看了美国总统的讲话，突然感到美国是个没有放弃“阶级斗争”的国家，布什的讲话充满了与仇敌战斗的味道，譬如，“直面死心塌地的敌人，face determined enemies，” “捍卫美国，使之免遭一切邪恶的侵害，to guard America against all evil”。从布什的讲话感觉今天的美国与我们过去的文化大革命时代差不多。布什的用词也可看出，美国与仇敌的斗争是多么激烈。一个国家值得搞得这样紧张吗？中东地区真的存在那么多“邪恶”吗？

    相比之下，中国要和平得多，中国的领导人讲话要和平得多，中国的和谐社会目标使社会充满着祥和之气，任何冲突和激烈之语都难以表现。中国今天已经是一个温和得多的国家，再也没有阶级斗争时代的激烈色彩了。中国人已经抛弃了斗争哲学，美国人为什么还不?

    为了让大家更准确地理解布什原文，我们将英文附在中文译文后面。]

美国总统2007年国情咨文

美国总统 乔治·沃克·布什

2007年1月23日 在美国国会发表

翻译 尹宏毅

yhytrans@sina.com

议长女士、切尼副总统、国会议员们、贵宾们和同胞们：

Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

    这项传统礼仪使我们在一个决定性时刻汇聚一堂——此时此刻，决策难以作出，勇气受到考验。在我们进入2007年之际，艰巨的工作正在进行，另外一些也要由我们开始。在所有这些工作中，我们任重道远。我们必须有坚定的意志，以直面棘手的挑战和死心塌地的敌人——还要有同心协力的智慧。

This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour - when decisions are hard and courage is tested. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies - and the wisdom to face them together. 

    在坐的一些人是众院和参院中的新人——我对民主党多数派表示祝贺。虽然国会已经更迭，但我们的责任并没有改变。我们每个人都受到自己信念的指引——我们必须对此始终不渝。尽管如此，我们大家都必须遵守相同的标准，有义务要为相同的目标服务：拓展美国的繁荣……为人民用好钱……解决问题，而不是将问题留给子孙后代……捍卫美国，使之免遭一切邪恶侵害，并对我们派赴沙场保卫我们的人们诚实守信。

Some in this Chamber are new to the House and Senate - and I congratulate the Democratic majority. Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not. Each of us is guided by our own convictions - and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we are all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this Nation's prosperity ... to spend the people's money wisely ... to solve problems, not leave them to future generations ... to guard America against all evil, and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us. 

    政府内部发生分歧，局势捉摸不定，我们并非最先出现这种情况。像我们之前的许多人一样，我们能够努力消除分歧，为美国人民办大事。我们的公民们并不很在乎我们坐在走廊的哪一边——只要在有工作需要做的时候，我们愿意穿越走廊。我们的任务是改善美国人民的生活，帮助他们建设一个充满希望和机遇的未来——这就是今晚摆在我们面前的事情。

We are not the first to come here with government divided and uncertainty in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our differences, and achieve big things for the American people. Our citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on - as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done. Our job is to make life better for our fellow Americans, and help them to build a future of hope and opportunity - and this is the business before us tonight.

    充满希望和机遇的未来从不断增长的经济开始——而这就是我们所拥有的。我们已经处于就业岗位持续增长的第41个月——迄今为止，这场经济复苏已经创造了720万个新的就业岗位。……失业率很低，通胀率也很低，而工资则不断增加。美国经济高歌猛进——我们的任务就是使之保持这种状态，不要扩大政府，而要更多的企业。

A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy - and that is what we have. We are now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth - in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs ... so far. Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising. This economy is on the move - and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government but with more enterprise.

    下周，我将发表有关我国经济的一项全面报告。今晚，我想要讨论应当成为本届国会工作重点的三项经济改革。

Next week, I will deliver a full report on the state of our economy. Tonight, I want to discuss three economic reforms that deserve to be priorities for this Congress. 

    首先，我们必须平衡联邦预算。我们能够在不增加税收的情况下做到这一点。我们需要在华盛顿特区实行开支约束。我们所确定的目标是到2009年把赤字削减一半——我们提前3年实现了这一目标。现在我们要采取下一步骤。今后几周，我将提交一项关于在今后5年内消灭联邦赤字的预算。我请求大家也做出这一承诺。我们同心协力，就能遏制联邦政府的开支欲望，并平衡联邦预算。

First, we must balance the federal budget. We can do so without raising taxes. What we need to do is impose spending discipline in Washington, D.C. We set a goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009 - and met that goal three years ahead of schedule. Now let us take the next step. In the coming weeks, I will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within the next five years. I ask you to make the same commitment. Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal government, and balance the federal budget.

