Americans across the political spectrum supported the use of force against those who attacked us on 9/11. Now, as we approach our 10th year of combat in Afghanistan, there are those who are understandably asking tough questions about our mission there. But we must never lose sight of what’s at stake. As we speak, al Qaeda continues to plot against us, and its leadership remains anchored in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists. And because of our drawdown in Iraq, we are now able to apply the resources necessary to go on offense. In fact, over the last 19 months, nearly a dozen al Qaeda leaders — and hundreds of al Qaeda’s extremist allies — have been killed or captured around the world.

所有的美国人，无论其政治立场如何，都支持使用武力抗击那些在9/11袭击我们的人。今天，当我们在阿富汗的作战行动持续将近10年之际，有些人可以理解地就我们在那里的使命提出了一些尖锐的问题，但我们决不能忘记什么是利害攸关的问题。就在此时此刻，“基地”组织正在阴谋策划攻击我们，该组织的头目仍然窝藏在阿富汗与巴基斯坦接壤的边境地区，我们一方面防止阿富汗再次成为恐怖主义分子的基地，另一方面也将挫败、瓦解并战胜“基地”组织。目前，随着我们在伊拉克缩减人员，现在我们能够为采取攻势运用必要的资源。事实上，在过去19个月内，全世界各地有十来个“基地”组织的头目以及数百名“基地”组织的极端主义同伙已经被击毙或捕获。

Within Afghanistan, I’ve ordered the deployment of additional troops who — under the command of General David Petraeus — are fighting to break the Taliban’s momentum.

在阿富汗，我已下令部署更多兵力，在戴维·彼得雷乌斯将军指挥下英勇作战，大灭塔利班的气焰。

As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future. But, as was the case in Iraq, we can’t do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves. That’s why we’re training Afghan Security Forces and supporting a political resolution to Afghanistan’s problems. And next August, we will begin a transition to Afghan responsibility. The pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground, and our support for Afghanistan will endure. But make no mistake: This transition will begin — because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people’s.

如同在伊拉克的增兵，这些部队将仅在那里逗留有限的时间，为阿富汗人民提供机会建设自己的能力并为本身的未来提供安全保障。但是，就像在伊拉克的情形一样，我们不能代替阿富汗人做最终必须由他们自己去做的事情。这就是我们正在训练阿富汗安全部队并支持对阿富汗面临的问题采取政治解决方案的原因。明年8月，我们将开始向阿富汗转交责任，我们撤军的步调将根据当时当地的情形而定，但我们对阿富汗的支持仍将继续。然而毫无疑问：责任的转移必须开始 —— 因为没有尽头的战争既不符合我们的利益，也不符合阿富汗人民的利益。