McCain Says He's a 'Realistic Idealist' on US Foreign Policy
麦凯恩：现实理想主义的外交政策

　 
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, says he is a "realistic idealist" on U.S. foreign policy positions and goals. Experts say his military background and experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam keep him focused on protecting the United States from its enemies.

即将获得美国共和党总统候选人提名的约翰.麦凯恩参议员说，在美国外交政策的立场和目标方面，他是个“现实的理想主义者”。有专家说，麦凯恩的军事背景以及他在越南当战俘的经历导致他把注意力集中在保护美国免遭敌人侵犯方面。

John McCain says his military background, his five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and other experiences have made him a "realistic idealist" on U.S. foreign policy. His focus is on national security, as he made clear in a foreign policy speech in Los Angeles, California, in March.

麦凯恩说，他的军事背景、他在越南当了五年的战俘以及其他方面的经历使他在美国外交政策方面成为一个“现实的理想主义者”。他的外交政策重点是国家安全。他3月份在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶就外交政策发表演讲时也明确指出了这一点。

"I know we must work very hard and very creatively to build new foundations for a stable and enduring peace," he said. "We cannot wish the world to be a better place than it is. We have enemies for whom no attack is too cruel, and no innocent life safe and who would, if they could, strike us with the world's most terrible weapons."

麦凯恩说：“我知道，我们必须非常努力，在为实现稳定与持久和平打下新的基础方面，我们必须非常有创造性。我们不能只是希望这个世界变得比现在更好。我们的敌人进行袭击是不择手段、残酷无情的，没有一个无辜的生命是安全的。如果他们有能力，他们会使用世界上最可怕的武器来攻击我们。”

McCain says winning the war in Iraq is central to the war on terror. He strongly disagrees with his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, who has promised to begin withdrawing US combat troops from Iraq if he is elected. McCain also says Iraq must be prevented from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

麦凯恩说，取得伊拉克战争的胜利对赢得反恐战争至关重要。在这一点上，他非常不赞同即将获得民主党提名的总统候选人巴拉克.奥巴马的立场。奥巴马保证，一旦当选，他将开始从伊拉克撤出美国战斗部队。麦凯恩还说，一定要防止伊朗获得核武器。

Peter Beinart, a U.S. foreign policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, says McCain's background leads him to rely on U.S military power.

美国外交关系委员会的外交政策专家彼德.贝纳特说，麦凯恩的背景促使他依靠美国的军事力量。

I think that John McCain is within a tradition, the conservative tradition, that he fundamentally sees the world as a realm of conflict, not of cooperation, which leads him to naturally focus more on potential military threats and less on issues."

贝纳特说：“我认为麦凯恩属于传统的保守派。他从根本上认为世界是充满了冲突，而不是合作。这样的观点让他很自然地把注意力集中在潜在的军事威胁上，而不在一些具体问题上。”

McCain, who has made frequent trips to Iraq, says he knows the horrors of war better than most, and that only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes war.

麦凯恩多次到伊拉克访问。他说，他比大多数人都了解战争的恐怖。他说，只有傻子或是骗子才会认为战争很浪漫。

On the campaign trail, Obama often asserts that McCain is, in effect, running for a third term of the Bush presidency. McCain dismisses the idea.

在竞选中，奥巴马经常说，麦凯恩实际上是在为布什竞选第三届总统任期。麦凯恩否认这种说法。

"I am not running on the Bush presidency, I am running on my own service to the country," he says.

他说：“我不是在布什总统职位的基础上竞选的。我是在自己为国家服务的基础上竞选的。”

Helle Dale, a U.S. foreign policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, says while McCain does share some major priorities with President Bush, he is harder to pinpoint on the ideological spectrum.

赫勒.戴尔是美国保守的智囊机构传统基金会的外交政策专家。她说，虽然麦凯恩在一些重要问题上与布什总统的观点一致，但是，从意识形态上来说，很难确定他究竟属于哪个流派。

"I think it is a little hard to put a label on him honestly because in some respects he is not a conservative at all," she says. "I think you almost have to look at it on an issue by issue basis. If you look at what he is advocating for Iraq, Afghanistan or the promotion of democracy worldwide, which he has spoken about, he falls probably closer to the neo-conservative thinkers. But when it comes to things like climate change and cooperation with the European Union and other multi-lateral bodies, that certainly is not particularly conservative positions at all."

戴尔说：“我想，老实说，给他贴标签是很难的。有些方面，他一点也不像保守派。我认为，你得按具体问题来看。如果你看他在伊拉克、阿富汗以及在全球推进民主等问题上所阐述的观点，他很可能更接近新保守派的思想。但是，在气候变化、与欧盟及其他多边组织合作方面，他的观点不见得是保守的立场。”

Dale says McCain has stirred controversy within his own party for some of his positions, and enjoys the role of an independent "maverick."

戴尔说，麦凯恩因为某些立场而在自己的党内引起争议。他很乐意作为党内一个独立行动的人。

Many in both parties say they respect John McCain for his military service, his physical and mental toughness, and his strong personality. In the battle for the White House, McCain is likely to stress these qualities and remind voters again and again of his decades of military and foreign policy experience.

民主党和共和党中许多人都说，他们很尊敬麦凯恩的从军经历，他顽强的体格和精神以及坚强的个性。在白宫争夺战中，麦凯恩很可能会强调他的这些品质，一再地提醒选民要注意他几十年的军事和外交经验。