    其次还有专项拨款问题。这些特殊利益项目往往是在最后时刻，就是连C-SPAN（有线卫星公共事务网络）电视台也没有注意的时候偷偷塞进法案之中的。仅2005年，专项拨款的数量就增加到1.3万项以上，总共将近180亿美元。更加糟糕的是，90%以上的专项拨款从未提交到参众两院讨论通过——而是塞进委员会的报告中。而这些报告甚至没有纳入到送我审阅的法案之中。你们大家没有通过表决使之成为法律。我也没有在上面签字使之成为法律。但它们却被当作似乎具有法律效力来对待。现在已经到了制止这种做法的时候。因此让我们同心协力，改革预算程序——使每项专项拨款都暴露在光天化日之下，都经过国会的表决，并且在本届国会休会以前把专项拨款的数量和费用削减起码一半。

Next, there is the matter of earmarks. These special interest items are often slipped into bills at the last hour - when not even C-SPAN is watching. In 2005 alone, the number of earmarks grew to over 13,000 and totaled nearly $18 billion. Even worse, over 90 percent of earmarks never make it to the floor of the House and Senate - they are dropped into Committee reports that are not even part of the bill that arrives on my desk. You did not vote them into law. I did not sign them into law. Yet they are treated as if they have the force of law. The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the budget process ... expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress ... and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session.

    最后，要使美国经济保持强劲，我们就必须应付社会福利方面的挑战。社会保险、老年保健医疗制度和医疗补助制度是出于良知的承诺——因此我们的职责就是要使之保持永久的健全。但是我们却未能履行这项职责——这种失败有朝一日将给我们的后代留下3项糟糕的选择：税负大幅度增加、巨额的赤字或者社会福利的大幅度的和即刻的削减。在座的各位都知道情况的确如此——但是由于某种原因，我们却没有鼓气勇气采取行动。因此让我们同心协力，现在来做好这项工作。有了充分的明智与善意，大家和我就能够解决好这两项制度的问题——挽救社会保障制度。

Finally, to keep this economy strong we must take on the challenge of entitlements. Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience - and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound. Yet we are failing in that duty - and this failure will one day leave our children with three bad options: huge tax increases, huge deficits, or huge and immediate cuts in benefits. Everyone in this Chamber knows this to be true - yet somehow we have not found it in ourselves to act. So let us work together and do it now. With enough good sense and good will, you and I can fix Medicare and Medicaid - and save Social Security. 

    要在美国传播机会和希望，还必须有公立学校。它们使儿童获得生活所需的知识和品格。5年前，我们超越党派分歧，通过了《有教无类法案》——保留了地方控制权、提高了公立学校的标准，责成这些学校取得结果。由于我们采取了行动，所以现在，学生们的阅读和数学成绩提高了，少数族裔学生也正在消除学习成绩上的差距。

Spreading opportunity and hope in America also requires public schools that give children the knowledge and character they need in life. Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences to pass the No Child Left Behind Act - preserving local control, raising standards in public schools, and holding those schools accountable for results. And because we acted, students are performing better in reading and math, and minority students are closing the achievement gap. 

    现在的任务是要百尺竿头，更进一步，而又不给标准掺水……不从当地社区手中夺取控制权……也不故态复萌，并称之为改革。我们可以给予地方领导人以灵活性，使之得以扭转表现欠佳的学校的颓势，……允许有孩子在这种问题学校上学的家庭有权选择更好的服务，从而进一步提高学生的成绩。我们必须增加对陷入困境的学生的资助——确保这些孩子获得所需的特殊帮助。通过提高孩子们的数学和科学技能，我们还能确保他们为未来的就业做好准备，我们的国家也具有更强的竞争力。《有教无类法案》已经有利于美国的儿童——因此我要求国会就这项出色的法律重新授权。

Now the task is to build on this success, without watering down standards ... without taking control from local communities ... and without backsliding and calling it reform. We can lift student achievement even higher by giving local leaders flexibility to turn around failing schools ... and by giving families with children stuck in failing schools the right to choose something better. We must increase funds for students who struggle - and make sure these children get the special help they need. And we can make sure our children are prepared for the jobs of the future, and our country is more competitive, by strengthening math and science skills. The No Child Left Behind Act has worked for America's children - and I ask Congress to reauthorize this good law. 

