【大西洋月刊】：美国可能再次打击叙利亚 [美国媒体]

Another Strike on Syria Could Be Coming

美国可能再次打击叙利亚



A suspected chemical-weapons attack in Douma, a rebel-controlled town in Eastern Ghouta, has killed dozens of people, an aid group said, blaming Syria’s Assad regime for the assault on the suburb of Damascus.   

一个救援组织称，在东部古塔叛军控制的杜玛镇，一场疑似的化学武器袭击，已经造成数十人死亡，该组织谴责叙利亚的阿萨德政权在大马士革郊区发动了该袭击。

The Syrian regime dismissed the claim made by the aid group, the White Helmets, calling it a “fabrication” by Jaish al-Islam, the Islamist group that controls the town. Russia, which supports the Assad regime in the seven-year-long civil war, also rejected the claim. The U.S. State Department in a statement said it was following the reports on Saturday’s attack, adding that Russia “ultimately bears responsibility” for the attack and its consequences. But perhaps the strongest words of criticism over the attack came from President Trump:
Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price.......to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!

叙利亚政权否认了援助组织“白头盔”的说法，称这是由控制该镇的伊斯兰军“捏造”的。在长达7年的内战中一直支持阿萨德政权的俄罗斯，也拒绝了这一说法。美国国务院在一份声明中说，它们正密切关注周六袭击事件的报道，并补充说，俄罗斯“最终对袭击及其后果负有责任”。但是，对这次袭击最激烈的批评来自特朗普总统：
“在叙利亚，包括妇女和儿童在内的许多人都死于盲目的化学攻击。暴行发生的区域被叙利亚军队封锁和包围，使外界完全无法进入。普京、俄罗斯和伊朗要为支持阿萨德负责任，要付出沉重的代价。但仍然为了医疗救助和调查应该立即开放该区域。又一场毫无理由的人道主义灾难。令人恶心!”

The remarks on Twitter are not only the strongest condemnation so far of the attack on Douma. They are also perhaps one of the only times Trump, who has been accused of failing to explicitly condemn Russia and its president’s actions in the U.S. presidential elections and elsewhere, has directly criticized Vladimir Putin. It was Putin’s intervention in the Syrian civil war in October 2015 that decisively shifted the conflict in Bashar al-Assad’s favor. (Iran, who Trump also blamed in his tweet, is another of Assad’s supporters, but has been absent from the strikes on Eastern Ghouta.)

在推特上的言论，不仅是迄今对杜玛袭击事件最强烈的谴责。这可能也是由于没有明确谴责俄罗斯及及其总统在美国大选和其他方面的所作所为，而饱受指责的特朗普，唯一一次直接批评弗拉基米尔·普京。这是由于普京在2015年10月对叙利亚内战的干预，决定性地改变了叙利亚的冲突局面，使其变得对巴沙尔有利。（特朗普在他的推特上也指责伊朗，是阿萨德的另一个支持者，但在东姑塔的罢工中却缺席了。）

The last time Trump was incensed by a chemical-weapons attack in Syria was in April 2017 when he ordered military strikes against Assad’s facilities. At the time, Trump had seemed particularly affected by the images of children suffering as a result of Assad’s attack, telling reporters: “When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal—people were shocked to hear what gas it was. That crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line, many, many lines.”

上一次特朗普被叙利亚化学武器袭击激怒，是在2017年4月，当时他下令对阿萨德的设施进行军事打击。当时，特朗普似乎尤其受到了阿萨德袭击事件中儿童的影响，他对记者说：“当你杀害无辜的儿童、无辜的婴儿、婴儿、婴儿，以及释放一种致命的化学气体时，人们就会很震惊地猜想它是什么气体。它跨越了许多条线，越过了红线，许多条线。”

After Saturday’s attack on Douma, the White Helmets posted graphic images and videos on Twitter of the impact of the alleged attack on civilians in Douma. It said more than 40 people, including children, were killed and dozens wounded, adding the death toll was likely to increase. It said civilians had suffocated  after Assad’s aerial bombardment of the area.

在周六对杜马的攻击之后，“白头盔”组织在推特上发布了图片和视频，显示了所谓的对杜玛平民的袭击的影响。报告称，包括儿童在内的40多人死亡，数十人受伤，死亡人数可能还会增加。它还说，在阿萨德对该地区进行空中轰炸后，平民因窒息而死。

The use of chemical weapons is prohibited under international treaties—pacts to which Syria is a signatory. While the graphic nature of the attacks is incontestable, the fact remains that the Assad regime has caused widespread devastation using conventional weapons in the Syrian civil war that began in March 2011: More than 500,000 people have been killed, the war has created more than 5 million Syrian refugees, and entire cities have been flattened.
Douma is the last rebel redoubt in Eastern Ghouta, the area outside Damascus that Assad continued to bomb despite a 30-day, UN-mandated ceasefire that went into effect in February and lapsed the following month. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Eastern Ghouta and the rebels have been pushed out of most of the area, save for Douma, the town that was struck Saturday.

在国际条约中禁止使用化学武器——叙利亚是该条约的签署国。而图形性质的攻击是无可争辩的,而事实是,阿萨德政权使用常规武器挑起大范围的叙利亚内战,2011年3月开始:超过500000人丧生,战争导致了超过500万叙利亚难民,当然许多城市都被夷为平地。
杜玛是大马士革以外地区的最后一个叛军堡垒，在大马士革以外的地区，阿萨德继续轰炸，尽管有30天的联合国授权的停火协议在2月生效，并在接下来的一个月失效。超过1 000名平民在古塔东部被杀，叛军失去了大部分领地，除了星期六被袭击的城镇杜玛。

The attack—and what the White House will do next—is further complicated by the fact the Trump administration’s policy toward Syria appears muddled. Last week, the White House said the U.S. military’s mission in Syria “to eradicate ISIS … is coming to a rapid end.” That statement, which was attributed to the White House press secretary, did not set a timetable for a withdrawal of the approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. But news reports indicated that Trump, who two weeks ago said the United States would leave Syria “very soon,” was unhappy with the U.S. military’s continued presence in the country and wanted troops out within six months. Trump’s tweets on Sunday might signal another policy shift on Syria. When and whether that’ll occur is anybody’s guess.

因为特朗普政府对叙利亚的政策似乎是混乱的，这次袭击——以及白宫接下来要做的——变得更复杂了。上周，白宫表示，美国军方在叙利亚的使命“消灭ISIS……且正在迅速结束”。这一声明被认为是白宫新闻秘书的说法，因为军方并没有为大约2000名驻叙利亚美军的撤离设定时间表。但新闻报道称，特朗普在两周前表示，美国将“很快”离开叙利亚。他对美国军方在阿富汗的继续存在感到不满，并希望在6个月内撤军。特朗普周日的推文可能预示着针对叙利亚的政策的又一次转变。但何时以及是否会发生，谁都说不准。