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The war in Iraq took center stage in the U.S. presidential election campaign Wednesday on the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict.

星期三是伊拉克战争爆发五周年。在这一天，伊拉克战争成为美国总统竞选的中心议题。

Democratic contender Barack Obama spoke¹ about the war at a campaign event in North Carolina.

民主党的总统竞选人奥巴马在北卡罗来纳州举行的一次竞选活动中谈到了伊拉克战争。

Obama renewed his pledge to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months and took issue with a similar withdrawal² plan put forward by his rival for the Democratic Party presidential nomination³, Senator Hillary Clinton.

奥巴马再次保证要在16个月内从伊拉克撤回大部分美军。他还反驳了他竞选总统候选人提名的对手克林顿参议员提出的一个类似的撤军计划。

Obama said voters should trust him more than Clinton to bring the war to a close since he opposed it from the beginning, while Clinton initially⁴ supported it.

奥巴马说，选民应该更加信任他而不是克林顿能够结束这场战争，因为他从一开始就反对战争而克林顿则在最初支持战争。

"Here is the truth," he said. "Fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer. So when I am commander in chief, I will set a new goal on day one, I will end this war."

奥巴马说：“事实是，打一场没有尽头的战争不会迫使伊拉克人为自己的未来负起责任。在一场没有尽头的战争里作战不会让美国人更安全。所以，如果我担任军队总司令的话，我会在第一天就设立一个新目标，我将结束这场战争。”

During a visit to Detroit, Senator Clinton said the United States cannot win an Iraqi civil war and that there was no military solution in Iraq. Clinton has promised to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq within 60 days of taking office.

克林顿参议员在访问底特律市时说，美国不可能赢得伊拉克内战。在伊拉克，军事手段不能解决问题。克林顿保证她将在担任总统60天内开始从伊拉克撤军。

On another issue, Clinton also challenged Obama to agree to new Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida.

在另外一个问题上，克林顿向奥巴马发难，要求奥巴马接受在密西根州和佛罗里达州举行新的民主党初选。

"Today I am urging him to match those words with actions, to make sure the people of Michigan and Florida have a voice and a vote in this election," Clinton said.

克林顿说：“今天我呼吁他做到言行一致，确保密西根和佛罗里达的民众能够通过投票表达他们的心声。”

Both states held primaries in January, but the Democratic National Committee refused to recognize the results and stripped both states of delegates to the national convention because the contests were held too early in violation⁵ of party rules. Officials in Florida say they do not plan to hold a new vote.

密西根和佛罗里达这两个州在1月份举行了初选。但是因为这两次选举过早举行，违反了党内规定，民主党全国委员会拒绝承认选举结果，还剥夺了这两个州的党代表参加全国代表大会的资格。佛罗里达官员说，他们不准备再举行新的投票。

Senator Obama also took issue with the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee⁶, Senator John McCain. Obama said McCain and the Bush administration have failed to present a strategy on how fighting in Iraq makes the American people safer.

奥巴马参议员也反驳了可能得到共和党总统候选人提名的参议员麦凯恩。奥巴马说，麦凯恩和布什政府没有提出策略说明为什么在伊拉克作战会让美国人更加安全。

McCain was in Israel Wednesday as part of a congressional delegation⁷ and said he wanted to affirm a deep relationship and commitment to the Jewish state.

麦凯恩星期三随美国国会代表团在以色列访问。他说，他希望巩固同以色列的深厚关系和对以色列的坚定承诺。

Earlier in the week, McCain visited Iraq and talked about the progress of the U.S-led military surge strategy.

这个星期早些时候，麦凯恩到访伊拉克，并且谈论了美国领导的增兵战略所取得的进展。

But McCain ran into some trouble on Tuesday in Jordan when he mistakenly said Sunni insurgents⁸ allied⁹ with al-Qaida were being trained in Iran, which has actually been accused of backing Shiite militias¹⁰. McCain's mistake was quickly corrected by his Senate colleague, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

但是，麦凯恩星期二在约旦遇到尴尬。他错误地表示，与基地组织结盟的逊尼派暴乱分子在伊朗接受训练，但是实际上，伊朗被指责是支持什叶派民兵。麦凯恩的参议院同僚、来自康涅狄克州的利伯曼马上纠正了麦凯恩的口误。

"It has been reported in the media that al-Qaida is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran," McCain said. "That is well known, and it is unfortunate. I am sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaida."

利伯曼说：“有媒体报导说，基地组织正回到伊朗接受训练，然后从伊朗返回伊拉克。大家都了解这个情况，这是个不幸的情况。很抱歉，伊朗人是在训练极端分子，不是在训练基地组织。”

Analysts¹¹ were quick to pounce¹² on the gaff by McCain who has repeatedly emphasized his experience in national security affairs and said he would make Iraq a major issue in the presidential campaign. McCain has criticized both Clinton and Obama for favoring a troop pullout from Iraq.

分析人士很快就拿麦凯恩的失言大作文章。麦凯恩反复强调他在国家安全事务方面的经验。他说，他会让伊拉克成为总统竞选的主要议题。麦凯恩批评克林顿和奥巴马赞成从伊拉克撤军的立场。

President Bush also warned about the consequences of a hasty withdrawal in his speech marking the anniversary of the start of the war.

布什总统在纪念伊拉克战争爆发五周年的讲话中也警告仓促撤军带来的后果。

"If we were to allow our enemies to prevail in Iraq, the violence that is now declining would accelerate and Iraq could descend¹³ into chaos," he said.

布什说：“如果我们允许敌人在伊拉克得逞，正在减少的暴力活动会快速增加，伊拉克可能会陷入混乱。”

McCain can afford the political luxury of traveling abroad since he has effectively secured the Republican nomination.

麦凯恩因为成功地确保了共和党提名，所以他有条件在国外进行政治旅行。

But the Democratic battle between Clinton and Obama is expected to continue indefinitely, with the next major test coming in the Pennsylvania primary on April 22.

但是民主党内克林顿和奥巴马之间的竞争估计还要无限期延续下去。下一场重要决战将是4月22号在宾西法尼亚州的初选。