    要想实现充满希望和机遇的未来，我们的所有公民就必须享有支付得起的和有效的医疗保健。在这个问题上，政府有义务照顾老年人、残疾人和贫困儿童。我们将履行这些责任。对所有其他美国人来说，私人的健康保险是满足他们需要的最佳途径。但许多美国人买不起健康保险。

A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens have affordable and available healthcare. When it comes to healthcare, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled, and poor children. We will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs. But many Americans cannot afford a health insurance policy. 

    今晚，我提议制订两项新的计划，以帮助更多的美国人，使之买得起保险。首先，我提议实行有关健康保险的一项类似于向家眷提供的税额扣减的标准税额扣减。拥有健康保险的家庭收入中的15000美元将不用支付任何所得税或工薪税。拥有健康保险的单身美国人收入中的7500美元将不用支付所得税或工薪税。通过这项改革，雇主提供的保险目前所照顾到的1亿以上的男人、女人和儿童将得益于税额的减少。

Tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single Americans with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $7,500 of their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men, women, and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit from lower tax bills.

    与此同时，对没有通过就业而获得健康保险的人们来说，这项改革将提供公平的条件。对现在依靠自己的力量购买健康保险的美国人来说，我的建议意味着巨额的节税——对年收入为6万美元的一个四口之家来说就是节省4500美元。对根本没有健康保险的千百万其他美国人来说，这一扣减会使他们能够享有到一项基本的私人健康保险计划。在使更多的美国人买得起健康保险方面，修改税法是一项至关重要的和必要的步骤。

At the same time, this reform will level the playing field for those who do not get health insurance through their job. For Americans who now purchase health insurance on their own, my proposal would mean a substantial tax savings - $4,500 for a family of four making $60,000 a year. And for the millions of other Americans who have no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic private health insurance plan within their reach. Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making healthcare affordable for more Americans.

    我的第二项建议就是帮助一些州。这些州正在提出创新性途径，以照顾到没有保险的人们。向所有公民提供基本的私人健康保险的州将获得联邦政府拨款，以帮助它们为贫病者提供这种照顾。我已经要求健康与人类服务部长与国会合作，以便把现有的联邦基金用于建立“有支付能力的选择”拨款。这些拨款将使我国的州长们获得更多的钱和更大的灵活性，以便让最急需的人们获得私人健康保险。

My second proposal is to help the states that are coming up with innovative ways to cover the uninsured. States that make basic private health insurance available to all their citizens should receive federal funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and the sick. I have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with Congress to take existing federal funds and use them to create "Affordable Choices" grants. These grants would give our Nation's governors more money and more flexibility to get private health insurance to those most in need.

    国会有许多其它途径可以提供帮助。我们需要扩大健康储蓄账户……通过美国卫生健康计划协会的计划来帮助小企业……用较好的信息技术来降低费用和减少医疗失误……鼓励在价格问题上讲求透明度……批准医疗责任改革，从而保护好的医生，使之免受垃圾诉讼困扰。在所有这些工作中，我们都必须记住，最出色的卫生保健决策并非由政府和保险公司做出，而是由患者及其医生做出的。

There are many other ways that Congress can help. We need to expand Health Savings Accounts ... help small businesses through Association Health Plans ... reduce costs and medical errors with better information technology ... encourage price transparency ... and protect good doctors from junk lawsuits by passing medical liability reform. And in all we do, we must remember that the best healthcare decisions are made not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors.

    要想在我国扩展希望和机遇，就必须制订与美国相称的一项移民制度——包括公平的法律和安全的边界。如果法律和边界经常遭受侵犯，就会有损于我们国家的利益。为了确保我国边境的安全，我们即将把边境巡逻队的规模扩大一倍——并正在为建设新的基础设施和引进新技术提供经费。

Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America - with laws that are fair and borders that are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our country. To secure our border, we are doubling the size of the Border Patrol - and funding new infrastructure and technology.

    尽管采取了所有这些举措，我们也不能完全确保边境的安全，除非我们消除边境上的压力——而这就要求要有一项临时工人计划。我们应当为外国工人铺设一条合法的和秩序井然的道路，以便其进入我国从事临时工作。这样一来，他们就不必千方百计地偷渡入境——这也会使边境巡逻人员可以腾出手来追剿贩毒分子、刑事犯罪分子和恐怖分子。我们将在工作场所实施移民法，向雇主提供工具，以便核查职工的合法身份——这样就会使人们没有任何借口来违反法律。我们需要坚持欢迎和同化新移民的“大熔炉”这一伟大传统。我们还需要解决已经在我国境内的非法移民的身份问题——在没有敌视和特赦的情况下解决。

Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the border - and that requires a temporary worker program. We should establish a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter our country to work on a temporary basis. As a result, they won't have to try to sneak in - and that will leave border agents free to chase down drug smugglers, and criminals, and terrorists. We will enforce our immigration laws at the worksite, and give employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers - so there is no excuse left for violating the law. We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. And we need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country - without animosity and without amnesty. 

