The second-ranking U.S. military commander in Iraq says he expects to keep about 130,000 American troops in the country through the end of this year, when Iraq has a series of elections planned, and then to make a fairly rapid withdrawal of most of the troops by President Barack Obama's deadline at the end of August 2010.
美国驻伊拉克部队第二号指挥官表示，他预计在今年年底伊拉克举行一系列选举之前，美国将在伊拉克保留大约13万部队。在那之后，大部分美国部队将迅速撤出伊拉克。奥巴马总统把2010年8月定为美军撤离的最后期限。
Speaking via satellite from Iraq, U.S. Army Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin indicated that he does not expect any further American troop reductions in Iraq this year, beyond the cut of 12,000 troops announced on Sunday.
美国陆军中将劳埃德.奥斯丁通过通讯卫星从伊拉克向记者们表示，他认为除了星期天公布减少的1万2千部队以外，今年不会进一步减少驻伊美军人数。
"Well, I think what we have right now is what we plan on having for the foreseeable future," said General Austin. "And again, it's hard to predict that. It will depend on whether or not security, the trends, continue to improve, or if things begin to take a turn in the other direction. But I'm fairly confident that we'll be able to maintain what we have."
奥斯丁少将说：“我认为目前的部队规模就是可预见将来的规模。我再说一遍，这是很难预测的事情。它将取决于安全形势是否继续改善，或者朝相反的方向发展。但是我对维持目前的规模很有信心。”
U.S. officials have stressed the need to help Iraqi forces maintain security for local and national elections this year, and to further improve the capabilities of the Iraqi army and police.
美国官员强调需要帮助伊拉克军队维护今年举行的地方和全国选举的安全，进一步改善伊拉克军队和警察的能力。
President Obama says U.S. forces will no longer engage in routine combat missions after August of next year. Instead, they will train Iraqi units, provide aerial surveillance and other support resources the Iraqis do not have and protect American troops and civilians. What the president calls the "residual force" of 35,000 to 50,000 troops would also conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions, as necessary.
奥巴马总统表示，明年8月以后，美军将不再参加日常的作战任务。他们将培训伊拉克部队，提供空中侦察以及伊拉克部队目前并不具备的支持资源，并且保护美军部队和平民。奥巴马把留在伊拉克的3万5千到5万美军称为“剩余部队”，他还表示，这些部队在必要的时候将执行目标明确的反恐任务。
The Iraq drawdown, in part, is linked to the ability of the U.S. military to maintain a higher troop level in Afghanistan, which President Obama announced last month in response to increased insurgent attacks there during the past year.
部分来说，从伊拉克撤出美军部队的工作是和美国在阿富汗维持更多部队的能力联系在一起的。奥巴马上个月宣布增加驻阿富汗美军人数，以应对过去一年阿富汗反叛势力持续增多的袭击行动。
Lieutenant General Austin left open the possibility that if security deteriorates, the Iraq drawdown schedule could change. But he said he believes the Iraqis will be able to take on the burden of most security operations in their country by next year. He also expressed confidence that U.S. logistics experts will be able to get about 100,000 troops and their equipment out of Iraq in about eight months next year - a much faster pace than the president and others had originally envisioned.
奥斯丁少将保留了在伊拉克安全局势恶化的情况下美国改变撤军日程的可能性。但是他说，他相信伊拉克人将有能力到明年的时候承担起大部分安全任务。他还表示，他相信美国后勤专家在明年8个月的时间里能够把大约10万美军部队以及他们的装备运出伊拉克。这个速度比奥巴马总统和其他人所预计的要快得多。
"I am confident that the forces that are required to be moved out of country will have the ability to do that in an orderly and measured fashion," he said. "And I'm also confident that based upon the progress that the Iraqi security forces have made, we'll be able to continue to provide the level of security that will be required for the future."
奥斯丁少将说：“我确信，需要离开伊拉克的美军部队有能力以有序的方式离开。我还确信，根据伊拉克安全部队已经获得的进步的速度来看，我们在未来能够提供所需要的安全水平。”
The residual U.S. force is to stay in Iraq for a little more than a year, and to withdraw by the end of 2011 as required by last year's U.S.-Iraq agreement. General Austin, who will soon end a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq, says the country is close to achieving sustainable security, but that it is not there yet. He says long-term security in Iraq will have to be provided by Iraqi forces.
根据去年达成的美国-伊拉克协议，剩余的美国部队将继续留在伊拉克一年多一点的时间，然后在2011年底之前撤离。即将结束在伊拉克15个月任期的奥斯丁少将说，伊拉克距离获得可以维持的安全的目标已经不远了，但是目前还没有达到这个目标。他说，伊拉克的长期安全必须由伊拉克部队来提供。 |