PBS高端访谈:巴塞罗那旅游区爆发汽车恐袭
时间:2019-02-17 作者:英语课 分类:PBS访谈社会系列
英语课
Thirteen killed, scores more hurt, two arrests, grim results of today's attack in Barcelona, where a speeding vehicle vaulted 1 a sidewalk and drove down its victims.
It follows similar attacks across Europe, and, last weekend, in Charlottesville, Virginia.
For more, we turn to Lorenzo Vidino, who leads the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
Spain hasn't been the -- hasn't been the site of these attacks. We have seen a lot of focus on London and also in France.
Yes. I think the last time Spain was hit was in 2004, when we had the Madrid bombings.
But since the mobilization in Europe has been ISIS-linked,
Spain has not been touched by the same levels of radicalization and mobilization and by attacks as some of the Central, Northern European countries have. Why is that?
It's for a variety of reasons, but mostly mobilization in Europe for ISIS has been a second-generation phenomenon.
And the Southern European countries, like Spain, like Italy, do not have a large number of second-generation Muslims, people who are born and raised in those countries.
So, I'm not saying that Spain has not been touched by the phenomenon of radicalization.
We have problems. If you are looking at the two enclaves, Spanish enclaves in Moroccan territory, south of Melilla,
where apparently 2 at least one of the attackers came from, those areas have had a lot of problems,
but mainland Spain has not been hit with the same intensity 3 in terms of numbers of people radicalized,
in terms of foreign fighters, as, let's say, France, or U.K., or Germany or Belgium.
How good are the security systems in place in Spain where the individuals that might have been behind this, were they on the radar 4?
Do they have a radar keeping track?
Since 2004, Spain has increased its counterterrorism capabilities 5.
Let's also remember this is a country that has been hit by another form of terrorism, the Basque national terrorism, ETA, for a long, long time.
So it is a country that has an experience in dealing 6 with terrorism.
Obviously, as any other law enforcement or intelligence throughout Europe or in the United States as well, they can't intercept 7 everything, they can't monitor everything.
They have disrupted quite a few plots over the last few years.
There have been hundreds of people been arrested, this, again, in a country that has not seen the levels of mobilization of other European countries.
In Barcelona itself, a plot was thwarted 8 last year, pretty sophisticated one.
Having said that, obviously, it's the experience of everybody from Europe to the United States that something always falls through the cracks.
I think we will see over the next few hours whether those individuals who carried out the attack are known to law enforcement,
as it is often the case, or not known, what happened, and I think that's something we will pull have to see.
This particular area is very popular with tourists. But the method of attack now, using a car, using a van, using anything, it's almost unstoppable.
It is. I think you have seen a lot of European countries have put barriers in pedestrian areas.
To be honest, I'm a bit surprised that the city of Barcelona or Spanish authorities have not done that in an area that is hugely popular with tourists.
I think Barcelona is one of the top three destinations for tourists.
And Las Ramblas is really the main pedestrian area. So, any time of the day or night, it is flooded with tourists.
And the fact that a van could go in, I think it's probably something that will need to be discussed in the aftermath of the attack.
But, obviously, you can't stop everything. You can't block city centers. You can't close down places like arenas 9. We had an attack in Manchester. Or any kind of social life.
So, obviously, as any country, and I think we have seen that in the States as well, certain precautions have been taken, but you cannot stop life. You cannot militarize our cities.
What about the coordination 10 between Interpol, other European countries? Are they sharing information fast enough between countries to say,
you might have a threat here, here are three or four people that just crossed our border into yours?
It has gotten much better compared to a few years back. It is not perfect.
Interpol does a good job. But there are a lot of limitations in what can be done.
And I think you still have political jealousies 11, diffidence, even in some cases within individual countries. I think, to some degree, that would apply to Spain.
I'm not saying this is the case right now, but there are political tensions between Catalonia,
which wants to be an independent country, and it's an autonomous 12 region inside Spain, and the Spanish central government.
And, sometimes, that's has repercussions 13 also on counterintelligence and intelligence-sharing.
Sharing information in real time is problematic at the European level, at the international level.
All right, Lorenzo Vidino, who leads the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, thanks so much. Thank you.
In a series of tweets, President Trump 14 condemned 15 the attack and offered help to the people of Spain.
He also raised again a claim that the U.S. Army used bullets dipped in pig's blood to quell 16 Muslim rebels in the Philippines years ago. The story has been widely debunked 17. undefined
adj.拱状的
- She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
- The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
- An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
- He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
- I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
- The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
n.雷达,无线电探测器
- They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
- Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力
- He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大,自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
- Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为,标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
n.经商方法,待人态度
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
vt.拦截,截住,截击
- His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
- Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。
阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过
- The guards thwarted his attempt to escape from prison. 警卫阻扰了他越狱的企图。
- Our plans for a picnic were thwarted by the rain. 我们的野餐计划因雨受挫。
表演场地( arena的名词复数 ); 竞技场; 活动或斗争的场所或场面; 圆形运动场
- Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
- Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗?
n.协调,协作
- Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
- The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好,使演出更具魅力。
n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 );妒羡
- They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句
adj.自治的;独立的
- They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
- This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
n.后果,反响( repercussion的名词复数 );余波
- The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
- Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
- He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
- The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
v.压制,平息,减轻
- Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
- The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。
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