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Now, the reason we originally went into Afghanistan was because al Qaeda was in Afghanistan, being hosted by the Taliban. They have now moved over the border of Afghanistan and they are in Pakistan now, but they continue to have networks with other extremist organizations in that region. And I do believe that it is important for us to stabilize Afghanistan so that the people of Afghanistan can protect themselves, but they can also be a partner in reducing the power of these extremist networks.
我们最初进入阿富汗的原因是因为“基地”组织在那里，塔利班接纳了他们。现在他们已经越过阿富汗边界进入巴基斯坦，但他们在该地区保持了与其他极端主义组织建立的网络。我确信，我们有必要在阿富汗实现稳定，使阿富汗人民能够保护自己，同时作为伙伴来帮助削弱这些极端主义网络的力量。
Now, obviously it is a very difficult thing -- one of the hardest things about my job is ordering young men and women into the battlefield. I often have to meet with the mothers and fathers of the fallen, those who do not come home. And it is a great weight on me. It gives me a heavy heart.
显然这是非常困难的事情——在我的工作中，最难做的决定之一就是命令年轻人奔赴战场。我经常要会见那些阵亡官兵的父母亲，那些军人不能再回家。这于我是一个精神重负，我为此感到沉痛。
Fortunately, our Armed Services is -- the young men and women who participate, they believe so strongly in their service to their country that they are willing to go. And I think that it is possible -- working in a broader coalition with our allies in NATO and others that are contributing like Australia -- to help train the Afghans so that they have a functioning government, that they have their own security forces, and then slowly we can begin to pull our troops out because there's no longer that vacuum that existed after the Taliban left.
幸运的是，我们的武装部队——这些从军的年轻人——他们坚信为国奉献，自愿去前线。我相信，通过更广泛的联盟，包括我们的北约盟国和其他贡献力量的盟友——如澳大利亚——我们有可能帮助训练阿富汗人，使他们有一个能够发挥作用的政府，拥有自己的安全部队，然后我们可以逐步撤回我们的部队，因为到那时已经不存在塔利班下台后所形成的真空。
But it's a difficult task. It's not easy. And ultimately I think in trying to defeat these terrorist extremists, it's important to understand it's not just a military exercise. We also have to think about what motivates young people to become terrorists, why would they become suicide bombers. And although there are obviously a lot of different reasons, including I think the perversion of religion, in thinking that somehow these kinds of violent acts are appropriate, part of what's happened in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan is these young people have no education, they have no opportunities, and so they see no way for them to move forward in life, and that leads them into thinking that this is their only option.
但这是一项艰巨的任务，并不容易。我认为，要最终击败这些恐怖主义极端分子，我们必须理解这不仅仅是一项军事行动。我们还要知道是什么驱使年轻人变成恐怖分子，他们为什么愿意充当自杀爆炸手。显然，这有很多不同的原因，其中包括对宗教的歪曲，使人们误认为这种暴力行为是正当的。巴基斯坦和阿富汗等地之所以发生那些事件，原因之一是那些年轻人没有受过教育，也没有进取机会，所以他们在生活中看不到出路，这使得他们以为那样做是惟一的选择。
