持，現在它急欲對此做出回報。

May, who made an explicit connection between the airstrikes in Syria and the poisoning of the Skripals, benefited from the timing of the airstrikes, two days before lawmakers were to return from vacation. While not obligated to consult Parliament, she may have felt constrained to do so and could easily have lost a vote on a strike, as her predecessor David Cameron did in 2013.

梅在對敘利亞的空襲和斯克裏帕爾父女被下毒這兩件事之間建立起明確的聯繫；此外，空襲發生在議員們休假歸來的兩天前，這個時機也令她從中受益。儘管她沒有義務與議會商討，但她可能覺得最好還是不要這樣做，空襲投票恐怕難以通過，她的前任戴維·卡梅倫(David Cameron)在2013年就是這樣。

Britain also wants to prove its use as an ally to Trump at a time when its international influence is under question because of its withdrawal from the European Union, and when it hopes to strengthen trade ties with the United States.

英國也希望證明自己身爲特朗普盟友的作用，因爲目前它的國際影響力因退出歐盟而受到質疑，而它也希望加強與美國的貿易關係。

For France, a red line was crossed.

對法國來說，化學武器越過了紅線。

President Emmanuel Macron had prepared his nation for this moment: He had discussed the possibility of airstrikes and made clear early in his presidency that the use of chemical weapons was a red line.

埃馬紐埃爾·馬克龍(Emmanuel Macron)總統早已令法國爲這一刻做好了準備：他曾討論過空襲的可能性，並在擔任總統之初就明確表示過，使用化學武器是一條紅線。