美衆議院支持武裝培訓敘反對派

The US House of Representatives voted in favour on Wednesday of the Obama administration’s plan to train and arm moderate Syrian rebels although large numbers of lawmakers from both parties remain sceptical about the initiative.

週三，對於奧巴馬政府提出的培訓和武裝敘利亞溫和反對派的方案，美國衆議院(House of Representatives)投票表示了支持——儘管來自兩黨的許多議員都對該倡議持懷疑態度。

The plan to back the Syrian rebels passed by 273 to 156 in the first vote by Congress on any part of the administration’s strategy to take on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or Isis.

該方案以273票贊成和156票反對獲得通過。這是美國國會對此類方案的第一次投票，這些方案都是奧巴馬政府對抗“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)戰略的一部分。

The $500m funding proposal was particularly controversial among Democrats, who voted 114 for and 85 against – an indication of the wariness among members of the president’s own party about a new military confrontation in the Middle East. The Senate will vote on the measure on Thursday.

這個涉及5億美元資金的提案在民主黨(Democrat)黨員中的爭論尤爲激烈。支持和反對該方案的民主黨議員分別爲114人和85人。這表明奧巴馬自己所在政黨對中東可能出現的新一輪軍事對峙十分警惕。美國參議院將於週四就該方案投票。

The administration first proposed the initiative to support the moderate rebels earlier this year but it has been given new impetus by the rapid advances made by Isis forces in recent months. In a speech last week, President Barack Obama said that the Syrian rebels were an important part of the broader strategy to push back Isis.

奧巴馬政府最早提出這一支持溫和反對派的方案是在今年早些時候。不過，最近幾個月ISIS勢力的迅速壯大，爲這一方案的通過提供了新的動力。在上週一次講話中，美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)曾表示，敘利亞反對派是對抗ISIS大戰略的重要組成部分。

However, the initial US support for the moderate rebels is likely to be slow and limited. Defence secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday that in the first year around 5,000 troops would be trained and would only be given light arms at the beginning.

不過，美國對溫和反對派的初步支持很可能十分遲緩而有限。美國國防部長查克•哈格爾(Chuck Hagel)週二曾表示，第一年將訓練大約5000人，最開始也只會爲他們提供一些輕武器。