Democrats are criticizing President Bush's latest decisions on military deployments in Iraq, based on recommendations of the U.S. military commander and senior U.S. diplomat in the country. Republicans supported the president, who approved a plan to reduce the length of U.S. troop deployments, but suspend force withdrawals from Iraq after July.
美国国会民主党人批评布什总统就美军在伊拉克部署所作的最新决定，布什根据美军驻伊拉克最高指挥官和美国驻伊拉克大使的建议作出这一决定。布什批准了一项缩短美军部署时间的计划，但是同时决定在今年7月之后暂停美国从伊拉克撤军。共和党人支持这个决定。
Appearing after President Bush announced his decisions at the White House, Democratic House and Senate leaders held a news conference in the U.S. Capitol.
布什总统在白宫宣布了他的决定之后，国会参众两院的民主党领袖在国会山举行了一场记者会。
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid referred to the week's testimony by U.S. Iraq commander General Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and noted that after July, when the U.S. military surge force is withdrawn, U.S. troops in Iraq will still number about 140,000:
参议院民主党领袖里德谈到了美军最高指挥官彼得雷乌斯将军和美国驻伊拉克大使克罗克本周在国会的证词。他说，在7月份美国增援部队撤出伊拉克之后，美国在伊拉克的军人仍将有大约14万。
"This is not a so-called troop withdrawal pause," he said. "With today's announcement the president signaled to the American people that he has no intention of bringing home anymore troops. Instead he is leaving all the tough decisions to the only person that is going to have to make those tough decisions, the next president of the United States."
他说：“这并不是所谓的暂停撤军。总统今天宣布的消息向美国人民发出了一个信号，那就是他不想再让更多军人返回家园。相反，他将把这个棘手的决定留给另外一个人去作，那就是美国的下一届总统。”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accuses the president of dragging the war out, and repeats the assertion that Iraq is diverting attention from Afghanistan, where Democrats say the real war on terrorism needs to be fought:
众议院议长佩洛西指责布什总统拖延战争，并再次断言说，伊拉克抢走了阿富汗应该得到的关注。民主党人认为，阿富汗才是真正应该进行反恐战争的战场。
"When we know that the real war on terror is in Afghanistan, how can we have that real effort with a sustained effort in Iraq continuing?" she asked.
她说：“当我们知道真正的反恐战争在阿富汗时，我们怎么还能继续把反恐的真正努力继续放在伊拉克呢？”
With Reid and Pelosi were representatives of two military veterans groups opposed to the president's Iraq policies
与里德参议员及佩洛西议长一起出席记者会的是两个退伍军人组织的代表，这些组织都反对布什总统的伊拉克政策。
John Soltz is an Iraq war veteran who heads the VoteVets.org:
索尔兹是一名从伊拉克战场退伍的老兵，他也是“老兵投票”网站的负责人。
"For the president to stand up tonight and explain to the country that he is somehow going to lower troop levels from 15 months to 12 months starting August 1 is a direct misrepresentation of the truth," he said.
他说：“总统今晚站在那里对全国解释说，从8月1号开始，他将把军人的部署时间从15个月减少到12月，这是对真相的直接错误表述。”
President Bush's decision on reducing deployments to 12 months would take effect on August 1, but would not affect U.S. forces already deployed on the front lines.
布什总统决定把部队在伊拉克部署的时间减少为12个月，这个决定将在8月1号生效，但是该决定不影响已经在伊拉克前线部署的美国军队。
Bobby Muller, who heads Veterans for America, calls the decision effectively meaningless:
"Half of the front-line units in the Army [are] already deployed on 15 month deployments," he said. "The majority of the units scheduled to deploy throughout this year are not regular Army anymore. We are going to the domestic unit[s], we're going to the National Guard, the majority are going to be National Guard units who already served 12 month tours."
Republicans welcomed the president's decision, saying it will help reduce stress on U.S. forces.
共和党人欢迎总统的决定，他们说，这个计划有助于减少美国军队的压力。
They also focused on the testimony to Congress by General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, with Republican Senator John Cornyn saying the pace of U.S. withdrawals must be based on conditions:
共和党参议员科宁说，美国撤军的速度必须是有条件的。
"We need to leave Iraq when it has the capability to govern and defend itself," he said. "That is because it is in our vital national security interests to do so."
他说：“我们应该在伊拉克有能力治理和保卫自己的时候才离开伊拉克，这符合我们国家关键的安全利益。”
Senate Republican Lindsey Graham pronounces as dead any new Democratic efforts to set any timetables:
共和党参议员格雷厄姆说，民主党试图制定时间表的任何新努力都是徒劳的。
"I think you would look pretty foolish right now to be quite honest to suggest that the Congress knows more than General Petraeus," he said.
他说：“我认为，坦白地说，如果有人现在说国会比彼得雷乌斯将军了解得还多，那就太愚蠢了。”
But Democrats vow to continue their attempts to use legislation to impact the president's Iraq policies will continue, with Pelosi and Reid saying they will mount legislative efforts to formally mandate the amount of time troops must have between deployments, among other things.
可是，民主党人发誓要继续争取用立法来影响布什总统的伊拉克政策。佩罗西和里德说，他们将增加立法努力，包括正式规定美国军队在两次海外部署之间所需要的休整时间。 |