Robert Gates - Address at the World Forum on the Future of Democracy | robertgatesworlddemocracyforum
Address to the World Forum on the Future of Democracy
在民主未来世界论坛上的讲话
delivered 17 September 2007, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia
2007 年 9 月 17 日交付，威廉玛丽学院，弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡
Robert Gates - World Forum on Democracy Your browser does not support the video tag.
罗伯特·盖茨 - 世界民主论坛 您的浏览器不支持视频标签。
[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio.] Thank you, Senator Warner.
[真实性认证：以下文本版本直接从音频转录。] 谢谢华纳参议员。
Senator Warner is a special friend.
华纳参议员是一位特殊的朋友。
He has introduced me to the United States Senate for confirmation four times.
他四次将我介绍给美国参议院进行确认。
The first time was more than 20 years ago.
第一次是20多年前。
And that dates us both.
我们俩都约会了。
He is a great Virginian, a great American, and we will certainly all miss him when he brings his remarkable career in public service to a close next year.
他是一位伟大的弗吉尼亚人，一位伟大的美国人，当他明年结束他在公共服务领域的非凡职业生涯时，我们肯定会想念他。
I want to thank Justice Sandra Day O�Connor , one of the most distinguished jurists and public servants in America, for inviting me today.
我要感谢美国最杰出的法学家和公务员之一桑德拉·戴·奥康纳法官今天邀请我。
It was Justice O�Connor who administered my oath as -- of office as Director of Central Intelligence in 1991.
1991 年，奥康纳法官主持了我就任中央情报局局长的宣誓。
And last year we served together on the Baker-Hamilton Commission .
去年我们一起在贝克汉密尔顿委员会任职。
Little did I know that my sojourn to Iraq a little over a year ago with that group would be the first of a number of visits for me.
我几乎不知道一年多前我随该小组访问伊拉克将是我多次访问中的第一次。
Justice O�Connor and I share something else in common -- a love of the College of William & Mary , where she is currently the chancellor.
奥康纳法官和我还有一些共同点——对威廉玛丽学院的热爱，她目前担任该学院的校长。
And of course, it was a special pleasure to see her four months ago when I had the honor of giving the commencement address at my alma mater.
当然，四个月前见到她我感到特别高兴，当时我有幸在母校发表毕业典礼致辞。
Attending college in here Williamsburg shaped my love of history and my belief that public service is a vital component of a working democracy -- and of a meaningful life.
在威廉斯堡上大学的经历塑造了我对历史的热爱，也让我相信公共服务是民主运作的重要组成部分，也是有意义的生活的重要组成部分。
This setting is fitting for my topic today: a �realist�s� view of promoting democracy abroad.
这个背景很适合我今天的主题：在国外促进民主的“现实主义”观点。
I had quite a reputation as a pessimist when I was in the intelligence business.
当我从事情报工作时，我是出了名的悲观主义者。
A journalist once described me as the Eeyore of national security -- able to find the darkest cloud in any silver lining.
一位记者曾将我描述为国家安全领域的屹耳——能够在任何一线希望中找到最黑暗的乌云。
I used to joke that when an intelligence officer smelled the flowers, he�d look around for the coffin.
我曾经开玩笑说，当情报官员闻到花香时，他会四处寻找棺材。
Today, as one looks around the world -- wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an ambitious and fanatical theocracy in Iran, a nuclear North Korea, terrorism, and more -- there would seem to be ample grounds to be gloomy.
今天，环顾世界——伊拉克和阿富汗的战争、伊朗雄心勃勃而狂热的神权政治、拥核的朝鲜、恐怖主义等等——似乎有充分的理由感到悲观。
But there is a different perspective if we step back and look at the world through a wider lens -- a perspective that shows a dramatic growth in human freedom and democracy in just the time since this fall�s college freshmen were born.
但如果我们退后一步，通过更广阔的视角来看待世界，就会有不同的视角——这种视角显示，自今年秋季大学新生出生以来，人类自由和民主取得了巨大的进步。
Since 1989, hundreds of millions of people -- from Eastern and Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, South Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere -- have been liberated.
