奥巴马授权美军在叙利亚展开空袭
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.
奥巴马(Obama)政府决定，如果美国训练的叙利亚反政府武装遭到阿萨德(Assad)政权的攻击，美国将为前者提供空中掩护。此举可能会让美国更深地介入已历时4年的叙利亚冲突。
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.
这些叙利亚战士正在接受美国训练，以对抗来自“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)的伊斯兰主义武装分子，但是他们也有可能遭到阿萨德政权武装力量的攻击。
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.
奥巴马政府一直不愿讨论任何针对阿萨德政权的军事行动，因为它担心这可能会让美国更深地介入叙利亚内战，但它认为有必要为它正在打造的、羽翼未丰的叙反政府武装提供更大保障。
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.
美国总统巴拉克攠巴马(Barack Obama)做出这一决定前，美国训练的一些叙反政府武装人员在上周五遭到努斯拉阵线(Nusra Front)分子的袭击。美国被迫实施了空袭，以保护这些叙反政府武装人员。努斯拉阵线是叙利亚的一个圣战组织，与基地组织(al-Qaeda)结盟。
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.
这些叙反政府武装人员遭到一个与之敌对的反政府组织的攻击，凸显出美国在叙利亚训练的武装力量面对的危险处境——他们可能会发现自己正处于三线作战之中：要同时对抗ISIS、阿萨德政权以及其他敌视美国的反叛分子。
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.
美国国防部训练叙反政府武装的计划已因进展缓慢而招致严厉批评，目前该计划仅训练出约60名战士。
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.
在支持叙反政府武装与阿萨德军队作战的决定做出前，美国上周刚刚宣布将就在叙利亚打击ISIS与土耳其建立更紧密合作，其中包括从土耳其的基地发动空袭、以及一项对土叙边境某块由ISIS控制的区域展开扫荡的计划。过去两年，土耳其一直向美国施压，要求后者采取更多行动挫败阿萨德政权。
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.
美国官员坚持认为，该问题在很大程度上停留在理论层面，因为美国训练的叙反政府武装不太可能与阿萨德政权的军队发生接触。
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.
他们称，在美国空军对ISIS采取军事行动的叙利亚区域，并未引发政府军的任何反应。“我们向叙利亚政权清楚表明了，我们在那里是为了打击ISIS，迄今为止他们显然领会到了这一信息，”美国一名高级官员上周表示。
The White House and the Pentagon refused to comment on Sunday evening on the decision, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
上周日晚，白宫以及五角大楼拒绝就该决定置评。该决定最先由《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)报道。
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.
白宫国家安全委员会(NSC)发言人阿里巴斯基(Ali Baskey)称：“我们将国防部训练及装备的叙利亚武装视为反ISIS斗争中的合作伙伴。这些武装在执行反ISIS任务时得到盟军的广泛支持，其中包括旨在保护他们的防御性火力支持。
“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.”
“我们不会讨论我们交战规则的细节，但我们始终表示，我们会采取必要措施确保这些武装得以成功执行他们的任务。周五，我们在这方面展示了我们的决心。”
