At a colorful ceremony in one of Saddam Hussein's old palaces outside Baghdad, the U.S. military formally ended its combat role in Iraq and passed command of the remaining 50,000 American troops to a new four-star general.
在巴格达郊外萨达姆原来的一座宫殿举行的仪式上，美国军方正式结束了在伊拉克的作战使命，同时把留驻伊拉克的五万美军的指挥权移交给一位新的四星将军。
A U.S. military band played as American and Iraqi flags flew, and American and Iraqi troops and civilians filled the cavernous atrium of the Al-Faw palace to watch U.S. Vice President Joe Biden preside over the ceremony.
美国和伊拉克国旗迎风飘舞，一支美国军乐队演奏着乐曲。美国和伊拉克军人以及平民聚集在阿尔法乌宫的中庭，观看美国副总统拜登主持的移交仪式。
"We have kept a promise, a promise made to the American people and to the people of Iraq by drawing down our forces to roughly 50,000, and we are on track to remove all of our troops by the end of next year, according to the agreement signed by President Bush, made with the Iraqi government," Biden said.
拜登说：“我们遵守向美国人民和伊拉克人民所做的承诺，把我们的部队减少到大约5万人。我们还根据布什总统和伊拉克政府签署的协议，朝着在明年年底前撤出全部美军而努力。”
Biden noted the sacrifice of American and Iraqi forces, and of Iraqi civilians. He noted that more than one million U.S. troops have been assigned to Iraq during the last seven-and-a-half years. And the vice-president said American involvement with Iraq will continue, not only with the thousands of troops advising its military, but with a surge of diplomats and aid workers.
拜登还谈到美国和伊拉克部队以及伊拉克平民所做出的牺牲。他说，过去七年半里，先后有100多万美军被派往伊拉克。拜登副总统表示，美国将继续参与伊拉克事务，不仅是数千名军人要承担伊拉克军队的顾问工作，还会增加外交人员和援助人员。
"Our goal is not just a physically secure Iraq, but an economically prosperous and stable one as well," Biden stated.
拜登说：“我们的目标不仅是一个环境安全的伊拉克 ，而且是一个经济繁荣稳定的伊拉克。”
To that end, the vice president urged Iraqi politicians to end their nearly six-month impasse and form a new government.
为了实现这个目标，拜登副总统敦促伊拉克政界人士结束他们近六个月来的政治僵局，组建一个新政府。
Insurgent attacks continue in Iraq, some of them on a very large scale. But Mr. Biden said overall violence in Iraq is at its lowest level since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
反叛分子继续在伊拉克发动攻击，包括一些大规模的攻击。但是，拜登副总统说，伊拉克境内总体暴力活动目前降至美国2003年出兵以来的最低水平。
The outgoing commander, General Ray Odierno, who has spent a total of 55 months commanding troops in Iraq at various levels, said this is the right time to end the combat mission. "Even today there are those who doubt that the Iraqi security forces are ready to take full responsibility for security," he said. "I stand before you today and say they are ready to do that task."
即将离任的指挥官奥迪耶诺将军已经在伊拉克工作了55个月，在不同的层级指挥作战。他说，现在是结束作战任务的正确时机。奥迪耶诺说：“直到今天，还有人怀疑伊拉克安全部队是否准备好全面承担为国内安全职责了。我今天站在这里，告诉你们，他们已经为承担这项任务做好了准备。”
Odierno said Iraq will always be a part of him and he looks forward to coming back to visit.
奥迪耶诺说，伊拉克将永远是他生命的一部分，他期待有机会重访伊拉克。
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who traveled from Washington for the ceremony, credited General Odierno with successfully implementing the surge and counterinsurgency strategy when it was adopted in 2007, and seeing the job through to the end.
"He helped craft, and implemented the strategy that led to the dramatic decreases in violence of the past three years. Without Ray's and his troops' ability to turn plans into results on the ground, we would be facing a far grimmer situation outside these walls today, and more broadly, a strategic disaster for the United States," Gates said.
The incoming commander, General Lloyd Austin was Odierno's deputy a year ago, and comes directly from the top job on the joint military staff at the Pentagon. "Make no mistake, our military forces here and those of the Iraqi nation remain committed to ensuring that our friends in Iraq succeed, and we will demonstrate our commitment through a continued partnership with the Iraqis," Austin said.
即将上任的指挥官奥斯汀中将一年前曾是奥迪耶诺的副手。他说：“毫无疑义，我们的驻伊部队和伊拉克部队将继续致力于确保我们的伊拉克朋友能取得成功，我们将通过继续与伊拉克人的合作来证实我们的承诺。”
The troops General Austin now commands are fully capable U.S. Army brigades, but their mission is to "advise and assist" the Iraqi Army and police. That means they will sometimes go on patrol with the Iraqis, but their job will be to train and to call in support as needed, not to lead or fight.
奥斯汀中将指挥的部队是完全有作战能力的美国陆军战队，但他们的任务现在是“指导和协助”伊拉克军队和警察。这意味着他们有时会和伊拉克士兵一起执行巡逻任务，但他们的工作将是训练和在需要时进行支援，而不是领导作战，或参与作战。
But the still substantial number of American troops here can help in an emergency, and analysts say they will also serve as a stabilizing influence to help prevent ethnic and sectarian tensions from again flaring into violence.
不过，数量依旧庞大的美军能在紧急情况下提供帮助。分析人士说，他们还将起到稳定局势的作用，帮助防止民族和宗教派系之争再次演变为暴力事件。 |