U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States must prepare to fight insurgencies and similar types of wars for the foreseeable future, and put less emphasis on preparing for large-scale conventional wars.
美国国防部长罗伯特.盖茨说，美国在可预见的未来，必须准备进行打击叛乱分子的战争及类似战争，与此同时，不要对打大规模常规战争做出过分的重视。
It is an ongoing debate among military officers and defense experts, and Secretary Gates spoke up firmly on one side of it during a speech Tuesday in Colorado.
这是一个五角大楼的军官和防务专家们争执不下的问题。美国国防部长盖茨周二在科罗拉多州发表的讲话中，坚定站在其中一边的立场上。
"Overall, the kind of capabilities we will most likely need in the years ahead will often resemble the kind of capabilities we need today," he said. "The implication, particularly for America's ground forces, means we must institutionalize the lessons learned and capabilities honed from the ongoing conflicts."
他说：“就整体而言，我们在未来的岁月最可能需要的能力，往往类似于我们今天所需要的这种能力。其中的含义，尤其是对美国的地面部队而言，意味著我们必须把我们所学到的教训以及从持续不断的冲突中所磨炼的作战能力制度化。 ”
Secretary Gates said in the past, counter-insurgency capabilities have been gained and lost, but this time they must be maintained. He criticized those in the U.S. military who are, in his view, overly concerned about restoring such conventional capabilities as tank warfare.
美国国防部长盖茨说，过去，美军曾经获得过并且失去过反叛乱的能力，但这个时候，他们必须维持这种能力。他批评美军当中一些人对恢复坦克战的常规战力显得过度忧虑。
The secretary acknowledged there are what he called "rising and resurgent powers" - an apparent reference to China and Russia among other countries - and he says they must be "watched closely and hedged against." He listed the Persian Gulf, the Korean Peninsula and the Straits of Taiwan as potential flashpoints.
美国国防部长盖茨承认有他所谓的“正在崛起的和重新恢复的大国” 。显然在诸国中他指的是中国和俄罗斯。盖茨说，这样的大国必须加以“密切注视和折冲” 。他列举了波斯湾、朝鲜半岛和台湾海峡为潜在的热点地区。
But the secretary said it is "hard to conceive" of any country taking on the United States in a large-scale war, and called the potential risks "manageable." He said the United States has enough combat power in its air and naval forces to deter, or respond to, any "aggression."
但这位美国国防部长说：“很难设想，任何国家会针对美国发动一场大规模战争。”盖茨把这种潜在风险列为“可控制的”风险。他说，美国海军和空军有足够的作战能力能够遏阻， 或回应任何“侵略” 。
"It is true that we would be hard pressed to launch a major conventional ground operation elsewhere in the world at this time," he added. "But where would we sensibly do that?"
盖茨说：“事实的确是我们在目前这个阶段很难在世界其他地区打一场地面战争。但是，我们会理智地在什么地方那样做呢？ ”
Secretary Gates said his analysis has implications for U.S. defense planning and purchasing, and he served notice on all the military services, and their contractors, that, at least as long as he is in office, they will have to address what is called "irregular" warfare.
"Any major weapons program, in order to remain viable, will have to show some utility and relevance to the kind of irregular campaigns that, as I mentioned, are most likely to engage America's military in the coming decades," he explained.
That calls into question several ongoing and very expensive programs, including aspects of the Army's high-technology Future Combat System and the Air Force's new fighter jet, the F-22.
Secretary Gates said one of the most important things the Defense Department must do to prepare for the future is ensure that the people in the U.S. military are properly cared for, and that their morale is not undermined by defeat, as it was after the Vietnam War.
盖茨说，美国国防部为未来做好准备而必须要做的最重要的一件事情，就是确保美国军事人员得到妥善的照顾，以及他们的士气不会被失利所削弱，像越南战争后那样。
"The risk of overextending the army is real, but I believe the risk is far greater, to that institution as well as to our country, if we were to fail in Iraq," he said. "That is the war we are in. That is the war we must win."
盖茨说：“把军队铺得太开的风险是存在的。但我相信对我们的（军事）机制和我们的国家来说风险更大的是我们在伊拉克的失败。伊拉克战争是我们正在打的一场战争，同时也是我们必须赢的一场战争 。”
That comment was reminiscent of one by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who famously said in 2004, with regard to the U.S. army's readiness to fight an insurgency in Iraq, "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time." Secretary Gates was saying the United States must fight, and win, today's war with today's army, and also be better prepared to fight similar wars in the future.
盖茨说，美国必须以今天的军队作战赢得今天的战争，但是也要为在将来打类似的战争做好充分的准备。 |