Afghan President Hamid Karzai says it could take 20 years for Afghanistan to be able to pay for its own security, although he has said he hopes his new army and police force will be able to take over security control in five years. President Karzai spoke at a joint news conference in Kabul with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
阿富汗总统卡尔扎伊说，阿富汗可能还需要20年的时间才能够承担本国的安全责任，尽管他曾表示，他希望新的军队和警察力量能在未来五年后掌管对国家安全的控制。卡尔扎伊是在与美国国防部部长盖茨在喀布尔的联合记者会上讲这番话的。
President Karzai says ambitious plans for a large, modern Afghan army are simply more than the country can afford for a long time.
卡尔扎伊总统表示，组建一支庞大而现代化军队的雄心勃勃的计划，是阿富汗在很长一段时间内根本无力负担的。
"For a number of years, maybe for another 15 to 20 years, Afghanistan will not be able to sustain a force of that capability and nature with its own resources," Mr. Karzai said.
他说：“在好些年里，也许15到20年，阿富汗都无法靠自己的力量维持一个具有那种能力和性质的部队。”
Speaking with President Karzai at a news conference, Secretary Gates indicated he was not surprised by that statement, but hopes it will not take that long.
与卡尔扎伊一道在记者会上发言的美国国防部部长盖茨表示，卡尔扎伊的这番声明并不令他感到惊讶，但是他希望将无需等待那么长的时间。
"I think that there is a realism on our part that it will be some time before Afghanistan is able to sustain its security forces entirely on its own," Gates said. "And whether that is 15 or 20 years, we will hope for accelerated economic development in Afghanistan."
盖茨说：“我认为，我们这一方是务实的，就是阿富汗需要一些时间才能完全靠自身力量来维持它的安全部队。不管是15年还是20年，我们会希望阿富汗的经济加速发展。”
The two men also discussed the timing of the planned transition of security responsibility from U.S. and coalition forces to the Afghans.
两人还讨论了按计划将阿富汗的安全责任从美国和联军部队移交给阿富汗的时机。
Announcing an increase of 30,000 American troops last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said they will begin to hand over security responsibility to Afghan forces by July of 2011, but he did not say how long the transition will take. Secretary Gates indicated the pace of the transition could roughly match President Karzai's stated desire for his forces to be operating on their own in five years.
美国总统奥巴马在上星期宣布向阿富汗增派三万名美军的计划时表示，他们将在2011年7月之前开始将安全责任移交给阿富汗部队，但是他没有说这个移交过程需要多长时间。国防部长盖茨表示，移交的速度可能大体符合卡尔扎伊总统表示的阿富汗部队能在未来五年内独立运作的希望。
"We expect that this is a several year process. Whether it is three years or two years or four years, I think, remains to be seen," Gates said.
盖茨说：“我们预计这将是一个历时几年的过程，但究竟这个过程是三年、两年或是四年，我想还需要拭目以待。”
The Obama administration is working hard to convince Afghans, Americans and coalition partners the international security role in Afghanistan will not end until the Afghan forces are ready, but also that the international military deployment is not open-ended.
奥巴马政府正在努力说服阿富汗、美国和盟军伙伴，在阿富汗部队作好准备前，那里的国际安全责任将不会终结。但同时，他也力图说服一点，即在阿富汗的国际军事部署不是无限期的。
Secretary Gates said the United States will continue to have a long-term commitment to helping Afghanistan even after the security transition is completed.
国防部部长盖茨表示，即使在安全过渡完成后，美国对于帮助阿富汗将继续保有长期责任。 |