在GRE阅读的备考中，同学们也不要忘了积累阅读经验哦。出国留学网GRE栏目为大家带来GRE政治类阅读France, Africa and terrorism，希望能帮到大家!
GRE政治类阅读France, Africa and terrorism
France, Africa and terrorism——An African journey
法国，非洲和恐怖主义：非洲之行
The French government has new African worries in the Sahel
法国政府对萨赫勒地区忧心忡忡
It is a rite of passage for every new French president to head to French-speaking Africa and reaffirm faith in la Francophonie. So it was with Francois Hollande, who has just visited Senegaland the Democratic Republic of Congo. Like his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, he said “francafrique”—the cosy post-colonial ties of party financing, arms, contracts and influence—was over and that human rights were paramount. He praised the shared use of French, “language of liberty”. But behind the warm words lie grimmer concerns, the biggest being the entrenchment of terror networks in the al-Qaeda-held Sahel.
每个新上任的法国总统都要经历这样一个仪式：走访非洲讲法语的国家，并重申其对法语区的忠诚。法国总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德刚刚访问了塞内加尔和刚果民主共和国。和前任总统尼科拉·萨科奇一样，他强调“法兰西非洲”——这个包含政府融资、武器输送、契约协定、施加影响在内的”亲密“的后殖民关系——将不复存在，人权才是至高无上的。他对共同使用法语的做法大加赞赏，称之为“语言自由”。但是在这一番温暖人心的话语背后却隐藏着深切的担忧，尤其是针对萨赫勒地区的基地组织网络的防卫工事。
Islamist fighters tied to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have ruled a big swathe of northern Mali since March, dividing the country in two. In the far north extreme sharia law is being applied. Mr Hollande spoke in Senegal of “a reign of terror” in Mali, with “hands cut off, women raped and an area awash with weapons”. There are also two French hostages in Mali, whose families the president has just met in Paris, as well as four in Niger.
3月份以来，伊斯兰北非基地组织的武装分子们已经控制了马里北部的大部分地区，马里被分成了两片，其遥远的北部开始施行极端伊斯兰教法。在塞内加尔，奥朗德怒斥其为“恐怖统治”马里，“人质双手被砍断，妇女被奸淫和机枪扫荡了整个地区。”还有2个法国人质被困在马里，奥朗德总统刚在巴黎会见了他们的家人，除此之外，尼日尔也有4名受困人质。
Despite France’s reluctance to play post-colonial gendarme, Mr. Hollande is starting to sound tougher on Mali. During his African trip, he tried to rally regional leaders to the cause. Manuel Valls, the interior minister, visited Algeria to narrow differences. France drafted a UN Security Council resolution, unanimously adopted on October 12th, that authorizes the dispatch of an African force to retake rebel-held territory in Mali. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defense minister, says such a force could be ready “within weeks”.
尽管法国不愿意扮演后殖民宪兵的角色，但是奥朗德先生已经对马里问题发表了严正声明。在这次非洲之旅中，他试图号召地区领导人加入这项事业。法国内政部长曼纽尔·瓦尔斯拜访了阿尔及利亚以试图缩小分歧。法国起草了一份联合国安理会决议，批准派遣一支驻非洲军队以重新夺回反动派在马里控制的地区，该决议受到一致通过，并于10月12日施行。法国国防部长让一伊夫·勒德里昂表示“几周之内”就能组建好一支驻非队伍。
Yet his enthusiasm may be overdone. The plan is that a force would be made up of troops from Mali and other countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).But, even if willing ones can be lined up, regional forces do not have the capacity to mount an offensive operation without logistical and intelligence support. The French are ready to contribute, but have ruled out sending in ground troops. Although the European Union says it will send trainers under an EU flag, the Americans are reluctant to get involved.
然而，他信誓旦旦的表态似乎有些夸张了。他们原计划由马里和其他西非国家经济体国家的军队组成一支军事力量。但是，即使这些有意愿的国家可以组成一支队伍，但是地方军队在没有后勤和情报支持的情况下却不能发动袭击行动。法国已经准备好了付诸行动，但是却不会派遣地面部队。尽管欧盟表示他们会在欧盟的旗帜下派遣训练员，美国却不愿意卷入其中。
France’s anxiety is that, if nothing is done, the Sahel might become a crucible for Islamist terrorism. “What makes people very nervous is the idea that it will become Africa’s Afghanistan,” says Francois Heisbourg of the Foundation for Strategic Research, a think-tank. France, with its colonial history and commercial ties, is an obvious target. One Malian Islamist group has explicitly threatened Mr. Hollande since his push for military action, and said that French hostages are in GREater danger.
法国担心的是，如果不采取行动，萨赫勒地区可能会成为伊斯兰恐怖主义的聚集地。“最让民众所担忧的是马里可能会变成非洲的阿富汗，”战略研究基金会的研究员弗朗索瓦·海斯伯格说道。拥有殖民历史和贸易关系的法国很显然会成为恐怖分子袭击目标。一支驻马里的伊斯兰组织已经对奥朗德推进军事行动的行为发表了明确的威胁，宣传法国人质将会更加危险。
As it is, France is already fretting about terrorist threats. Although there is no direct link to AQIM, French police dismantled an Islamist cell in France earlier this month, arresting 12suspects and shooting one dead. Two were wanted in connection with an attack on a kosher grocer in a Paris suburb last month, which rattled France’s big Jewish population. Seven have been charged with terrorist offences.
事实上，法国已经开始担心恐怖主义威胁。本月初，法国警方捣毁了位于法国的一个伊斯兰组织，抓捕了12个嫌疑人，并击毙了一人，虽然他们与伊斯兰北非基地组织并没有直接联系。还有两个嫌犯正在被通缉，他们与上个月巴黎郊区发生的一起袭击犹太食品杂货店的案件有关，这使法国犹太群体人心惶惶。其中七个人以恐怖袭击罪被起诉。
Francois Molins, the Paris public prosecutor, called the cell “extremely dangerous”. Some suspects were French converts to Islam. The threat is “increasingly coming from within”, Mr. Valls told the Senate, adding that radicalization can take a matter of months. The country was shocked earlier this year when seven people, including three Jewish children and a rabbi, were shot dead in Toulouse by a French Islamist who claimed to have been trained by al-Qaeda. The surveillance of radicals has been stepped up. Mr Valls is putting a law before parliament to give the police new powers to pursue French nationals abroad suspected of links to terrorism or of attending foreign training camps. With or without a French-backed operation in Mali, France is on high alert.
法国公共检察官弗朗索瓦·莫林斯声称这个组织“非常危险”，一些嫌疑人是皈依伊斯兰教的法国人。“越来越多的威胁来自我们的内部”，瓦尔斯先生通告参议院，并强调极端主义可能会持续几个月。今年年初，图尔兹发生的惨案令法国震惊，包括三名犹太小孩和一名法师在内的七个公民被击毙。凶手是法国伊斯兰教主义者，他声称受到基地组织的训练。法国已经加强了对激进分子的监控。瓦尔斯先生正在向议会提交一部法律，该法律将赋予警方追踪可能与恐怖主义有联系的或参加外国训练营的在外法国公民的新权力。不管法国有没有插手马里的运动，他们都将处于高级戒备状态。
GRE阅读栏目推荐：