自1989年以来，来自东欧和中欧、前苏联、南非、阿富汗、伊拉克和其他地区的数亿人民获得了解放。
They have left the darkness of despotism and walked into the bright sunshine of freedom.
他们离开了专制的黑暗，走进了自由的明媚阳光。
Many have seized the opportunity, and freedom has prospered and strengthened; others, liberated from the yoke of tyrannical ideologies or dictators, continue to struggle to fully realize the dream.
许多人抓住了这个机会，自由得到了繁荣和加强；另一些人从专制意识形态或独裁者的枷锁中解放出来，继续为充分实现梦想而奋斗。
At no time in history, though, has freedom come to so many in so short a time.
然而，历史上从来没有在如此短的时间内为这么多人带来自由。
And in every case, the United States, overtly or covertly, in large ways or small, played a role in their liberation.
在每种情况下，美国都在或大或小的方面，或明或暗，在他们的解放过程中发挥了作用。
Still, we Americans continue to wrestle with the appropriate role this country should play in advancing freedom and democracy in the world.
尽管如此，我们美国人仍在努力思考这个国家在推进世界自由和民主方面应发挥的适当作用。
It was a source of friction through the entire Cold War.
这是整个冷战期间摩擦的根源。
In truth, it has been a persistent question for this country throughout our history: How should we incorporate America�s democratic ideals and aspirations into our relations with the rest of the world?
事实上，这一直是这个国家历史上一直存在的一个问题：我们应该如何将美国的民主理想和愿望融入到我们与世界其他国家的关系中？
And in particular, when to and whether to try to change the way other nations govern themselves?
特别是，何时以及是否尝试改变其他国家的治理方式？
Should America�s mission be to make the world �safe for democracy,� as Woodrow Wilson said, or, in the words of John Quincy Adams, should America be �the well-wisher of freedom and independence of all� but the �champion and vindicator only of our own�?
美国的使命应该是像伍德罗·威尔逊（Woodrow Wilson）所说的那样，让世界“民主安全”，还是用约翰·昆西·亚当斯（John Quincy Adams）的话来说，美国应该是“所有人自由和独立的祝福者”，而只是“我们自己的捍卫者和捍卫者”？
During my time today, I�d like to put this question and its associated debates in some historical context -- a context I hope might help inform the difficult policy choices our nation faces today.
在今天的时间里，我想把这个问题及其相关的辩论放在一定的历史背景下——我希望这个背景可以帮助我们国家今天面临的艰难政策选择。
Let me speak first to geography -- this place we are in.
让我先谈谈地理——我们现在所处的这个地方。
It is a strange quirk of history that a backwoods outpost in an unexplored corner of America would hold in it the seeds of a global movement toward liberty and self-governance -- toward the democratic institutions that underpin the free nations of the world and give hope to countless people in many others.
历史上有一个奇怪的现象，美国一个未开发角落的一个偏远前哨基地，竟然蕴藏着全球走向自由和自治运动的种子——走向民主制度，而民主制度支撑着世界上的自由国家，并给许多其他国家的无数人带来了希望。
So much of what defines America first took root here in Virginia along the banks of the James River .
美国的许多定义首先在弗吉尼亚州詹姆斯河畔扎根。
When you think about it, the initial impetus for these institutions owed as much to the struggle for survival as anything else.
仔细想想，这些机构最初的推动力与其他因素一样，都归功于生存斗争。
The challenges were myriad: along with disease, hunger, and war, the settlers faced no small number of divisions and discord.
挑战是多种多样的：除了疾病、饥饿和战争之外，定居者还面临着不少分歧和不和。
Four hundred years removed from those early days, it is all too easy to forget about these stormy beginnings.
距那些早期岁月已有四百年了，人们很容易忘记这些风雨飘摇的开端。
The revolution that brought about this nation was similarly chaotic.
