評論
打印
Now, the reason we originally went into Afghanistan was because al Qaeda was in Afghanistan, being hosted by the Taliban. They have now moved over the border of Afghanistan and they are in Pakistan now, but they continue to have networks with other extremist organizations in that region. And I do believe that it is important for us to stabilize Afghanistan so that the people of Afghanistan can protect themselves, but they can also be a partner in reducing the power of these extremist networks.
我們最初進入阿富汗的原因是因為“基地”組織在那里，塔利班接納了他們。現在他們已經越過阿富汗邊界進入巴基斯坦，但他們在該地區保持了與其他極端主義組織建立的網絡。我確信，我們有必要在阿富汗實現穩定，使阿富汗人民能夠保護自己，同時作為伙伴來幫助削弱這些極端主義網絡的力量。
Now, obviously it is a very difficult thing -- one of the hardest things about my job is ordering young men and women into the battlefield. I often have to meet with the mothers and fathers of the fallen, those who do not come home. And it is a great weight on me. It gives me a heavy heart.
顯然這是非常困難的事情——在我的工作中，最難做的決定之一就是命令年輕人奔赴戰場。我經常要會見那些陣亡官兵的父母親，那些軍人不能再回家。這于我是一個精神重負，我為此感到沉痛。
Fortunately, our Armed Services is -- the young men and women who participate, they believe so strongly in their service to their country that they are willing to go. And I think that it is possible -- working in a broader coalition with our allies in NATO and others that are contributing like Australia -- to help train the Afghans so that they have a functioning government, that they have their own security forces, and then slowly we can begin to pull our troops out because there's no longer that vacuum that existed after the Taliban left.
幸運的是，我們的武裝部隊——這些從軍的年輕人——他們堅信為國奉獻，自愿去前線。我相信，通過更廣泛的聯盟，包括我們的北約盟國和其他貢獻力量的盟友——如澳大利亞——我們有可能幫助訓練阿富汗人，使他們有一個能夠發揮作用的政府，擁有自己的安全部隊，然后我們可以逐步撤回我們的部隊，因為到那時已經不存在塔利班下臺后所形成的真空。
But it's a difficult task. It's not easy. And ultimately I think in trying to defeat these terrorist extremists, it's important to understand it's not just a military exercise. We also have to think about what motivates young people to become terrorists, why would they become suicide bombers. And although there are obviously a lot of different reasons, including I think the perversion of religion, in thinking that somehow these kinds of violent acts are appropriate, part of what's happened in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan is these young people have no education, they have no opportunities, and so they see no way for them to move forward in life, and that leads them into thinking that this is their only option.
但這是一項艱巨的任務，并不容易。我認為，要最終擊敗這些恐怖主義極端分子，我們必須理解這不僅僅是一項軍事行動。我們還要知道是什么驅使年輕人變成恐怖分子，他們為什么愿意充當自殺爆炸手。顯然，這有很多不同的原因，其中包括對宗教的歪曲，使人們誤認為這種暴力行為是正當的。巴基斯坦和阿富汗等地之所以發生那些事件，原因之一是那些年輕人沒有受過教育，也沒有進取機會，所以他們在生活中看不到出路，這使得他們以為那樣做是惟一的選擇。