    在移民问题上，国会山上人们的信念根深蒂固。让我们进行一场认真和气的辩论，最终得出结论——以便于大家能够通过，我也能够签字，从而使全面的移民改革成为法律。

Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate - so that you can pass, and I can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law. 

    拓展希望和机遇取决于使美国经济保持运行和使美国的环境保持清洁的能源的稳定供应。在太长时间里，我们的国家一直依赖外国石油。这种依赖使我们更加容易遭受敌对政权和恐怖分子侵害。恐怖分子可能会造成石油运输的严重中断……抬高油价……严重损害我国经济。

Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of energy that keeps America's economy running and America's environment clean. For too long our Nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists - who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments ... raise the price of oil ... and do great harm to our economy. 

    使美国的能源供应多样化符合我们的切身利益——前进的道路是通过科技。我们必须继续改变美国的发电方式——通过更多地利用清洁的煤炭技术……太阳能和风能……以及洁净安全的核电。我们需要继续进行电动车和混合动力车的电池的研究，并扩展洁净的柴油车和生物柴油的使用。我们必须继续在生产乙醇的新方法方面投资——利用从木屑、草类到农业废物的一切物质。

It is in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply - and the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power - by even greater use of clean coal technology ... solar and wind energy ... and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol - using everything from wood chips, to grasses, to agricultural wastes.

    由于华盛顿采取了有效的政策和市场的强有力反应，我们取得了很大进展。现在，更加引人注目的进展指日可待。今晚，我要求国会和我一起谋求实现一项伟大目标。让我们再接再厉，在今后10年里把美国的汽油使用量减少20%——从而使我们的总进口的削减相当于我们现在从中东进口石油总量的3/4。

We have made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies in Washington and the strong response of the market. Now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next ten years - thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East. 

    为实现这一目标，我们必须增加替代性燃料的供应，通过制订一项强制性的燃料标准，要求到2017年获得350亿加仑可再生的和替代性的燃料——就是当前目标的将近5倍。与此同时，我们还需要像对待轻型卡车的做法一样，改革轿车的燃料节省标准，并使之现代化——到2017年再节约85亿加仑汽油。

To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory Fuels Standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 - this is nearly five times the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks - and conserve up to eight and a half billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017. 

    如果实现这些宏伟目标，将会使我们对外国石油的依赖程度减轻，但却不会使之消灭。因此在我们继续实现燃料供应多样化的时候，我们还必须以对环境敏感的方式增加国内石油的产量。为了进一步保护美国，预防我们的石油供应的严重中断，我要求国会把战略石油储备目前的容量增加1倍。

Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but will not eliminate it. So as we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must also step up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways. And to further protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

    美国即将取得的技术突破将使我们能够在减轻对石油依赖的情况下生活。这些技术将帮助我们成为环境的更好的管理者——它们还将帮助我们应付全球气候变化的严峻挑战。

America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment - and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change. 

    要想实现充满希望和机遇的未来，还必须有一个公平公正的司法体系。在我们的联邦法庭上等待判决的案件的结果影响着全国公民的生活。我们有一项共同的义务，就是要确保联邦法庭拥有足够的法官来审理这些案件并做出及时的判决。作为总统，我有责任提名高素质的人来弥补联邦法官席位的空缺。美国参议院也有责任就这些提名人选问题举行公平的听证会，并在参议院立即做出表决。

A future of hope and opportunity requires a fair, impartial system of justice. The lives of citizens across our Nation are affected by the outcome of cases pending in our federal courts. And we have a shared obligation to ensure that the federal courts have enough judges to hear those cases and deliver timely rulings. As President, I have a duty to nominate qualified men and women to vacancies on the federal bench. And the United States Senate has a duty as well - to give those nominees a fair hearing, and a prompt up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.

    对于我们所有在座的人来说，最高的职责莫过于保护美国人民免遭危险侵害。自从我们目睹恐怖分子能够造成的惨状和感受到悲痛以来，5年已经过去。我们已经有时间对自己的处境做出评估。我们增加了许多重要的保护措施来保卫本国领土。我们确切地知道，那个9月的早晨所发生的恐怖仅仅是恐怖分子想要给我们造成的惨状的一个瞬间——除非我们制止他们。

For all of us in this room, there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of this country from danger. Five years have come and gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that terrorists can cause. We have had time to take stock of our situation. We have added many critical protections to guard the homeland. We know with certainty that the horrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what the terrorists intend for us - unless we stop them. 

