奥巴马总统就叙利亚问题发表声明

Statement by the President on Syria
奥巴马总统就叙利亚问题发表的声明

Rose Garden
玫瑰园

August 31, 2013
2013年8月31日

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Ten days ago, the world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria in the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century. Yesterday the United States presented a powerful case that the Syrian government was responsible for this attack on its own people.
各位下午好。10天前，全世界看到了男女老幼在叙利亚发生的21世纪最残忍的化学武器袭击中惨遭屠杀的骇人场面。昨天，美国确凿地说明了叙利亚政府应为这次攻击本国人民的事件负责。

Our intelligence shows the Assad regime and its forces preparing to use chemical weapons, launching rockets in the highly populated suburbs of Damascus, and acknowledging that a chemical weapons attack took place.
我们获取的情报表明，阿萨德政权及其军队曾准备使用化学武器、向大马士革近郊人口稠密的地区发射火箭弹，并承认发生了一起化学武器袭击。

And all of this corroborates what the world can plainly see -- hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead. All told, well over 1,000 people were murdered. Several hundred of them were children -- young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government.
所有这些都证实了全世界清楚地看到的情况——医院里满是受害者；死者的画面令人惊骇。总计有远远超过1,000人惨遭杀害。其中有数百名儿童——年幼的男孩和女孩被他们自己的政府用毒气害死。

This attack is an assault on human dignity. It also presents a serious danger to our national security. It risks making a mockery of the global prohibition on the use of chemical weapons.
这次袭击是对人类尊严的践踏。它还对我们的国家安全构成了严重威胁。它有可能令全球禁止使用化学武器的禁令受到嘲弄。

It endangers our friends and our partners along Syria’s borders, including Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. It could lead to escalating use of chemical weapons, or their proliferation to terrorist groups who would do our people harm.
它使与叙利亚相邻的我们的友邦和伙伴国处境危险，其中包括以色列、约旦、土耳其、黎巴嫩和伊拉克。它可能导致化学武器的使用升级，或导致化学武器在妄图伤害我们人民的恐怖主义团伙中扩散。

In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted.
在一个存在多种危险的世界中，这种威胁必须得到遏制。

Now, after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets. This would not be an open-ended intervention. We would not put boots on the ground.
现在，在经过审慎斟酌之后，我已决定美国应当采取军事行动打击叙利亚政权目标。这不会是一场旷日持久的干预。我们不会派出地面部队。

Instead, our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. But I’m confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out.
我们的行动将被制定为在时间和范围上都是有限度的。但我相信，我们能够追究阿萨德政权使用化学武器的罪责，遏制这类行径，并削弱他们采取这种行动的能力。

Our military has positioned assets in the region. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose.
我们的军队已在该地区部署力量。参谋长联席会议主席已经向我报告，我们已准备好在我们选择的时间发起行动。

Moreover, the Chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now. And I’m prepared to give that order.
此外，参谋长联席会议主席还告诉我，我们执行这项使命的能力不受时间限制；明天、下个星期或从现在开始一个月以后都将具备效力。我已准备好下达这项命令。

But having made my decision as Commander-in-Chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests, I’m also mindful that I’m the President of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy.
但是，在作为军队统帅基于我所确信的我国国家安全利益作出决定的同时，我也牢记我是全世界历史最悠久的宪政民主国家的总统。

I’ve long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And that’s why I’ve made a second decision: I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people’s representatives in Congress.
长久以来，我一直深信，我们的实力不仅源于我们的军事威力，更源于我们作为一个民有、民治、民享的政府的典范力量。正因为如此，我还作出了第二项决定：我将征求国会中美国人民的代表给予使用武力的授权。

Over the last several days, we’ve heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard. I absolutely agree. So this morning, I spoke with all four congressional leaders, and they’ve agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into session.
近几天来，我们听到了想公开发表意见的国会议员的声音。我对此完全赞同。今天上午，我同全部4位国会领袖进行了交谈，他们同意在国会复会后立即制定举行辩论和投票的日程。

In the coming days, my administration stands ready to provide every member with the information they need to understand what happened in Syria and why it has such profound implications for America’s national security. And all of us should be accountable as we move forward, and that can only be accomplished with a vote.
在今后几天中，本届政府随时准备向每一位议员提供他们所需的信息，以便了解在叙利亚发生的事件以及它对美国国家安全影响重大的原因。我们所有人在向前推进的过程中都应当接受问责，而投票是作到问责的唯一途径。

I’m confident in the case our government has made without waiting for U.N. inspectors. I’m comfortable going forward without the approval of a United Nations Security Council that, so far, has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold Assad accountable.
我确信我国政府不等联合国核查人员调查完毕便已得出的结论。我相信可以在没有联合国安理会批准的情况下采取行动，因为到目前为止，安理会已完全陷入瘫痪，不愿追究阿萨德的罪责。

As a consequence, many people have advised against taking this decision to Congress, and undoubtedly, they were impacted by what we saw happen in the United Kingdom this week when the Parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a resolution with a similar goal, even as the Prime Minister supported taking action.
因此，很多人还提出反对将这个决定提交国会，毫无疑问，他们受到了我们这个星期所看到的在英国发生的情况的影响，我们最亲密的盟国的议会未能通过一项抱有类似目标的决议案，尽管英国首相支持采取行动。

Yet, while I believe I have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, I know that the country will be stronger if we take this course, and our actions will be even more effective.
不过，虽然我相信我有权在没有得到国会明确授权的情况下执行这项军事行动，但我知道如果我们采取这个步骤，我们的国家将更加强大，我们的行动将更有效力。

We should have this debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual. And this morning, John Boehner, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell agreed that this is the right thing to do for our democracy.
我们应当展开这场辩论，因为此事事关重大，不可一如往常。今天上午，约翰∙博纳、哈里·里德、南希·佩洛西和米奇·麦康奈尔一致认为这是为我们的民主制度而采取的正确步骤。

A country faces few decisions as grave as using military force, even when that force is limited. I respect the views of those who call for caution, particularly as our country emerges from a time of war that I was elected in part to end.
国家派遣军队属于重大决策，很少有其他事务能与之相比，即使军队的数量很有限也是如此。有些人呼吁保持谨慎，特别是因为我国正逐步走出战争时期，我当选现职在某种程度上也是为了结束战争。我尊重这些人的看法。

But if we really do want to turn away from taking appropriate action in the face of such an unspeakable outrage, then we must acknowledge the costs of doing nothing.
但是面临如此罄竹难书的罪恶暴行，我们如果的确想袖手旁观，不采取适当的行动，就必须承担不采取行动的代价。