在尼日尔乡村满是 灰尘的平原地区,机关枪的声 音泄露了有美国海军陆战队 (USMC)作战人员的存在,但是他们已 经不像过去的十几年那样,代替该国的 武装部队与敌人面对面交锋。相反,作为 “反恐战争”的重要一步,他们目前正加 紧训练当地武装:帮助盟国加强其中 央政府对领土的控制,使其不会 成为恐怖组织的避风港。 In the dusty plains of Niger’s countryside, machine-gun voices leaked the presence of USMC combatants, but they were no longer fighting face to face with their enemies in place of the armed forces of the country over the past decade or so . On the contrary, as a crucial step in the “war on terror”, they are now stepping up their training of local armed forces: helping allies strengthen their central government’s control of the territories so that they will not become a safe haven for terrorist groups.