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　　U.S. President George Bush says he is confident an agreement with Baghdad on the future status of American forces in Iraq can be approved before their U.N. mandate¹ expires on December 31. Mr. Bush spoke² after talks at the White House with the President of Iraq's Kurdish regional government, Massoud Barzani.
美国总统布什说，他相信与伊拉克当局就未来驻伊美军地位问题的协议会在联合国授权令于十二月三十一号到期前得以通过。布什发表这番讲话前与伊拉克的库尔德政府主席巴尔扎尼在白宫举行了会谈。
Time is running out for completing the Status of Forces Agreement between Washington and Baghdad.
华盛顿与巴格达之间达成部队地位协议的时间日益紧迫。
A draft accord is in hand after months of negotiations³, but the Iraqis have now proposed changes to the plan.
经过几个月的谈判，双方已经产生了一份协议草案，但是伊拉克方面如今提出要改动这一方案。
President Bush told Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani that the request will receive serious consideration.
布什总统对库尔德族领袖巴尔扎尼说，美方会认真考虑有关要求。
"We are analyzing⁴ those amendments⁵," he said. "We obviously want to be helpful and constructive⁶ without undermining basic principles. And I remain very hopeful and confident that the SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement] will be passed."
他说：“我们正在分析那些修正条款。我们显然希望在不影响基本原则的前提下尽力提供帮助并富有建设性。我仍然充满希望，而且确信部队地位协议会得以通过。”
But U.S. officials have warned that the bar for changes is set very high. They have indicated there is little desire in Washington to reopen negotiations on the substance of the deal.
但是美国官员警告说，对协议作出变动的要求是很严格的。他们表示，华盛顿方面不想对协议实质性的内容重新谈判。
At the same time, they say the agreement is vital, and that the door is not closed to possible changes in wording.
同时他们又说，有关协议至关重要，对协议作措辞方面的改动是有可能的。
At the Pentagon, spokesman Geoff Morrell stressed the proposed changes will be studied carefully, deliberately⁷ and with respect.
在美国国防部，发言人莫雷尔强调，美方将对改变的建议进行仔细、审慎的研究，并对伊拉克抱着尊重的态度。
"Strategic partners give each other the courtesy of listening to concerns," he said. "So the Iraqis have raised some concerns. We are now trying to translate them and figure out what precisely⁸ they are. And we will listen to them. We will evaluate them and we will make decisions based upon our understanding at that point."
莫雷尔说：“战略夥伴之间本应倾听对方的忧虑。所以伊拉克现在提出了他们关注的问题，我们目前正在努力设法了解并明白它们真正的含义。我们也会听取他们的意见。我们也将评估这些意见，然后我们将在当时理解的基础上作出决定。”
No one in the Bush administration is commenting publicly on the specifics of the proposals. But an Iraqi government spokesman in Baghdad says the amendments include language that would ban U.S. forces from attacking neighboring countries from Iraqi territory. The proposed changes also deal with the legal rights of American troops in Iraq and the outlook for a drawdown of U.S. forces.
布什政府内还没有人公开对伊拉克提议的具体内容作出评论。但是伊拉克政府的一名发言人在巴格达说，修正条款的内容包括禁止美军从伊拉克领土向邻国发动袭击的措辞。所建议的改动还涉及驻伊美军的合法权利问题，以及驻伊美军人数缩减的前景规划。
Some Iraqi officials have acknowledged that these changes will be difficult for the United States to accept, leaving open the possibility of seeking an extension of the U.N. forces mandate.
某些伊拉克官员承认，这些改动要美国方面接受是很困难的，因此有可能会寻求联合国延长部队授权令。
Pentagon spokesman Morrell told reporters Wednesday that Washington is heartened by statements from Moscow and other capitals on prospects⁹ for renewal¹⁰. But he stressed the focus remains¹¹ on reaching a Status of Forces Agreement on time.
美国国防部发言人莫雷尔星期三对记者说，莫斯科和其他几个国家最近发表了有可能延续授权令的声明，华盛顿对此感到很高兴。但是他强调，目前的焦点仍集中于按期达成军队地位协议。