带来这个国家的革命同样是混乱的。
As my distinguished William and Mary classmate, the historian Joe Ellis, wrote in his book, Founding Brothers ,
正如我杰出的威廉和玛丽同学、历史学家乔·埃利斯在他的《建国兄弟》一书中写道：
No one present at the start knew how it would turn out in the end.
一开始在场的人都不知道最后的结果会如何。
What in retrospect has the look of a foreordained unfolding of God�s will was in reality an improvisational affair in which sheer chance, pure luck -- both good and bad -- and specific decisions made in the crucible of specific military and political crises determined the outcome.
回想起来，上帝旨意的注定展现实际上是一场即兴事件，其中纯粹的机会、纯粹的运气（无论好坏）以及在特定军事和政治危机的严酷考验中做出的具体决定决定了结果。
The real drama of the American Revolution � was its inherent messiness.
美国革命的真正戏剧性在于它固有的混乱。
This � exciting but terrifying sense that all the major players had at the time -- namely, that they were making it up as they went along, improvising on the edge of catastrophe.
这是当时所有主要参与者都有的令人兴奋但可怕的感觉——也就是说，他们正在边走边弥补，在灾难的边缘即兴发挥。
We would do well to be mindful of the turbulence of our own early history as we contemplate the challenges facing contemporary fledgling democracies struggling to find their footing.
当我们思考当代羽翼未丰的民主国家努力站稳脚跟所面临的挑战时，我们最好留意我们自己早期历史的动荡。
When I retired from government in 1993, it seemed that the success and spread of democracy was inexorable, a foregone conclusion -- that with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the evolution of political systems had reached, in the words of one scholar at the time, the �end of history.� But the relative calm in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War served only to mask new threats to the security of democratic nations: ethnic conflicts, new genocides, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- especially by rogue states -- and, above all, a new, more formidable, and more malignant form of terrorism embraced by Islamic extremists.
当我1993年从政府退休时，民主的成功和传播似乎是不可阻挡的，已成定局——随着苏联的崩溃，政治制度的演变用当时一位学者的话说，已经达到了“历史的终结”。但冷战结束后的相对平静只会掩盖对民主国家安全的新威胁：种族冲突、新的种族灭绝、大规模杀伤性武器的扩散——尤其是流氓国家的扩散。 ——最重要的是，伊斯兰极端分子所信奉的一种新的、更可怕、更恶毒的恐怖主义形式。
These new threats, and in particular, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the wider challenge of dealing with radical jihadist movements since September 11 th , once again have people talking about the competing impulses in U.S. foreign policy: realism versus idealism, freedom versus security, values versus interests.
这些新的威胁，特别是伊拉克和阿富汗的冲突，以及自9月11日以来应对激进圣战运动的更广泛挑战，再次让人们谈论美国外交政策中的相互竞争的冲动：现实主义与理想主义、自由与安全、价值观与利益。
This is not a new debate.
这并不是一场新的辩论。
Not long after winning our own independence, the United States was faced with how to respond to the French Revolution -- an issue that consumed the politics of the country in the 1790s.
在赢得独立后不久，美国就面临着如何应对法国大革命的问题——这个问题在 1790 年代困扰着美国的政治。
The issue was whether to support the revolutionary government and its war against an alliance of European monarchies led by Great Britain.
问题是是否支持革命政府及其针对英国领导的欧洲君主国联盟的战争。
To many, like Thomas Jefferson, the French Revolution, with its stated ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, seemed a natural successor to our own.
对于托马斯·杰斐逊等许多人来说，法国大革命及其所宣称的自由、平等和博爱的理想似乎是我们自己的理想的自然继承者。
Jefferson wrote that �this ball of liberty, I believe most piously, is now so well in motion that it will roll round the globe.�
杰斐逊写道，“我最虔诚地相信，这个自由球现在运转得很好，它将绕地球滚动。”
John Adams and the Federalists, however, were just as adamantly opposed.
然而，约翰·亚当斯和联邦党人同样坚决反对。
They were appalled by the revolution�s excesses and feared the spread of violent French radicalism to our shores.
