America and Iraq
A year of surge, five years of war
伊战，五年之痒一年搔
Apr 10th 2008 | WASHINGTON, DC, AND BAGHDAD
From The Economist print edition
Translation alex127680
General Petraeus offers some faintly hopeful news, but no quick way out of Iraq
ROMAN generals, after a foreign victory, earned a triumph at home. General David Petraeus, having yet to win in Iraq, was interrogated this week by impatient senators. The only similarity to a Roman triumph was that the Washington Post's sketch writer bobbed up and down behind the general's shoulder, thinking up witty ways to remind him he is mortal.
古罗马的将军们在赢得一场对外战争的胜利后,会得到一顶桂冠.相较之下,正在赢得伊拉克战争的彼得雷乌斯将军受到不耐烦地参议员质询似乎有些委屈.将军唯一可以用来当作安慰桂冠的东西,似乎就是华盛顿时报漫画专栏作家们的作品了,在他们的作品中,往往善意的透露出一个信息-将军亦是凡人.
General Petraeus, America's top soldier in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the American ambassador there, argued that in the seven months since they last testified before Congress, real but fragile progress has been made. The “surge” of around 30,000 extra American troops since last spring has reduced the level of violence. The numbers of attacks and civilian deaths, which peaked at horrific levels towards the end of 2006, have for six months been as low as they were before the bombing of the gold-domed mosque in Samarra in February 2006 started something close to a civil war between Sunnis and Shias.
彼得雷乌斯将军,驻伊美军最高指挥官,以及雷恩-克鲁克,美国驻伊拉克大使,此二人在过去的七个月面对国会质询时,都坚持称伊拉克和平进程已经取得了实质的但仍然很脆弱的进展.被临时增派来"灭火"的3万名美军,的的确确使得伊拉克的动荡局势得到了缓解.自2006年底伊拉克内乱达到顶峰后,现在袭击事件和平民伤亡数量,都已经连续6个月时间维持在06年萨马拉金顶清真寺爆炸案以前的水平了,而那一次的爆炸案几乎使这个国家陷入逊尼派和什叶派的内战之中.
The Iraqi government is conducting its own surge, the general said. It hired an extra 100,000 soldiers and police in 2007. Another 90,000 paid volunteers, called the “Sons of Iraq”, have signed contracts to help Iraqi and coalition forces protect their neighbourhoods. These volunteers are armed and local, which makes them well-placed to spot any insurgents in their midst. They in effect pay for themselves, said the general, since their wages are outweighed by the value of the army vehicles preserved since the violence has eased, not to mention the lives saved.
将军表示,伊拉克政府现在也已经逐渐有了控制突发事件的能力.在2007年,伊政府雇用了十万名以上的军警,以及9万名被称作"伊拉克之子"的带薪志愿者 (志愿者还TM带薪?你以为你是TG啊!!!).他们签署协议,伊政府及其盟友保境安民.这些志愿者们既有武器,又是在主场作战,这一得天独厚的优势,使得他们便于发现藏身于其家园的反政府武装.彼得雷乌斯将军表示他们保卫自己的家园而又能得到工资,并且随着暴力事件减少,原本用来购买被摧毁的装备车辆的钱被用来给他们增加工资了,这都能使得他们更有勇气去作战.更何况,这一举措使众多生灵免受涂炭.
Political progress, meanwhile, has been “frustratingly slow” but nonetheless substantial, said Mr Crocker. Iraqis are growing more optimistic, and their oil-fuelled economy is growing nicely. Crucial laws have been passed, including one defining the relationship between the centre and the provinces, which Mr Crocker said followed a debate “similar in its complexity to our own lengthy and difficult debate over states' rights”.
不过与此同时,伊拉克的政治改革进程却是"令人灰心的慢",不过还好,至少有了点实质性进展.克鲁克大使如是说.伊拉克人民正在变得越来越乐观,并且国家这个伊石油出口为支柱的经济正在健康地发展.一系列法律得到了通过.其中包括一项被克鲁克大使描绘为"在复杂程度上与我国(美国)差不多,并同样经过一些列艰难而又漫长谈判从而产生的",旨在定义中央与地方关系的法律.
That debate, in America, involved a civil war. Iraq, he implied, may escape without one, but only if America sticks around long enough. By the end of July the extra surge troops will have left Iraq. General Petraeus said he would urge President George Bush to stop and ponder the conditions on the ground before reducing troop strength any further.
