联军作战部队2013年底前撤出阿富汗

The commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Corps General John Allen, says the plan for a transition to full Afghan security control is intact after the announcement that American troops will largely end their combat duties next year, rather than the following year as had been widely expected.

驻扎在阿富汗的联军负责人、美国海军陆战队将军约翰·艾伦表示，美国方面将于明年、而不是之前很多人以为的2014年，从阿富汗撤出作战部队。艾伦同时表示，将阿富汗的安全局势的控制权移交给阿富汗方面的设想，仍然按计划进行。

General Allen took command of international forces in Afghanistan last July. Since then, his mission has been to put himself out of a job - to train Afghan troops to take over, against a weakened Taliban, by the end of 2014.

艾伦将军是从去年7月份开始掌管驻扎在阿富汗的国际武装部队的。从那时以来，他的任务就是要在2014年年底前，尽可能地削弱塔利班的势力，培训阿富汗当地的武装部队，让他们能够顺利地将阿富汗的安全工作接管过去。

“It is a difficult job,” he says. “The Taliban continues to carry out spectacular attacks, and most Afghan troops start with a will to fight, but few professional soldiering skills.”

不过，艾伦上将的任务不是容易做到的。塔利班目前还在继续展开各种各样的袭击事件，而绝大多数阿富汗政府军成员虽然愿意当兵打仗，但是在作战技术方面，相对比较差。

Then last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he hopes U.S. troops will be able to end their combat mission by late 2013, more than a year ahead of the final handover agreed to at the NATO summit in Lisbon in 2010. The announcement surprised some foreign officials and other experts, but General Allen says that was always part of the plan.

上个星期，美国国防部长里昂·帕内塔表示，希望美国派驻阿富汗的武装部队能够在2013年下半年，结束在阿富汗的作战使命。之前，北约在2010年于葡萄牙首都里斯本举行的首脑会议上，将从阿富汗撤军的日期定于2014年。帕内塔日前讲话中提到的日程，比里斯本峰会期间提到的日期，整整早了一年；一些外国官员和关注阿富汗局势的专家都对此感到一定程度的震惊。不过，艾伦上将说，在2013年底以前从阿富汗撤出全部作战部队，一直是撤军计划内容的一部分。

“That has been the plan all along. It has not accelerated the Lisbon-based timeline. We will continue to serve right alongside, support the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) through the remainder of '13, across all of '14, right to the end of '14, which was the roadmap out of Lisbon.”

他说：“一直是这么计划的；我们并没有加快里斯本协议实施的步伐；2013年全年、直到2014年底，我们都会继续和阿富汗武装部队一道作战、给予他们相关的支援，而这正是里斯本协议所说的。”