他们对革命的过度行为感到震惊，并担心法国暴力激进主义会蔓延到我们的海岸。
In fact, they accused the Jeffersonians of being �pimps of France,� who �represented cutthroats who walk in rags.� The Federalists mocked Jefferson for his rhetoric and defense of freedom and equality across the Atlantic while he continued to own slaves.
事实上，他们指责杰斐逊派是“法国的皮条客”，“代表了衣衫褴褛的凶手”。联邦党人嘲笑杰斐逊在大西洋彼岸的言论以及对自由和平等的捍卫，而他却继续拥有奴隶。
Adams and Alexander Hamilton were, in turn, accused of being "crypto-monarchists."
亚当斯和亚历山大·汉密尔顿反过来又被指控为“隐秘君主主义者”。
It was left to President George Washington to resolve the matter.
此事留给乔治·华盛顿总统来解决。
He had said that: �My best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom.� But the European wars and, in particular, our estrangement from the British, had begun to disrupt the lives of ordinary Americans by impeding trade and causing riots and refugees.
他曾说过：“无论何时，在任何国家，我看到一个受压迫的民族举起自由的旗帜，我都会感到不可抗拒的兴奋。”但是欧洲战争，特别是我们与英国的疏远，已经开始通过阻碍贸易、引发骚乱和难民来扰乱普通美国人的生活。
Washington, understanding the fragility of America�s position at the time, adopted a neutrality policy toward France and would go on to make a peace treaty with Great Britain -- sparking massive protests and accusations of selling out the spirit of 1776.
华盛顿了解美国当时立场的脆弱性，对法国采取了中立政策，并随后与英国签订了和平条约——引发了大规模抗议和出卖 1776 年精神的指责。
Consider the great historic irony: The United States had recently broken free of the British monarchy only with the help of an absolutist French king.
想想历史上最大的讽刺：美国最近仅在专制主义法国国王的帮助下才摆脱了英国君主制。
And yet when France itself turned in the direction of popular rule and was confronted by Europe�s monarchies, the United States took a pass and made amends with our old British foe.
然而，当法国本身转向人民统治并与欧洲君主制对抗时，美国却放行了，并与我们的老对手英国和解。
In short, from our earliest days, America�s leaders have struggled with �realistic� versus �idealistic� approaches to the international challenges facing us.
简而言之，从成立之初起，美国领导人就一直在用“现实”与“理想主义”的方法来应对我们面临的国际挑战。
The most successful leaders, starting with Washington, have steadfastly encouraged the spread of liberty, democracy, and human rights.
从华盛顿开始，最成功的领导人都坚定地鼓励自由、民主和人权的传播。
At the same time, however, they have fashioned policies blending different approaches with different emphases in different places at different times.
但与此同时，他们在不同地点、不同时间制定了不同做法、不同侧重点的政策。
Over the last century, we have allied with tyrants to defeat other tyrants.
上个世纪，我们与暴君结盟，打败其他暴君。
We have sustained diplomatic relations with governments even as we supported those attempting their overthrow.
尽管我们支持那些试图推翻政府的人，但我们仍然与各国政府保持着外交关系。
We have at times made human rights the centerpiece of our national strategy even as we did business with some of the worst violators of human rights.
我们有时将人权作为我们国家战略的核心，尽管我们与一些最严重的侵犯人权者打交道。
We have worked with authoritarian governments to advance our own security interests even while urging them to reform.
我们与威权政府合作，以推进我们自己的安全利益，同时敦促他们进行改革。
We have used our military to eliminate governments seen as a threat to our national security, to undo aggression, to end ethnic slaughter, and to prevent chaos.
我们用我们的军队消灭了被视为对我们国家安全构成威胁的政府，消除了侵略，结束了种族屠杀，并防止了混乱。
In recent times, we have done this in Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, the Balkans, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
最近，我们在格林纳达、巴拿马、科威特、巴尔干半岛、海地、阿富汗和伊拉克都这样做了。
In the process, we have brought the possibility of democracy and freedom to tens of millions more who had been oppressed or were suffering.
