奧巴馬授權美軍在敘利亞展開空襲
The Obama administration has decided to provide air cover to the Syrian rebels it has trained if they come under attack by the Assad regime, potentially deepening the US role in the four-year old Syrian conflict.
奧巴馬(Obama)政府決定，如果美國訓練的敘利亞反政府武裝遭到阿薩德(Assad)政權的攻擊，美國將爲前者提供空中掩護。此舉可能會讓美國更深地介入已歷時4年的敘利亞衝突。
The Syrian fighters are being trained by the US to take on Islamist militants from Isis but there is also a chance that they could also come under attack from Assad regime forces.
這些敘利亞戰士正在接受美國訓練，以對抗來自“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)的伊斯蘭主義武裝分子，但是他們也有可能遭到阿薩德政權武裝力量的攻擊。
The administration has been reluctant to discuss any military action against the Assad regime for fear that it could lead to greater US involvement in the civil war, but felt it was necessary to provide greater assurances to the fledgling rebel force it has been building up.
奧巴馬政府一直不願討論任何針對阿薩德政權的軍事行動，因爲它擔心這可能會讓美國更深地介入敘利亞內戰，但它認爲有必要爲它正在打造的、羽翼未豐的敘反政府武裝提供更大保障。
The decision, made by President Barack Obama, comes after some US-trained rebels were attacked on Friday by elements of the Nusra Front, a jihadi group in Syria that is allied with al-Qaeda. The US was forced to conduct airstrikes to defend the troops.
美國總統巴拉克攠巴馬(Barack Obama)做出這一決定前，美國訓練的一些敘反政府武裝人員在上週五遭到努斯拉陣線(Nusra Front)分子的襲擊。美國被迫實施了空襲，以保護這些敘反政府武裝人員。努斯拉陣線是敘利亞的一個聖戰組織，與基地組織(al-Qaeda)結盟。
The attack from a rival rebel group underlined the perilous position of the US-trained forces in Syria, who could potentially find themselves fighting on three different fronts — against Isis, the Assad regime and other insurgents who are opposed to the US.
這些敘反政府武裝人員遭到一個與之敵對的反政府組織的攻擊，凸顯出美國在敘利亞訓練的武裝力量面對的危險處境——他們可能會發現自己正處於三線作戰之中：要同時對抗ISIS、阿薩德政權以及其他敵視美國的反叛分子。
The Pentagon programme to train rebels has already come in for sharp criticism because of its slow pace, with only around 60 troops so far being produced.
美國國防部訓練敘反政府武裝的計劃已因進展緩慢而招致嚴厲批評，目前該計劃僅訓練出約60名戰士。
The decision to support the rebels in a fight with Assad forces follows the announcement last week that the US would work more closely with Turkey in the fight against Isis in Syria, including launching air strikes from Turkish bases and a plan to clear an area of the Turkish-Syria border held by the jihadi group. Turkey has been pressuring the US for the past two years to do more to defeat the Assad regime.
在支持敘反政府武裝與阿薩德軍隊作戰的決定做出前，美國上週剛剛宣佈將就在敘利亞打擊ISIS與土耳其建立更緊密合作，其中包括從土耳其的基地發動空襲、以及一項對土敘邊境某塊由ISIS控制的區域展開掃蕩的計劃。過去兩年，土耳其一直向美國施壓，要求後者採取更多行動挫敗阿薩德政權。
US officials insist that the issue is a largely theoretical one because the rebel force it is training is unlikely to come into contact with troops from the Assad regime.
美國官員堅持認爲，該問題在很大程度上停留在理論層面，因爲美國訓練的敘反政府武裝不太可能與阿薩德政權的軍隊發生接觸。
They say that in the areas of Syria where the US air force has been operating against Isis, it has prompted no reaction from government forces. “We made it clear to the Syrian regime that we’re there to strike Isil [Isis] and so far they have clearly gotten that message,” a senior US official said last week.
他們稱，在美國空軍對ISIS採取軍事行動的敘利亞區域，並未引發政府軍的任何反應。“我們向敘利亞政權清楚表明了，我們在那裏是爲了打擊ISIS，迄今爲止他們顯然領會到了這一信息，”美國一名高級官員上週表示。
The White House and the Pentagon refused to comment on Sunday evening on the decision, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
上週日晚，白宮以及五角大樓拒絕就該決定置評。該決定最先由《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)報道。
Ali Baskey, a spokesperson, for the National Security Council, said: “We view the Syrian forces trained and equipped by the Department of Defense as partners in the counter-Isil effort. These forces are being provided with a wide range of Coalition support in their mission to counter-Isil, which includes defensive fires support to protect them.
白宮國家安全委員會(NSC)發言人阿里巴斯基(Ali Baskey)稱：“我們將國防部訓練及裝備的敘利亞武裝視爲反ISIS鬥爭中的合作伙伴。這些武裝在執行反ISIS任務時得到盟軍的廣泛支持，其中包括旨在保護他們的防禦性火力支持。
“We won’t get into the specifics of our rules of engagement, but have said all along that we would take the steps necessary to ensure that these forces could successfully carry out their mission. We demonstrated our resolve in this respect on Friday.”
“我們不會討論我們交戰規則的細節，但我們始終表示，我們會採取必要措施確保這些武裝得以成功執行他們的任務。週五，我們在這方面展示了我們的決心。”
