Iraq War Anniversary Dominates US Election Campaign
伊戰成為美國總統競選的中心議題

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.

星期三是伊拉克戰爭爆發五周年。在這一天，伊拉克戰爭成為美國總統競選的中心議題。

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

民主黨的總統競選人奧巴馬在北卡羅來納州舉行的一次競選活動中談到了伊拉克戰爭。

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

奧巴馬再次保證要在16個月內從伊拉克撤回大部分美軍。他還反駁了他競選總統候選人提名的對手克林頓參議員提出的一個類似的撤軍計劃。

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 initially supported it.

奧巴馬說，選民應該更加信任他而不是克林頓能夠結束這場戰爭，因為他從一開始就反對戰爭而克林頓則在最初支持戰爭。

"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."

奧巴馬說：“事實是，打一場沒有盡頭的戰爭不會迫使伊拉克人為自己的未來負起責任。在一場沒有盡頭的戰爭里作戰不會讓美國人更安全。所以，如果我擔任軍隊總司令的話，我會在第一天就設立一個新目標，我將結束這場戰爭。”

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.

克林頓參議員在訪問底特律市時說，美國不可能贏得伊拉克內戰。在伊拉克，軍事手段不能解決問題。克林頓保證她將在擔任總統60天內開始從伊拉克撤軍。

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

在另外一個問題上，克林頓向奧巴馬發難，要求奧巴馬接受在密西根州和佛羅里達州舉行新的民主黨初選。

"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.

克林頓說：“今天我呼吁他做到言行一致，確保密西根和佛羅里達的民眾能夠通過投票表達他們的心聲。”

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 violation of party rules. Officials in Florida say they do not plan to hold a new vote.

密西根和佛羅里達這兩個州在1月份舉行了初選。但是因為這兩次選舉過早舉行，違反了黨內規定，民主黨全國委員會拒絕承認選舉結果，還剝奪了這兩個州的黨代表參加全國代表大會的資格。佛羅里達官員說，他們不準備再舉行新的投票。

Senator Obama also took issue with the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee, 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.

奧巴馬參議員也反駁了可能得到共和黨總統候選人提名的參議員麥凱恩。奧巴馬說，麥凱恩和布什政府沒有提出策略說明為什么在伊拉克作戰會讓美國人更加安全。

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

麥凱恩星期三隨美國國會代表團在以色列訪問。他說，他希望鞏固同以色列的深厚關系和對以色列的堅定承諾。

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

這個星期早些時候，麥凱恩到訪伊拉克，并且談論了美國領導的增兵戰略所取得的進展。

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

但是，麥凱恩星期二在約旦遇到尷尬。他錯誤地表示，與基地組織結盟的遜尼派暴亂分子在伊朗接受訓練，但是實際上，伊朗被指責是支持什葉派民兵。麥凱恩的參議院同僚、來自康涅狄克州的利伯曼馬上糾正了麥凱恩的口誤。

"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."

利伯曼說：“有媒體報導說，基地組織正回到伊朗接受訓練，然后從伊朗返回伊拉克。大家都了解這個情況，這是個不幸的情況。很抱歉，伊朗人是在訓練極端分子，不是在訓練基地組織。”

Analysts were quick to pounce 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.

分析人士很快就拿麥凱恩的失言大作文章。麥凱恩反復強調他在國家安全事務方面的經驗。他說，他會讓伊拉克成為總統競選的主要議題。麥凱恩批評克林頓和奧巴馬贊成從伊拉克撤軍的立場。

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

布什總統在紀念伊拉克戰爭爆發五周年的講話中也警告倉促撤軍帶來的后果。

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

布什說：“如果我們允許敵人在伊拉克得逞，正在減少的暴力活動會快速增加，伊拉克可能會陷入混亂。”

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

麥凱恩因為成功地確保了共和黨提名，所以他有條件在國外進行政治旅行。

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.

但是民主黨內克林頓和奧巴馬之間的競爭估計還要無限期延續下去。下一場重要決戰將是4月22號在賓西法尼亞州的初選。