在此过程中，我们为数千万遭受压迫或苦难的人带来了民主和自由的可能性。
To win and protect our own freedom, the United States has made common cause with countries that were far from free -- from Louis XVI , to one of history�s true monsters, Joseph Stalin .
为了赢得和保护我们自己的自由，美国与那些远离自由的国家达成了共同的事业——从路易十六到历史上真正的怪物之一约瑟夫·斯大林。
Without the one there is no American independence.
没有这一点，就没有美国的独立。
Without the other, there is no end to the Third Reich .
没有另一个，第三帝国就没有终结。
It is neither hypocrisy nor cynicism to believe fervently in freedom while adopting different approaches to advancing freedom at different times along the way -- including temporarily making common cause with despots to defeat greater or more urgent threats to our freedom or our interests.
狂热地相信自由，同时在不同时期采取不同的方法来推进自由——包括暂时与暴君达成共同目标，以击败对我们的自由或我们的利益的更大或更紧迫的威胁，这既不是虚伪也不是愤世嫉俗。
The consuming goal of most of my professional life was containing the threat of the Soviet Union and seeing a Europe made whole and free.
我职业生涯大部分时间的目标就是遏制苏联的威胁并看到欧洲变得完整和自由。
For most of the Cold War, the ideal surely seemed distant, even unreachable.
在冷战的大部分时间里，这个理想似乎很遥远，甚至遥不可及。
One prominent columnist wrote in Time magazine in 1982: �It would be wishful thinking to predict that international Communism someday will either self-destruct or so exhaust itself.�
1982 年，一位著名专栏作家在《时代》杂志上写道：“预测国际共产主义有一天要么自我毁灭，要么精疲力尽，那是一厢情愿的想法。”
During that struggle, as for most of our history, inspiring presidential rhetoric about freedom, along with many firm stands for human rights and self-determination, had to coexist with often grubby compromises and marriages of convenience that were necessary to stave off the Evil Empire.
在那场斗争中，正如我们历史上的大部分时间一样，鼓舞人心的总统关于自由的言论，以及许多对人权和自决的坚定立场，必须与通常肮脏的妥协和权宜之姻共存，而这些是抵御邪恶帝国所必需的。
But the Western democracies -- joined as the Atlantic Alliance -- came together to get the big things right.
但西方民主国家——作为大西洋联盟加入——齐心协力，把大事做好。
The democracies� shared belief in political and economic freedom and religious toleration was the glue that held us fast despite the many quarrels along the way.
尽管一路上有许多争吵，但民主国家对政治和经济自由以及宗教宽容的共同信念是我们团结在一起的粘合剂。
President Bush said in his second inaugural address , �[I]t is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.�
布什总统在他的第二次就职演说中表示，“美国的政策是寻求和支持每个国家和文化中民主运动和民主制度的发展，最终目标是结束我们世界的暴政。”
When we discuss openly our desire for democratic values to take hold across the globe, we are describing a world that may be many years or decades off.
当我们公开讨论民主价值观在全球范围内扎根的愿望时，我们正在描述一个可能需要多年或几十年后的世界。
Though achievement of the ideal may be limited by time, space, resources, or human nature, we must not allow ourselves to discard or disparage the ideal itself.
尽管理想的实现可能受到时间、空间、资源或人性的限制，但我们决不能允许自己抛弃或贬低理想本身。
It is vital that we speak out about what we believe and let the world know where we stand.
至关重要的是，我们要大声说出我们的信念，让世界知道我们的立场。
It is vital that we give hope and aid to those who seek freedom.
我们为那些寻求自由的人提供希望和援助至关重要。
I still remember working on the advance team for President Ford when he attended the Helsinki conference in 1975.
我还记得 1975 年福特总统出席赫尔辛基会议时，我曾在他的先遣小组中工作过。
Many critics were opposed to America�s participation, since they believed the accords did little but ratify the Soviet Union�s takings in Eastern and Central Europe.
