The Senate Armed Services Committee has held a hearing on President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta. Panetta, the current Central Intelligence Agency Director, was warmly received by the panel, but faced a number of tough questions on his ideas about the size and pace of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and plans by the president to cut the nation's defense budget.
美国参议院军事委员会就奥巴马总统提名帕内塔出任下届国防部长一事举行听证会。参院军事委员会成员对现任中央情报局局长帕内塔做出了热情的反应。不过，帕内塔也被问到一些棘手的问题，其中包括他对美国从阿富汗撤军的数量与进度以及奥巴马总统削减美国防务预算的计划的想法。
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the Senate panel quickly made clear in their remarks that Leon Panetta's confirmation to be the next Secretary of Defense by the full Senate is virtually certain. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised Panetta and then hit him with rapid fire questions on a number of challenges he will face.
美国参议院军事委员会的共和党和民主党议员在发言中迅速表明，参议院批准帕内塔出任下届国防部长几乎是板上钉钉的事。南卡罗来纳州的共和党参议员林赛.格雷厄姆在表扬了帕内塔之后，就对他将面临的挑战提出连珠炮式的问题。
"I just think the president has put together an A-plus national security team, and you are one of the lynchpins of that," said Graham. "So now some hard questions. [Both Graham and Panetta laugh]
格雷厄姆说：“我认为，奥巴马总统组建了一个超一流的国家安全班子，你是这个团队里最关键的人物之一。下面我要提一些不好回答的问题了。”
Several senators gave Panetta credit for being the person President Obama put in charge of the operation to capture or kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Panetta said he believed the killing of bin Laden in May gave the United States the best chance it has had since September 11, 2001 to defeat the al-Qaida terrorist network.
几位参议员对奥巴马让帕内塔负责活捉或击毙基地组织头目本.拉登的行动给予好评。帕内塔说，他相信本.拉登在5月被击毙给美国带来自2001年9月11日以来击败基地恐怖组织的最佳机会。
Troop levels in Afghanistan was a major focus of the hearing. President Obama has pledged to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan this July, with a goal of ending U.S. military operations in the country by the end of 2014. Democratic Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Carl Levin has called on the president to withdraw 15,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Levin quoted the president as saying it is time for Afghans to start taking responsibility for their own future.
这次听证会的一个主要问题就是美军在阿富汗的规模。奥巴马总统保证从今年7月开始从阿富汗逐步撤出美军，目标是在2014年底之前结束美国在阿富汗的军事行动。参院军事委员会主席、民主党人卡尔.莱文已要求奥巴马总统在今年年底之前从阿富汗撤回1万5千美军。莱文引述奥巴马总统的话说，现在是阿富汗为他们自己的未来开始负责的时候了。
"The president has also said that the reductions starting in July will be quote significant, and not just a quote token gesture," said Levin. "I support that decision."
莱文说：“奥巴马总统还说，7月份开始的撤军规模是相当大的，并不仅仅是一个象征性的姿态。我支持这一决定。”
But there were also several senators on the panel worried that the progress achieved during ten years of U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan could be jeopardized by a hasty pull-out. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona:
不过，参院军事委员会也有几位参议员担心，如果匆忙撤军，美军在阿富汗作战10年期间取得进展就会面临危险。亚利桑那州的共和党参议员约翰.麦凯恩说：
"I would agree with Secretary Gates that any drawdown should be modest so as to maximize our ability to lock in the hard-won gains of our troops through the next fighting season," said McCain.
他说：“我同意国防部长盖茨的观点，也就是说，任何时候减少兵力都要适度，以便在今后的战斗中能够最大程度发挥我们的能力，锁定我军通过艰苦的努力才取得的胜利成果。”
Panetta refused to be pinned down on whether the reductions of U.S. troops from Afghanistan should be "modest" or "significant", saying only he agrees with the president that they should be "conditions-based."
帕内塔不愿意明确说明驻阿富汗美军的减少程度应当是适度的还是大量的。他只是说，他同意奥巴马总统的看法，应当基于一定的条件确定撤军的人数。
Several senators expressed concern that any progress in Afghanistan is threatened by the terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, which enable terrorists to constantly cross over the border to attack U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. Panetta said he shares these concerns, and the Obama administration has conveyed them to the Pakistani government.
几位参议员表示担心，在阿富汗取得的任何进展都会受到藏身在巴基斯坦的恐怖分子的威胁，因为恐怖分子可以从这些地点不断地越境袭击阿富汗的美军和阿富汗部队。帕内塔说，他也有这样的担心，奥巴马政府已经把美国对这些问题的关注转达给巴基斯坦政府。
"We need to have their cooperation, we need to have their partnership in confronting what frankly is a common enemy here," said Panetta. "You know terrorism just isn't our problem, it is their problem."
帕内塔说：“我们需要巴基斯坦政府的合作。我们需要和他们结成伙伴关系，对抗我们的共同敌人。要知道，恐怖主义不仅是我们的问题，也是他们的问题。”
Asked about progress in Libya, Panetta said there are signs that military and economic pressure are showing “some signs” of working and that he expects they could force Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to step down if the United States and its NATO allies keep up the pressure on him.
当被问到利比亚问题的进展时，帕内塔说，有迹象显示，军事与经济压力已开始奏效。他预计，如果美国与北约盟国向利比亚领导人卡扎菲继续施加压力，这些压力就会迫使卡扎菲辞职。
If confirmed by the Senate, Panetta would take over the Pentagon at a time when the U.S. is involved in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and President Obama has called for an additional $400 billion in cuts to defense spending. Some senators said they do not want military decisions to be dictated by budgetary constraints. Panetta assured the panel that his first and foremost mission will always be to protect the United States.
如果获得参议院的批准，帕内塔就将接管五角大楼。而这个时候正值美国参与伊拉克、阿富汗和利比亚战争，奥巴马总统要求把防务预算进一步削减4千亿美元。一些参议员说，他们不想让军事决策受到预算限制的影响。帕内塔向参院军事委员会保证说，他的第一和首要的使命永远都是保护美国。
"I do not believe based on my long experience in government and working with budgets that we have to choose between strong fiscal discipline and strong national defense," he said.
帕内塔说：“根据我在政府工作以及在处理预算问题的长期经验，我们应当能够兼顾财政约束和国防需要，而不是二者只取其一。”
Panetta vowed to eliminate wasteful spending by the Pentagon, and said the country owes it to U.S. service members and their families to give them the best possible benefits and health care.
帕内塔誓言要根除五角大楼的开支浪费。他说，美国应当给军人及其家人提供尽可能好的福利和医疗保险。 |