2014年12月18日 星期四

Worst days in ISIS

11 June 2014 

The US-trained force lost unity, morale, leadership, and effectiveness. Good officers left or were pushed out or sidelined.

Unit cohesion dropped steadily, service support became a major problem, desertions and ghost soldiers increased, and sectarian tension grew.

The police deteriorated steadily and mixed corruption and abuses with a tendency to retreat to their stations whenever serious resistance occurred.

Mr Maliki became his own worst enemy, ignoring warnings from US advisers, dealing with Iran, and steadily losing confidence from Arab states while alienating the Iraqi Kurds.

His forces, which could not deal with urban warfare, tried to shell or bomb their way to victory, deserted under pressure, and found themselves under constant threat from low level ISIS and Sunni tribal attacks.

Some Iraqi forces still fought, as was the case in Samarra, but much of the west and north turned against Mr Maliki in spite of the abuses and extremism of ISIS.

This explains the collapse of the Iraqi force around Mosul, as well as the mass desertions and abandoned equipment and the other advances taking place, which now include Iraq's largest refinery.

It also raises serious questions about whether Iraq can move forward as long as Mr Maliki remains its leader.

He may still be able to bribe some key Sunni tribal leaders, and ISIS may soon alienate many Sunnis in the areas it occupies, but Mr Maliki has emerged as something approaching the Shia equivalent of Saddam Hussein, and is as much a threat to Iraq as ISIS.

Iraq desperately needs a truly national leader and one who puts the nation above himself.

Without one, ISIS may become a lasting enclave and regional threat - dividing Iraq into Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish sections - or drag Iraq back to the worst days of its civil war and create another Syria in Iraq.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27801680

 Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-not given

   WHEN-not given

   WHAT-the worst days in ISIS

   WHY-ISIS may become a lasting enclave and regional threat 

   WHERE-ISIS

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. morale：士氣

   2. cohesion：凝聚力

   3. sectarian：宗派

   4. deteriorated：惡化

   5. abuses：濫用

   6. extremism：極端主義

   7. desertion：遺棄

   8. refinery：煉油廠

   9. enclave：聚集地

2014年12月11日 星期四

More Nigerian girls abducted by suspected Boko Haram militants

6 May 2014 

The latest kidnapping happened on Sunday night in the village of Warabe, in Borno state. The girls taken were aged between 12 and 15.

On Monday, Boko Haram's leader threatened to "sell" more than 230 girls seized from their school, also in Borno, on 14 April.

Meanwhile, the US says Nigeria has accepted an offer of American help.

"We've already sent in a team to Nigeria," President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.

Mr Obama said the US aid was a combination of military, law enforcement and other agencies "who are going in, trying to identify where these girls might be".

He described Boko Haram as "one of the worst regional... terrorist organisations".

"Obviously it's a heartbreaking situation, an outrageous situation. This may be the event that helps to mobilise the entire international community to finally do something against this horrendous organisation that's perpetrated such a terrible crime."

The insurgency by Boko Haram has left thousands dead since 2009.

The BBC's Mansur Liman in Abuja says the area around Warabe is a stronghold of the Islamist movement.

The gunmen arrived in two trucks and also seized animals and food from the village.

Communications are very poor in the area, which explains why the news took several days to emerge, our correspondent says.

Residents from a nearby town told AFP that they feared Boko Haram would target them next.

"We have no security here. If the gunmen decide to pick our own girls, nobody can stop them," Peter Gambo said.

Warabe is also close to the Sambisa forest, where the first group of schoolgirls is thought to have been taken.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video on Monday confirming that his group had abducted them.

"God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions," he said.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27298614

 Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-Boko Haram's leader

   WHEN-not given

   WHAT-Suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants have abducted eight more girls in north-eastern Nigeria.

   WHY-not given

   WHERE-Warabe 

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1. abduct：誘拐

   2. suspect：懷疑

   3. militant：激進份子

   4. seize：搶佔

   5. enforcement：強制

   6. horrendous ：可怕的

   7. organisation：組織

   8. perpetrated：犯下

   9. correspondent：記者