Pentagon, White House planning on post-2014 U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan

　　五角大楼与白宫商讨2014年后阿富汗驻军问题

　　The Obama administration will make a decision within weeks on how many U.S. forces will remain in Afghanistan as a residual force after the final combat troops leave at the end of 2014, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

　　据国防部长莱昂?帕内塔(Leon Panetta)称，奥巴马政府会在几周内做出一项关于2014年在阿富汗的驻军数量的决定。该批军队会在最终作战部队撤离阿富汗后继续驻留。

　　Panetta made the remarks on the way to Australia and Asia to meet with defense ministers in that region.

　　帕内塔在飞往非洲和亚洲与各国国防部长会面的路上做出声明。

　　He said that top NATO commander Gen. John Allen had recently submitted various options for the final stage of the U.S. presence there. The Pentagon and White House would have to review the recommendations before deciding on a final plan.

　　他说道，北约峰会指挥官Gen. John Allen最近已经提交了几项美军驻留问题的意见以供最终决策用。五角大楼与白宫应在做出最终决定之前对几项建议做出讨论。

　　"My hope is that we'll be able to complete this process in the next few weeks ... I'm confident that we'll be able to get to the right number that we're going to need for the post-2014 enduring presence," Panetta told the traveling press on his airplane while en route to Australia on the first leg of his trip.

　　“我希望能在随后的几个星期内完成这一任务。我相信我们能够决定出一个合适的驻军数量以备2014年后持续驻守的需要。” 帕内塔在飞往澳大利亚的路上这样跟记者说道。澳大利亚是他亚非之旅的第一站。

　　Panetta said that various options would depend on the various types of missions U.S. forces would take part in after the 2014 withdrawal. The expectation is that the remaining U.S. forces will participate in follow-on training of Afghan security forces, while a smaller number will remain to conduct a counterterrorism mission against al Qaeda.

　　帕内塔说这几项建议是依据美军于2014年撤军后所担任的任务类型来提出的。我们期望驻留的美军参与随之而来的阿富汗安保人员训练，而另一小部分人会继续执行对“基地”组织进行的反恐怖主义任务。

　　"All of those (options) are being carefully reviewed," Panetta said.

　　帕内塔称，这几项建议都需要认真商讨。

　　Still to be decided by the administration is the timetable -- the pace -- at which U.S. troops will be coming out of Afghanistan over the next two years.

　　政府还需对随后两年内美军撤离阿富汗的时间以及进度进行决策。

　　There are about 67,000 U.S. troops currently inside Afghanistan.

　　现今，在阿富汗的美国驻军还有大约6.7万。

　　During the meeting with the traveling press Panetta was asked about whether he would be staying on as defense secretary in the second term of the Obama administration.

　　在旅途中，随行的记者问帕内塔：“您是否在奥巴马执政后继续留任国防部长?”

　　"There are a lot of challenges right now regarding defense issues in Washington -- sequestration, budget, Afghanistan -- and I think the president and I are working very closely to make sure we meet those defense challenges Right now my goal to meet responsibilities," Panetta said. "That's the most important focus."

　　他回答道：“如今，美国的国防问题上还存在诸多挑战，比如驻留问题，财政预算以及阿富汗问题。我想总统和我会密切合作，共同面对这些问题的挑战。现在我的工作主要是承担我自己的责任。这才是我工作的重点。”