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　　The United States observes Veterans Day November 11, a national holiday to remember and honor military veterans of all wars. Veterans Day dates back to the end of World War I in 1918. This year it falls less than two months before all U.S. troops are due to leave Iraq, and while nearly 100,000 American service members are still in Afghanistan. Veterans of those recent wars have differing views about the U.S. military presence abroad.
今天是美国的退伍军人节(Veterans Day)。在美国，这是一个全国性的假日，纪念所有参与过各项战事的军人。退伍军人节可以追溯到1918年第一次世界大战结束的日期。今年的退伍军人节，距离美国从伊拉克撤军不到两个月的时间，但是美国依然有将近10万官兵驻扎在阿富汗。
Inside a classroom at Santa Monica College, a group of students meet once a week to make friends and for support. They are all military veterans, and for some, such as Monica Scates, the horrors of war are still very real.
这几个学生每个星期都要到圣莫尼卡大学的一个教室聚会，交友，同时也是为了彼此之间的相互支持。他们都是在军队里服过役的。对于其中一些人来讲，战争的恐怖至今还历历在目。莫尼卡·斯盖茨就是一个。
“When I came home it took three years to transition after getting out. That was such a feeling of being lost, that we were given no transitional training, no decompression,” she said.
她说：“我退役回家之后，整整花了三年的时间，调整心态。那时候感到不知所措，而且也没有接受任何调整心态、回到正常生活当中的培训。”
Scates served in the first Gulf¹ War against Iraq 20 years ago. When she returned home she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder².
斯盖茨20多年前在第一次海湾战争中服过役。她从战场上退下来以后，明显感受到了自己患有创伤后精神紊乱症(post-traumatic stress disorder)。
“I lost my marriage. I lost my family, my home,” she said.
她说：“我的婚姻破裂，家人离我而去，住房也没了。”
Scates eventually received treatment, and has just started college.
后来，斯盖茨得到了治疗，她开始到社区大学念书。
Fellow Army veteran Daniel Anderson served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He joined the military shortly after finishing high school.
丹尼尔·安德森也是一位退役军人。他在伊拉克和阿富汗都服过役。安德森是高中毕业后不久参军的。
"I gave myself an ultimatum³. If I don't do well in college, I'll join the military," Anderson said.
他说：“我给自己下了一条命令：要是书念得不好的话，干脆就入伍参军。”
Another veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Christopher Bellingham, joined the Army for the education benefits that military service provides.
谈到为什么要入伍参军，克里斯托夫·贝林汗姆说，他之所以入伍是因为看中了参军入伍以后，军人能够享受的那些教育方面的福利。贝林汗姆在阿富汗战事中服役。
"I wanted some money for college," Bellingham said.
While these three Army veterans had military experience under combat conditions, their views about America’s future course in Iraq and Afghanistan are not the same.
虽然上面提到的这三位退役军人都亲历过战事，但是他们对美国在伊拉克和阿富汗战事的前景，却有着不同的看法。
Scates says U.S. troops should not leave Iraq at the end of this year. “To be honest with you, no, because it will be just like what we did during Vietnam. We have to stabilize⁴ the people first. They don’t have a stable government. They don’t have a stable force,” she said.
斯盖茨说，美国不应该在今年年底之前，从伊拉克全部撤军。她说：“我的想法是，不应该；因为如果撤军的话，结果就跟我们在越战中的作法没有什么不同。我们应该先把当地的局势搞定，那里目前没有一个稳定的政府，也没有一个稳定的军队可言。”
Anderson disagrees. “I think it’s about time that we pull out because they, I think, are ready to stand up take it on their own,” he said.
但是，安德森则不这么想。他说：“我认为，应该撤军了，因为我看他们已经准备好，能撑住的。”
Anderson says he is not sure whether the fight in Iraq was worth the cost, in either human or military terms.
安德森说，美国对伊拉克的战事，无论是从军事的角度、还是从人的付出的角度来说，都很难说，是不是值得。
“I’m glad Saddam Hussein was ousted⁵ from power. And there is a lot of corruption⁶, and you can see it. ... But that’s just a much more muddied water, you know. I think that war was a political, strategic war, as opposed to a necessary, on-the-ground fight,” Anderson said.
他说：“我很高兴萨达姆·候赛因被赶下台了，现在腐败很严重，是看得到的。不过，那场战事本来就不是那么明朗，在我看来，那是一场政治性的、战略性的战事，而不是完全有必要展开的、必须打的战争。”
Bellingham says the U.S. should also get out of Afghanistan.
贝林汗姆认为，美国不仅应该从伊拉克撤军，也应该从阿富汗撤军。
"There’s no purpose any more. We’ve pumped so much money in that economy that we are their GDP [their entire economy]. We are how they’re making money now. Regardless of when we pull out, they’re not going to be able to sustain to the level we brought them up to. The longer we’re there, the more damage we ... bring," Bellingham said.
他说：“现在已经没有什么目标可言了，我们在那儿投入了这么多的钱，我们实际上就是他们的国民生产总值，就是他们赚钱的方式。不管什么时候撤军，他们都没有能力保持我们帮助他们达到的那个水平。留守的时间越长，后患越多。”
But Anderson says the Afghan people need U.S. help against the Taliban.
不过，安德森说，阿富汗人需要美国的帮助，来对付塔利班。
"I think the people are really oppressed by that terrible organization. I think that one is really worth fighting for," he said.
“我认为，当地人确实是受到塔利班这个坏透了的组织的压制，我认为，阿富汗战事还是很值得打的。”
All three veterans say they don’t think the Americans fully⁷ understand what their troops are fighting for in Iraq and Afghanistan. In part, they blame the American news media.
三位退役军人都说，普通的美国人根本不能充分理解美国出兵到伊拉克和阿富汗是为了什么。他们说，这在一定程度上，是媒体造成的。
"The 'talking heads' on TV ... It gets lost in opinion as oppososed to fact," Anderson said.
安德森说：“电视上那些专搞评论的，他们只是侃侃而谈，根本没有着重事实。”
For these veterans, their experiences in the military are shaping their future plans.
对这些退役军人来说，军旅生涯对他们一生的未来都有着不可沫灭的影响。
Monica Scates wants to help homeless veterans.
斯盖茨说她要帮助那些无家可归的退役军人。
“I want to work with [troubled] vets⁸, I want to get them off the streets,” Scates said.
“我想要帮助那些有障碍的退役军人，不让他们无家可归。”
Christopher Bellingham wants to conduct research on brain disorders⁹, such as post traumatic stress syndrome¹⁰.
贝林汗姆打算在大脑功能失调方面进行研究，比如说，研究创伤后精神紊乱症。
"Definitely experiencing and seeing my friends go through PTSD, and their emotional coping, piqued¹¹ a greater curiosity and drive," Bellingham said.
他说：“不用说，看到我那些朋友们经历创伤后精神紊乱症，如何艰难地挣扎，这对于我来说，都是动力。”
Anderson wants to be a screenwriter, to tell the story of what he saw.
与此同时，安德森说，他想要当一名剧作家，把自己的所见所闻，告诉世人。
Their experiences in war changed the lives of these three veterans, and they hope that life experience will enable them to change the lives of others - the people they will touch in their future careers.
亲历战事，无疑改变了这三名退役军人的人生。他们都希望能够借助自己的人生经历，通过未来的职业生涯，让他人生活得更美好。