奥巴马每周电视讲话:美国全球领导地位的重新定义

 　　华盛顿：在本周的讲话中，奥巴马总统称利比亚前领导人穆阿迈尔·卡扎菲的死和宣布伊拉克驻军到年底全部返回国内的声明有力证明美国已经重新定义了自己在全球的领导地位。我们英勇的飞行员和机组人员给利比亚人民一个为他们的孩子追求民主前景的机会，在十年伊拉克战争之后，美国正在不断前行并关注于巩固自身经济和国内安全。这也是总统先生号召国会通过《美国就业法案》来重建我们破损的基础设施，为工薪家庭减税，让教师重返教师，让警察重新巡逻的原因。我们必须把我们的军队在战斗中的紧迫感带到我们的经济刺激计划中，这也是奥巴马总统现在敦促共和党和民主党一起协作，通过《美国就业法案》让美国人民重返工作岗位的原因。

　　本周，有两个重大事件提醒我们已经重新定义了美国在全球的领导地位。我曾很自豪而且自信的宣布——我们在伊拉克剩余的驻军将在今年年底前全部撤回国内。在利比亚，穆阿迈尔·卡扎菲的死证明了我们在保护利比亚人民上起的作用，我们帮助他们推翻了暴君统治，我们做的是正义的事情。

　　在伊拉克，我们已经成功实施了我们的战略结束了战争。去年，我宣布要结束在伊拉克的作战任务。我们已经撤回了10万士兵，伊拉克的武装力量已经完全接管了他们自己国家的安全责任。由于我们的男女军人的超乎寻常的牺牲精神，伊拉克人民有机会创造他们自己的未来。现在我们剩下的军人也将能回家过节了。

　　在利比亚，我们英勇的飞行员和机组人员一起帮助制止屠杀，拯救了无数生灵，给利比亚人民赢得胜利的机会。我们达到了我们的目标，但却没有派遣任何地面武装人员。不久，我们的北约战斗任务就能圆满结束，但我们将继续支持利比亚人民，支持所有阿拉伯世界的人民寻求民主的未来。

　　这些成就只是更宏大的历史的一部分。在十年战争之后，我们翻开了新篇章并不断向前，充满力量和满怀信心。从伊拉克撤军让我们可以集中精力于阿富汗，取得打击基地组织和本·拉登的重大胜利。随着我们撤回伊拉克的最后一批驻军，我们将开始撤回阿富汗的军队。

　　回想起来，自我主政伊始，大约有18万军人被部署在各个战场。而到今年年末，这一数字将削减一般，归国的军人人数将持续上升。

　　随着我们结束这些战争，我们将关注我们自己国家的最大挑战——重建我们的经济，增强我们国内的经济实力。在过去的十年里，我们在战争中花了一万亿美元，产生了大量海外借债，却忽视了对我们国家最重要的源泉——我们自己人民的投资。现在，我们要建设的国家是我们自己的。

　　我们要以我们的军人在战斗中的紧迫感和团结精神来面对我们的挑战。这是我们必须竭尽所能让我们的经济再次向前发展的原因。也是我号召国会通过《美国就业法案》的原因，这样我们才能重建我们的国家——我们的学校，我们的道路，我们的桥梁——让我们的退伍军人，建筑工人，教师，警察和消防员重返工作岗位。这也是我希望我们都能以我们的男女军人为榜样，从他们身上获取动力的原因。

　　他们已经兑现了对美国的责任。现在轮到我们了。是时候让我们团结起来并向全世界展示为什么美利坚合众国依然是最伟大的自由之源、机遇之源。

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　　WEEKLY ADDRESS: Renewing America's Global Leadership

　　WASHINGTON—In this week’s address, President Obama  said that the death of Moammar Qadhafi in Libya and the announcement that  troops from Iraq will return home by the end of the year are strong reminders¹  that the United States has renewed its leadership in the world.  The role of our brave pilots and crews has  given the Libyan people a chance to seek a democratic future for their  children, and after a decade of war in Iraq, the United States is moving  forward and focusing on strengthening the economy and security at home.  This is why the President is calling on  Congress to pass the American Jobs Act to rebuild our crumbling²  infrastructure, give working families a tax break, and put teachers back in  our classrooms and cops on the beat.   We must bring the same sense of urgency to revitalizing our economy  that our troops took to their fight, which is why President Obama is urging  Republicans and Democrats³ to work together to pass the American Jobs Act now  to put the American people back to work.

　　This week, we  had two powerful reminders of how we’ve renewed American leadership in the  world.  I was proud to announce that—as  promised—the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of this  year.  And in Libya, the death of  Moammar Qadhafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and  helping them break free from a tyrant⁴, was the right thing to do.

　　In Iraq, we’ve  succeeded in our strategy to end the war.   Last year, I announced the end of our combat mission in Iraq.  We’ve already removed more than 100,000  troops, and Iraqi forces have taken full responsibility for the security of  their own country.  Thanks to the  extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, the Iraqi people  have the chance to forge their own future.  And now the rest of our troops will be home  for the holidays.

　　In Libya, our  brave pilots and crews helped prevent a massacre⁵, save countless⁶ lives, and  give the Libyan people the chance to prevail.   Without putting a single U.S. service member on the ground, we  achieved our objectives.  Soon, our  NATO mission will come to a successful end even as we continue to support the  Libyan people, and people across the Arab world, who seek a democratic  future.

　　These successes  are part of a larger story.  After a  decade of war, we’re turning the page and moving forward, with strength and  confidence.  The drawdown in Iraq  allowed us to refocus on Afghanistan and achieve major victories against al  Qaeda and Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸.  As we  remove the last of our troops from Iraq, we’re beginning to bring our troops  home from Afghanistan.

　　To put this in  perspective, when I took office, roughly 180,000 troops were deployed⁹ in  these wars.  By the end of this year  that number will be cut in half, and an increasing number of our troops will  continue to come home.

　　As we end these  wars, we’re focusing on our greatest challenge as a nation—rebuilding our  economy and renewing our strength at home.   Over the past decade, we spent a trillion dollars on war, borrowed  heavily from overseas and invested too little in the greatest source of our  national strength—our own people.  Now,  the nation we need to build is our own.

　　We have to  tackle this challenge with the same urgency and unity¹⁰ that our troops brought  to their fight.  That’s why we have to  do everything in our power to get our economy moving again.  That’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass  the American Jobs Act, so we can rebuild our country – our schools, our  roads, our bridges – and put our veterans, construction workers, teachers,  cops and firefighters back to work.    And that’s why I hope all of us can draw strength from the example of  our men and women in uniform.

　　They’ve met  their responsibilities to America.  Now  it’s time to meet ours.  It’s time to  come together and show the world why the United States of America remains¹¹ the  greatest source for freedom and opportunity that the world has ever known.

1 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

2 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。