The White Hou
Office of the Press Secretary
杜月笙公馆For Immediate Relea
December01,2009
禁毒知识竞赛
Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way
Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Einhower Hall Theatre,United States Military Academy at West
Point,West Point,New York
节气惊蛰8:01P.M.EST
THE PRESIDENT:Good evening.To the United States Corps of Cadets,to the men and women of our Armed Services,and to my fellow Americans:I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan--the nature of our commitment there,the scope of our interests,and the strategy that my ad
ministration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion.It's an extraordinary honor for me to do so here at West Point--where so many men and women have prepared to stand up for our curity,and to reprent what is finest about our country. To address the important issues,it's important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first
无线网登录place.We did not ask for this fight.On September11,2001,19men hijacked four airplanes and ud them to murder nearly3,000people. They struck at our military and economic nerve centers.They took the lives of innocent men,women,and children without regard to their faith or race or station.Were it not for the heroic actions of pasngers onboard one of tho flights,they could have also struck at one of the great symbols of our democracy in Washington,and killed many more.
苏壮强As we know,the men belonged to al Qaeda--a group of extremists who have distorted and defiled Islam,one of the world’s great religions,to justify the slaughter of innocents.Al Qaeda’s ba of operations was in Afghanistan,where they were harbored by the Taliban--a ruthless, repressive and radical movement that ized control of that country after it was ravaged by years of Soviet occupation and civil war,and after the attention of America and our friends had turned elwhere.
Just days after9/11,Congress authorized the u of force against al Qaeda and tho who harbored them--an authorization that continues to this day. The vote in the Senate was98to nothing.The vote in the Hou was420 to 1.For the first time in its history,the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invoked Article5--the commitment that says an attack on one member nation is an attack on all.And the United Nations Security Council endord the u of all necessary steps to respond to the9/11
attacks.America,our allies and the world were acting as one to destroy al Qaeda’s terrorist network and to protect our common curity.
Under the banner of this domestic unity and international legitimacy--and only after the Taliban refud to turn over Osama bin Laden--we nt our troops into Afghanistan.Within a matter of months,al Qaeda was scattered and many of its operatives were killed.The Taliban was driven from power and pushed back on its heels.A place that had known decades of fear now had reason to hope.At a conference convened by the U.N.,a provisional government was established under President Hamid Karzai.And an International Security Assistance Force was established to help bring a lasting peace to a war-torn country.
Then,in early2003,the decision was made to wage a cond war,in Iraq. The wrenching debate over
the Iraq war is well-known and need not be repeated here.It's enough to say that for the next six years,the Iraq war drew the dominant share of our troops,our resources,our diplomacy,and our national attention--and that the decision to go into Iraq caud substantial rifts between America and much of the world.
Today,after extraordinary costs,we are bringing the Iraq war to a responsible end.We will remove our combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next summer,and all of our troops by the end of2011.That we are doing so is a testament to the character of the men and women in
uniform.(Applau.)Thanks to their courage,grit and perverance, we have given Iraqis a chance to shape their future,and we are successfully leaving Iraq to its people.文科最吃香的专业
But while we've achieved hard-earned milestones in Iraq,the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated.After escaping across the border into Pakistan in2001and2002,al Qaeda’s leadership established a safe haven there.Although a legitimate government was elected by the Afghan people,it's been hampered by corruption,the drug trade,an under-developed economy,and insufficient curity forces.
给未来的自己一封信Over the last veral years,the Taliban has maintained common cau with al Qaeda,as they both s
eek an overthrow of the Afghan government. Gradually,the Taliban has begun to control additional swaths of territory in Afghanistan,while engaging in increasingly brazen and devastating attacks of terrorism against the Pakistani people.
雷公雷
Now,throughout this period,our troop levels in Afghanistan remained a fraction of what they were in Iraq.When I took office,we had just over 32,000Americans rving in Afghanistan,compared to160,000in Iraq at the peak of the war.Commanders in Afghanistan repeatedly asked for support to deal with the reemergence of the Taliban,but the reinforcements did not arrive.And that's why,shortly after taking office, I approved a longstanding request for more troops.After consultations
with our allies,I then announced a strategy recognizing the fundamental connection between our war effort in Afghanistan and the extremist safe havens in Pakistan.I t a goal that was narrowly defined as disrupting, dismantling,and defeating al Qaeda and its extremist allies,and pledged to better coordinate our military and civilian efforts.
Since then,we've made progress on some important objectives.High-ranking al Qaeda and Taliban leaders have been killed,and we've stepped up the pressure on al Qaeda worldwide.In Pakistan,that nation's army has gone on its largest offensive in years.In Afghanistan,we and our allies prevented th
e Taliban from stopping a presidential election,and--although it was marred by fraud--that election produced a government that is consistent with Afghanistan's laws and constitution.
Yet huge challenges remain.Afghanistan is not lost,but for veral years it has moved backwards.There's no imminent threat of the government being overthrown,but the Taliban has gained momentum.Al Qaeda has not reemerged in Afghanistan in the same numbers as before9/11,but they retain their safe havens along the border.And our forces lack the full support they need to effectively train and partner with Afghan curity forces and better cure the population.Our new commander in Afghanistan--General McChrystal--has reported that the curity situation is more rious than he anticipated.In short:The status quo is
