奧巴馬政府爲從伊拉克撤軍計劃辯護

The Obama administration is defending the announced total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, amid strong criticism from the president’s domestic political opponents.

奧巴馬政府捍衛其宣佈的年底前從伊拉克撤軍的計劃，美國國內持反對意見的政治人士對這項計劃提出強烈批評。

More than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the last American forces will soon be departing. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the pullout is consistent with commitments made by President Barack Obama and his predecessor who ordered the invasion, George W. Bush.

美國領導入侵伊拉克八年多之後，最後一批美軍將很快撤離。美國國務卿希拉里·克林頓說，撤軍符合奧巴馬總統和他的前任喬治·布什作出的承諾。當年前總統布什下令攻打伊拉克。

“President Obama said that combat troops would leave Iraq by the end of this year. But before he ever said that, the Bush administration also committed to withdrawing all troops by the end of this year. So you have a bipartisan commitment, and that was viewed as appropriate," she said.

克林頓說：“奧巴馬總統表示，作戰軍隊將在今年年底之前撤離伊拉克。但他之前說過，布什政府也承諾過要在今年年底前撤出全部駐伊美軍。所以這方面有兩黨的承諾，這被視爲正確的做法。”

Clinton spoke on the U.S. television program Fox News Sunday. She stressed the United States has no intention of abandoning Iraq. “What we have agreed to is a support-and-training mission similar to what we have in countries from Jordan to Colombia. And we will be working with the Iraqis. We will also have a very robust diplomatic presence," she said.

克林頓國務卿在“星期天福克斯新聞”電視節目中發表了上述講話。她強調，美國無意放棄伊拉克。克林頓說：“我們所同意的是一項支持和訓練任務，類似於我們在約旦和哥倫比亞等國的任務。我們將與伊拉克人民合作。我們還將保持非常強勁的外交存在。”

But that is not good enough, according to President Obama’s Republican critics. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also appeared on Fox News Sunday. “Not being able to close the deal in Iraq [negotiate an extension of U.S. troops] is a very serious mistake. Celebrating leaving with no troops behind is a serious mistake," he said.

但是，批評奧巴馬總統的共和黨人士說，這樣做還不夠。南卡羅萊納州的聯邦參議員林德西·格拉哈姆也在"星期天福克斯新聞"節目中發表講話。他說：“未能敲定延長在伊拉克駐軍的協議是一個很嚴重的錯誤。在沒有美軍駐紮的情況下舉行慶祝是個嚴重的錯誤。”

Graham accused the president of placing political considerations ahead of America’s long-term security objectives. He disputed any suggestion that Iraq is ready to stand on its own, particularly with regard to its neighbor, Iran. “Iraqis have no air force. They have no intelligence-gathering capability. They need counter-terrorism assistance. There are missions only we can do. The [U.S.] military commander said we needed 15,000 to 18,000 [troops in Iraq]. We have none [after this year]. It was the Obama administration’s job to end this well. They failed," he said.

格拉哈姆指責奧巴馬總統將政治考量置於美國的長期安全目標之前。他質疑任何有關伊拉克已準備好依靠自己的說法，他特別提到伊拉克的鄰國伊朗。格拉哈姆說：“伊拉克人沒有空軍。他們沒有收集情報的能力。他們需要反恐協助。這些任務只有我們能完成。美軍指揮官說過，我們需要在伊拉克駐紮1萬5千到1萬8千名軍人。今年之後我們將沒有駐軍。奧巴馬政府有責任很好地完成這些任務。但他們沒有。”

Secretary of State Clinton said the United States will retain a robust military presence in the Middle East, even after the last troops leave Iraq. She said no nation, including Iran, should doubt America’s resolve to support Iraq’s democracy.

克林頓國務卿說，就算最後一批美軍撤離伊拉克，美國也將在中東地區保持強大的軍事存在。她說，包括伊朗在內的任何國家都不應該懷疑美國支持伊拉克民主的決心。

In the end, she said, it was Iraq’s decision to insist on a complete U.S. troop withdrawal. “The point of our involvement in Iraq was to create the opportunity for the Iraqis to have their own future without the oppression of a dictator like Saddam Hussein. Now you cannot, on the one hand, say you are all for democracy and sovereignty and independence, and on the other hand say that when a choice is made that is validated by the current government in Iraq, that that somehow is not appropriate. That is what we were there for - to give the Iraqi people the chance to make their own decisions," she said.

她還說，最後，是伊拉克決定堅持讓美軍全部撤離。克林頓說：“我們捲入伊拉克戰爭的目的在於爲伊拉克人民創造一個機會，讓他們擁有自己的未來，不用遭受薩達姆這樣的獨裁者的壓迫。現在你不能，一方面說你完全是爲了民主、主權和獨立，而另一方面，當作出了一個伊拉克現政府認可的選擇時，你又說這是不對的。我們到伊拉克的目的，就是去給伊拉克人民自己做決定的機會。”

Last week, President Obama said he was keeping a promise to end the war in Iraq, but added “the United States will continue to have an interest in an Iraq that is stable, secure and self-reliant”.

奧巴馬總統上星期說，他在遵守結束伊拉克戰爭的承諾，但他補充說：“美國將繼續關心一個穩定、安全和自力更生的伊拉克。”