许多批评者反对美国的参与，因为他们认为这些协议除了批准苏联在东欧和中欧的占领外几乎没有什么作用。
The treaty�s provisions on human rights were disparaged as little more than window dressing.
该条约有关人权的条款被贬低为只不过是装饰门面。
However, the conference and the treaty represent another of history�s ironies.
然而，这次会议和条约却是历史的又一个讽刺。
The Soviets demanded the conference for decades, finally got it , and it helped destroy them from the inside.
苏联几十年来一直要求召开这次会议，最终如愿以偿，这有助于从内部摧毁他们。
We �realists� opposed holding the conference for decades, attended grudgingly.
我们“现实主义者”几十年来一直反对召开这次会议，勉强参加。
We were wrong, for the meeting played a key role in our winning the Cold War.
我们错了，因为这次会议对我们赢得冷战发挥了关键作用。
Why?
为什么？
Because the human-rights provisions of the treaty made a moral statement whose significance was not lost on the dissidents behind the Iron Curtain .
因为该条约的人权条款作出了道德声明，铁幕背后的持不同政见者并没有忽视其意义。
Helsinki became a spur to action, a rallying cry to fight tyranny from within and plant democracy in its place.
赫尔辛基成为行动的动力，成为从内部打击暴政并在其所在地建立民主的战斗口号。
Vaclav Havel later said that the accords were a �shield, a chance to resist coercion and make it more difficult for the forces of coercion to retaliate.� Lech Walesa called it a turning point �on the road to change in Gdansk .�
瓦茨拉夫·哈维尔后来说，这些协议是“盾牌，是抵抗胁迫的机会，并使胁迫势力更难进行报复。”莱赫·瓦文萨称其为“格但斯克变革之路上的转折点”。
President Carter�s promotion of the spirit of Helsinki -- his elevation of human rights -- for the first time in the Cold War denied the Soviet Union the respect and the legitimacy it craved.
卡特总统在冷战时期对赫尔辛基精神的宣扬——对人权的提升——首次剥夺了苏联所渴望的尊重和合法性。
Ronald Reagan�s muscular words -- labeling the U.S.S.R.
罗纳德·里根的强硬言论——给苏联贴上标签
the � Evil Empire � and demanding that Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall -- combined with his muscular defense policies hastened the implosion of the Soviet system.
并要求戈尔巴乔夫先生推倒那堵墙——再加上他强有力的防御政策，加速了苏联体系的崩溃。
Did these policies reflect hard-edged realism or lofty idealism?
这些政策反映的是尖锐的现实主义还是崇高的理想主义？
Both, actually.
实际上两者都是。
Were they implemented to defend our interests or to spread our democratic values?
它们的实施是为了捍卫我们的利益还是传播我们的民主价值观？
Again, both.
再说一次，两者都有。
An underlying theme of American history is that we are compelled to defend our security and our interests in ways that, in the long run, lead to the spread of democratic values and institutions.
美国历史的一个基本主题是，我们被迫以从长远来看能够传播民主价值观和制度的方式来捍卫我们的安全和利益。
Since September 11 th , these questions, contradictions, and dilemmas have taken on new urgency and presented new challenges for decision-makers, especially in an information age where every flaw and inconsistency -- in words or deeds -- is highlighted, magnified, and disseminated around the globe.
自9月11日以来，这些问题、矛盾和困境变得更加紧迫，给决策者带来了新的挑战，特别是在信息时代，每一个缺陷和不一致——无论是言语还是行为——都会在全球范围内被凸显、放大和传播。
And, as with the Cold War, every action we take sends a signal about the depth of our strength and resolve.
而且，与冷战时期一样，我们采取的每一项行动都发出了关于我们力量和决心深度的信号。
For our friends and allies, as well as for our enemies and potential adversaries, our commitment to democratic values must be matched by actions.
对于我们的朋友和盟友，以及我们的敌人和潜在对手，我们对民主价值观的承诺必须以行动相匹配。
Consider Afghanistan.