美国关于中央与地方权责的辩论一定程度上促成了美国内战的爆发,而克鲁克大使表示,伊拉克似乎不会重演这一幕.不过要有个前提,即美军要在伊拉克驻扎足够久才行.今年7月底,那些"救火队员们"就要拍屁股滚蛋了.彼得雷乌斯将军说,他会恳请总统停止撤军,并在下一次决定撤军之前先考虑一下局势是否符合条件.
His refusal to spell out how or when America can leave Iraq irked the senators. Barack Obama pressed him. Among the “parade of horribles”, he said, the two that matter most are al-Qaeda and Iran. America cannot hunt down and eliminate every single bin Ladenite, he said. Nor can it prevent Iraq's big neighbour from wielding at least some influence. The goal, suggested Mr Obama, should be an Iraq that is messy but manageable. “When you have finite resources, you've got to define your goals tightly and modestly,” he said.
他这一对如何及何时撤军的反对意见,使得参议员们头疼不已.奥巴马向将军施加了压力.他说,美过现在所面临的两项最重要问题,一是基地组织,二是伊朗问题.他表示,山姆大叔现在连本拉登的影子毛都没揪到,也没能对伊拉克虎视眈眈的邻居伊朗时间任何影响.奥巴马认为,美国现在的目标应调整为让伊拉克保持在一个相对混乱但可控的局势内..他说:"如果你资源有限的话,你就应该将自己的目标调整到一个相对低并低调的程度上."
Democrats and several Republicans asked harsh questions about the Iraqi government's recent attempt to crush militias that support Muqtada al-Sadr, a firebrand with many followers among Shias, especially the poor. Raids by the Iraqi army in Basra last month ended in stalemate at best. Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers and police deserted or otherwise failed to do their duty. Why was the mission so ill-planned, asked the senators, and why was America kept in the dark about Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's intentions until the last minute?
民主党及部分共和党议员,在伊拉克政最最近关于摧毁支持什叶派宗教领袖萨德尔的民兵组织一事上,提出了尖锐的问题.萨德尔的组织得到了很多什叶派教徒,特别是贫穷的什叶派教徒的支持.伊政府上月在巴士拉对该组织的镇压,充其量只能算是打了个平手.数百名伊拉克军警拒绝执行此项任务,或没能执行.参议员们质询,为何此项计划的制定如此之糟糕?为何美军对伊拉克总理马立基的这一小算盘毫不知情,直到行动开始前最后一分钟才获悉?
Some senators fretted that America was being sucked into a sectarian civil war. Even John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, called the Basra operation a “disappointment”. Mr Crocker said it was encouraging that Iraq's central government, though dominated by Shias, was willing to take on Shia extremist groups. The fighting in Basra has shaken up Iraqi politics, he claimed, boosting Mr Maliki and putting Mr Sadr on the defensive.
部分参议员非常不爽的指出,美国现在正逐渐的被拖向一场种族主义内战之中.甚至连共和党内定的总统候选提名人麦凯恩都将此次在巴士拉的行动评价为"令人失望".克鲁克大使表示,尽管伊拉克中央政府是由什叶派主导的,但它仍愿意去摧毁什叶派极端组织,这一点还是比较令人兴奋的.他说,巴士拉的这一冲突,使得伊拉克政局发生了重组.促使马立基和萨德尔二人都采取了相对保守的姿态.
All three senators vying for the presidency said they wanted to withdraw from Iraq as quickly as would be wise. They differed sharply as to how quickly that might be. Hillary Clinton said that an “orderly” withdrawal should start now. Mr Obama said that a timetable for pulling out would force Iraqi politicians to take responsibility for their own country. Mr McCain warned that a hasty withdrawal would lead to mayhem, which America might have to re-invade to quell. All three sounded grave, mindful that in less than a year the whole mess will belong to one of them.
参选总统的三位参议员均表示愿撤出伊拉克(麦凯恩貌似不是这一观点).而在何时撤出这一问题上,此三人的意见则大相径庭.希拉里说,美军应从现在开始"有序"撤出伊拉克.奥巴马认为,美军撤出时间表的制定,将迫使伊拉克的政客学会为自己的国家负责.而麦凯恩则警告,操之过急的撤军将是一种蓄意犯罪,届时美军不得不再次介入此地,平息内战.三位候选人的回应都很沉重,脑子里都想得是,不到一年后,他们之中的一位将捧起这个烫手山芋.
[04-15] 【Eco-美国】A year of surge, five years of war伊战，五年之痒一年搔
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