奥巴马政府为从伊拉克撤军计划辩护

The Obama administration is defending the announced total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, amid strong criticism from the president’s domestic political opponents.

奥巴马政府捍卫其宣布的年底前从伊拉克撤军的计划，美国国内持反对意见的政治人士对这项计划提出强烈批评。

More than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the last American forces will soon be departing. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the pullout is consistent with commitments made by President Barack Obama and his predecessor who ordered the invasion, George W. Bush.

美国领导入侵伊拉克八年多之后，最后一批美军将很快撤离。美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿说，撤军符合奥巴马总统和他的前任乔治·布什作出的承诺。当年前总统布什下令攻打伊拉克。

“President Obama said that combat troops would leave Iraq by the end of this year. But before he ever said that, the Bush administration also committed to withdrawing all troops by the end of this year. So you have a bipartisan commitment, and that was viewed as appropriate," she said.

克林顿说：“奥巴马总统表示，作战军队将在今年年底之前撤离伊拉克。但他之前说过，布什政府也承诺过要在今年年底前撤出全部驻伊美军。所以这方面有两党的承诺，这被视为正确的做法。”

Clinton spoke on the U.S. television program Fox News Sunday. She stressed the United States has no intention of abandoning Iraq. “What we have agreed to is a support-and-training mission similar to what we have in countries from Jordan to Colombia. And we will be working with the Iraqis. We will also have a very robust diplomatic presence," she said.

克林顿国务卿在“星期天福克斯新闻”电视节目中发表了上述讲话。她强调，美国无意放弃伊拉克。克林顿说：“我们所同意的是一项支持和训练任务，类似于我们在约旦和哥伦比亚等国的任务。我们将与伊拉克人民合作。我们还将保持非常强劲的外交存在。”

But that is not good enough, according to President Obama’s Republican critics. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also appeared on Fox News Sunday. “Not being able to close the deal in Iraq [negotiate an extension of U.S. troops] is a very serious mistake. Celebrating leaving with no troops behind is a serious mistake," he said.

但是，批评奥巴马总统的共和党人士说，这样做还不够。南卡罗莱纳州的联邦参议员林德西·格拉哈姆也在"星期天福克斯新闻"节目中发表讲话。他说：“未能敲定延长在伊拉克驻军的协议是一个很严重的错误。在没有美军驻扎的情况下举行庆祝是个严重的错误。”

Graham accused the president of placing political considerations ahead of America’s long-term security objectives. He disputed any suggestion that Iraq is ready to stand on its own, particularly with regard to its neighbor, Iran. “Iraqis have no air force. They have no intelligence-gathering capability. They need counter-terrorism assistance. There are missions only we can do. The [U.S.] military commander said we needed 15,000 to 18,000 [troops in Iraq]. We have none [after this year]. It was the Obama administration’s job to end this well. They failed," he said.

格拉哈姆指责奥巴马总统将政治考量置于美国的长期安全目标之前。他质疑任何有关伊拉克已准备好依靠自己的说法，他特别提到伊拉克的邻国伊朗。格拉哈姆说：“伊拉克人没有空军。他们没有收集情报的能力。他们需要反恐协助。这些任务只有我们能完成。美军指挥官说过，我们需要在伊拉克驻扎1万5千到1万8千名军人。今年之后我们将没有驻军。奥巴马政府有责任很好地完成这些任务。但他们没有。”

Secretary of State Clinton said the United States will retain a robust military presence in the Middle East, even after the last troops leave Iraq. She said no nation, including Iran, should doubt America’s resolve to support Iraq’s democracy.

克林顿国务卿说，就算最后一批美军撤离伊拉克，美国也将在中东地区保持强大的军事存在。她说，包括伊朗在内的任何国家都不应该怀疑美国支持伊拉克民主的决心。

In the end, she said, it was Iraq’s decision to insist on a complete U.S. troop withdrawal. “The point of our involvement in Iraq was to create the opportunity for the Iraqis to have their own future without the oppression of a dictator like Saddam Hussein. Now you cannot, on the one hand, say you are all for democracy and sovereignty and independence, and on the other hand say that when a choice is made that is validated by the current government in Iraq, that that somehow is not appropriate. That is what we were there for - to give the Iraqi people the chance to make their own decisions," she said.

她还说，最后，是伊拉克决定坚持让美军全部撤离。克林顿说：“我们卷入伊拉克战争的目的在于为伊拉克人民创造一个机会，让他们拥有自己的未来，不用遭受萨达姆这样的独裁者的压迫。现在你不能，一方面说你完全是为了民主、主权和独立，而另一方面，当作出了一个伊拉克现政府认可的选择时，你又说这是不对的。我们到伊拉克的目的，就是去给伊拉克人民自己做决定的机会。”

Last week, President Obama said he was keeping a promise to end the war in Iraq, but added “the United States will continue to have an interest in an Iraq that is stable, secure and self-reliant”.

奥巴马总统上星期说，他在遵守结束伊拉克战争的承诺，但他补充说：“美国将继续关心一个稳定、安全和自力更生的伊拉克。”