以阿富汗为例。
The democracies of the West and our partners are united in the desire to see stability and decent governance take hold in a land that was not only Al Qaeda�s base of operations, but also home to one of the most oppressive governments in the world.
西方民主国家和我们的合作伙伴一致渴望看到稳定和体面的治理在这片土地上扎根，这片土地不仅是基地组织的活动基地，而且还是世界上最具压迫性的政府之一的所在地。
And yet, though there is little doubt about the justness, necessity, and legitimacy of the Afghanistan mission, even though we agree that democracy is key to enduring stability there, many Allies are reluctant to provide the necessary resources and put their men and women in the line of fire.
然而，尽管阿富汗使命的公正性、必要性和合法性毫无疑问，尽管我们一致认为民主是那里持久稳定的关键，但许多盟国却不愿意提供必要的资源，并不愿意将他们的男男女女置于火线之中。
Afghanistan is, in a very real sense, a litmus test of whether an alliance of advanced democracies can still make sacrifices and meet commitments to advance democracy.
从非常现实的意义上来说，阿富汗是一个试金石，检验先进民主国家联盟是否仍然能够做出牺牲并履行促进民主的承诺。
It would be a mark of shame on all of us if an alliance built on the foundation of democratic values were to falter at the very moment that it tries to lay that foundation for democracy elsewhere -- especially in a mission that is crucial to our own security.
如果建立在民主价值观基础上的联盟在试图为其他地方的民主奠定基础时动摇，尤其是在对我们自身安全至关重要的使命中，那么这将是我们所有人的耻辱。
Likewise, for America to leave Iraq and the Middle East in chaos would betray and demoralize our allies there and in the region, while emboldening our more -- most dangerous adversaries.
同样，如果美国让伊拉克和中东陷入混乱，就会背叛我们在那里和该地区的盟友并使其士气低落，同时也会让我们更危险的对手更加胆大妄为。
To abandon an Iraq where just two years ago 12 million people quite literally risked their lives to vote for a constitutional democracy would be an offense to our interests as well as to our values, a setback for the cause of freedom as well as the goal of stability.
就在两年前，伊拉克还有 1200 万人冒着生命危险投票支持宪政民主，放弃伊拉克将侵犯我们的利益和价值观，是自由事业和稳定目标的倒退。
Americans have never been a patient people.
美国人从来都不是一个有耐心的民族。
Today, we look at Russia, China, Afghanistan, Iraq, and others -- and wonder at their excruciatingly slow progress toward democratic institutions and the rule of law.
今天，我们审视俄罗斯、中国、阿富汗、伊拉克和其他国家，并对它们在民主制度和法治方面进展极其缓慢感到惊讶。
The eminent French historian H�l�ne Carr�re d'Encausse wrote in 1992:
法国著名历史学家 H�l�ne Carr�re d'Encausse 在 1992 年写道：
Reforms, when they go against the political traditions of the centuries, cannot be imposed in a hurry merely by enshrining them in the law.
当改革违背几个世纪以来的政治传统时，不能仅仅通过将其写入法律而匆忙实施。
It takes time, and generally they are accompanied by violence.
这需要时间，而且通常都伴随着暴力。
Reforms that challenge centuries of social relations based on ...
挑战几个世纪社会关系的改革基于......
the exclusion of the majority of society from the political process, are too profound to be readily accepted by those who have to pay the price of reform, even if they are seen to be indispensable.
将社会大多数人排除在政治进程之外的现象太过深刻，以至于那些必须为改革付出代价的人无法轻易接受，即使改革被认为是不可或缺的。
Reforms need time to develop ...
改革需要时间发展...
It is this time [that] reformers have often lacked.
改革者们常常缺乏的正是这一次。
For more than 60 years, from Germany and Japan to South Korea, the Balkans, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq, we and our allies have provided reformers -- those who seek a free and democratic society -- with time for their efforts to take hold.
