President Obama meets with his national security team, including top military officers, Wednesday to begin to chart a new U.S. policy toward Iraq and Afghanistan.
奥巴马总统星期三和他的国家安全团队举行会议，开始制定美国对伊拉克和阿富汗的新政策。
As a presidential candidate, several times Mr. Obama said something like this comment he made in July about the war in Iraq.
奥巴马在竞选总统的过程中就伊拉克战争的问题曾经说过几次像他在7月份所说的话。
"Let me be as clear as I can be. I intend to end this war. My first day in office I will bring the joint chiefs of staff in and I will give them a new mission, and that is to end this war, responsibly and deliberately, but decisively," said Mr. Obama.
他说，“让我尽量地说清楚。我准备结束这一战争。我上任的第一天就会召集参谋长联席会议成员，给他们一个新的任务，那就是负责任地，稳步地，但是果断地结束伊拉克战争。”
Now that the day is here, officials say he will not exactly meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff - the heads of the four U.S. military branches - but he will meet with their chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, and with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and key combat commanders, along with other members of the new national security team. The new president gave a hint of his plans during his Inaugural Address on Tuesday.
现在奥巴马已经上任。官员们说，他不一定会召见参谋长联席会议的成员，也就是美国军队四个军种的负责人。但是总统会和他们的主席海军上将马伦，国防部长盖茨和主要的作战司令员，以及新的国家安全团队成员举行会议。新总统在星期二发表就职演说时谈到了他的计划。
"We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan," said Mr. Obama.
“我们要很负责任地将伊拉克交给伊拉克人民，并在阿富汗实现经过艰苦努力赢得的和平。”
During the campaign, he was more specific about his Iraq plans, calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops within 16 months. That plan worried many military commanders during the campaign, and they still call the situation in Iraq "fragile."
在竞选期间，奥巴马在他的伊拉克计划方面讲得更具体，呼吁在16个月内撤出战斗部队。这个计划在竞选阶段使很多指挥官感到不安，他们现在仍然认为伊拉克的局势很“脆弱”。
But with the progress made during the last year and a half in Iraq, they say something like 16 months might be possible, without risking a reversal of the security gains. And President Obama has said he will listen to the military commanders before making any final decisions.
但是，伊拉克在过去一年半时间内已经取得了进展。这些指挥官现在说，16个月也许是可能的，而且不会在安全方面出现倒退的危险。奥巴马总统说，他要听取军事指挥官的意见后再作最后决定。
"In putting this plan together, I will always listen to the advice of commanders on the ground, but that ultimately I am the person who is making the strategic decisions," he said.
“在制定这个计划时，我总是要听取实地作战指挥官的意见，但是最后的战略决策由我来定。”
Mr. Obama has also said he plans to leave behind enough troops in Iraq to hunt terrorists and train the country's security forces. But there is now a U.S.-Iraq agreement to have all U.S. troops out, combat troops and support units, in three years.
奥巴马还曾经说，他计划在伊拉克留下足够的军力来追踪恐怖分子，训练伊拉克的安全部队。但是，现在美国和伊拉克之间已经签订了一个协议，规定美国部队，所有作战和后勤部队，必需在三年内撤离伊拉克。
As he plans to move as quickly as possible with an Iraq withdrawal, President Obama also plans to follow through with former President Bush's plan to nearly double the U.S. troop commitment in Afghanistan. And in his inaugural speech, the new president indicated he will also continue what Bush called the Global War on Terrorism.
奥巴马总统计划在尽快从伊拉克撤军的同时，他还打算完成前总统布什的有关把在阿富汗的美军人数增加近一倍的计划。这位美国新总统在就职演讲时指出，他还将继续进行布什所称的全球反恐战争。
"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you," said Mr. Obama.
奥巴马说：“我们不会为我们的生活方式辩解，我们也会毫不犹豫地捍卫它。对于那些通过实施恐怖袭击、滥杀无辜来推动自己目标的人，我们要对你们说，我们的精神更加坚强，不可摧毁；你们不可能比我们更加持久，我们将打败你们。”
But the Inaugural Address is more of a blueprint than a detailed design. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, who like his boss Secretary Gates is staying on in the new administration, said last week the details of President Obama's approach are still to be worked out.
不过，这篇就职演讲是一幅蓝图，而非具体的设想。五角大楼新闻秘书杰夫·莫雷尔上星期说，奥巴马总统的具体方法还在研究之中。
"What ultimately is the strategy that the president-elect and his team wish to pursue is something that is still under discussion and likely will be for some time once they take office," he said.
莫雷尔说：“当选总统和他的团队最终要执行哪些战略仍在讨论当中，很有可能在他们就职之后还需要讨论一段时间。”
That process begins in earnest at the promised first-day meeting on Wednesday.
这个考虑的进程就在星期三第一次会议上迅速开始。 |