60多年来，从德国、日本到韩国、巴尔干半岛、海地、阿富汗和伊拉克，我们和我们的盟友为改革者——那些寻求自由民主社会的人——提供了时间让他们的努力站稳脚跟。
We must be realists and recognize that the institutions that underpin an -- an enduring free society can only take root over time.
我们必须是现实主义者，并认识到支撑持久自由社会的制度只能随着时间的推移而扎根。
It is our country�s tragedy, and our glory, that the tender shoots of freedom around the world for so many decades have been so often nourished with American blood.
这是我们国家的悲剧，也是我们的荣耀，几十年来世界各地自由的嫩芽经常受到美国人的鲜血的滋养。
The spread of liberty both manifests our ideals and protects our interests -- in making the world � safe for democracy ,� we are also the � champion and vindicator � of our own.
自由的传播既体现了我们的理想，又保护了我们的利益——在使世界“民主安全”的过程中，我们也是我们自己的“捍卫者和维护者”。
In reality, Wilson and Adams must coexist.
事实上，威尔逊和亚当斯必须共存。
Throughout more than two centuries, the United States has made its share of mistakes.
两个多世纪以来，美国也犯过一些错误。
From time to time, we have strayed from our ideals and have been arrogant in dealing with others.
我们时常会偏离自己的理想，在待人接物方面傲慢自大。
Yet, what has brought us together with our democratic allies is a shared belief that the future of democracy and its spread is worth our enduring labors and sacrifices -- reflecting both our interests and our ideals.
然而，使我们与我们的民主盟友走到一起的是一个共同的信念，即民主的未来及其传播值得我们持久的努力和牺牲——这既反映了我们的利益，也反映了我们的理想。
I would like to close by returning to this corner of Virginia.
最后我想回到弗吉尼亚州的这个角落。
In September 1796, shortly before George Washington left office, he addressed in his farewell statement an American people who had passed through the dangerous fires of war and revolution to form a union that was far from �perfect,� but was a historic accomplishment nonetheless.
1796 年 9 月，乔治·华盛顿卸任前不久，他在告别声明中向美国人民致辞，他们经历了战争和革命的危险战火，组建了一个远非“完美”的联邦，但仍然是一项历史性成就。
He told them:
他告诉他们：
You have, in a common cause, fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
你们为了共同的事业，一起战斗，一起胜利；你们所拥有的独立和自由是联合委员会和共同努力、共同危险、痛苦和成功的结果。
In this historic place, among old friends and new, let us take time to reflect on the common causes in which we have fought and triumphed together -- to protect our own liberty, and to extend its blessings to others.
在这个历史悠久的地方，在新老朋友中间，让我们花时间反思我们共同奋斗并取得胜利的共同事业——保护我们自己的自由，并祝福他人。
As we prepare for the challenges ahead, let us never forget that together we will face common dangers, sufferings, and successes -- but with confidence that, together, we will continue to protect that tender shoot of liberty first planted in this place so long ago.
当我们为未来的挑战做准备时，让我们永远不要忘记，我们将共同面对共同的危险、痛苦和成功，但我们有信心，我们将共同努力，继续保护很久以前在这个地方首次种植的自由的嫩芽。
Book/CDs by Michael E.
Michael E. 的书籍/CD
Eidenmuller, Published by McGraw-Hill (2008) Audio and Images Source : U.S. Department of Defense
Eidenmuller，McGraw-Hill 出版 (2008) 音频和图像来源：美国国防部
Video Note : The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
视频说明：美国国防部 (DoD) 视觉信息的出现并不暗示或构成 DoD 的认可。
U.S. Copyright Status : This text = Property of A merican R hetoric.com.
美国版权状态：本文 = American R hetoric.com 的财产。
Audio, Video, Images = Public domain.
音频、视频、图像 = 公共领域。
� Copyright 2001-Present.
� 版权所有 2001 年至今。
American Rhetoric.
美国修辞学。
HTML transcription by Michael E.
HTML 转录由 Michael E.
Eidenmuller.
艾登米勒。
All rights reserved.
版权所有。