    随着时间的远逝，我们辩论起了这场冲突的原因和我们所采取的方针。当一个伟大民主国家面临棘手的问题时，这种辩论十分重要。但是一个问题肯定已经解决——要想打赢反恐战争，我们就必须把战火烧到敌人营垒中。

With the distance of time, we find ourselves debating the causes of conflict and the course we have followed. Such debates are essential when a great democracy faces great questions. Yet one question has surely been settled - that to win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy. 

    从一开始，美国和我们的盟友就保持了攻势，从而保护了我们的人民。敌人知道，他们过去享有舒适的庇护所，可以很容易地转移，经费的筹集源源不断，通信也很畅通，而现在这种日子早已一去不复返。对恐怖分子来说，自从911事件以来，生活已经面目全非。

From the start, America and our allies have protected our people by staying on the offense. The enemy knows that the days of comfortable sanctuary, easy movement, steady financing, and free flowing communications are long over. For the terrorists, life since Nine-Eleven has never been the same.

    衡量我们在这场战争中成败的往往是没有发生的事情。我们无法知道，我们和我们的盟友都阻止了多么严重的袭击——但是其中一些我们的确了解：我们阻止了“基地”组织的一起阴谋，即驾驶一架被劫持的飞机撞击西海岸最高的大厦。我们粉粹了为在美国境内发动袭击而培训恐怖分子的一个东南亚恐怖主义组织。我们破获了正在研制炭疽，以用于袭击美国的一个“基地”组织。去年8月，英国当局又侦破了一起阴谋，就是企图炸毁飞越大西洋到达美国的客机。对于每一条获救的生命，我们都应当感激把自己的生命贡献给寻找恐怖分子并加以制止的勇敢的公务员们。

Our success in this war is often measured by the things that did not happen. We cannot know the full extent of the attacks that we and our allies have prevented - but here is some of what we do know: We stopped an al Qaeda plot to fly a hijacked airplane into the tallest building on the West Coast. We broke up a Southeast Asian terrorist cell grooming operatives for attacks inside the United States. We uncovered an al Qaeda cell developing anthrax to be used in attacks against America. And just last August, British authorities uncovered a plot to blow up passenger planes bound for America over the Atlantic Ocean. For each life saved, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave public servants who devote their lives to finding the terrorists and stopping them.

    打击恐怖分子的每次成功都提醒我们注意到这个敌人的漫无边际的野心。煽动恐怖分子发动911袭击并使之为此欢呼雀跃的邪恶势力仍然在世界上活动着。只要情况如此，美国就仍然是一个处于战争状态的国家。

Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless ambitions of this enemy. The evil that inspired and rejoiced in Nine-Eleven is still at work in the world. And so long as that is the case, America is still a Nation at war. 

    在恐怖分子看来，这场战争早在911事件以前很久就开始了，而且只有在他们的激进主义憧憬得以实现之后才会结束。5年来，我们对这个敌人的本质的认识已经大大提高。“基地”组织及其追随者是逊尼派极端分子，他们因仇恨而着魔，受到一种冷酷和狭隘的意识形态的指使。列举出几乎任何文明的原则，他们的目标都是其反面。他们用威胁布道……用子弹和炸弹进行说教……向人们许诺，滥杀无辜，可以进天堂。

In the minds of the terrorists, this war began well before September 11th, and will not end until their radical vision is fulfilled. And these past five years have given us a much clearer view of the nature of this enemy. Al Qaeda and its followers are Sunni extremists, possessed by hatred and commanded by a harsh and narrow ideology. Take almost any principle of civilization, and their goal is the opposite. They preach with threats ... instruct with bullets and bombs ... and promise paradise for the murder of the innocent. 

    我们的敌人具有十分明确的意图。他们想要推翻温和派政府，建立安全的庇护所，从中策划和实施针对我国的新的袭击。通过残杀和恫吓美国人，他们想要迫使我们的国家从世界上退缩，放弃自由的事业。这样一来，他们就可以肆无忌惮地把自己的意志强加于人，传播他们的极权主义意识形态。听听已故的恐怖分子扎卡维发出的警告吧：“我们将牺牲鲜血和肉体来结束你们的梦想，即将发生的事情会更糟。”本·拉登也宣称：“死亡比起在这个地球上与我们当中不信教的人一起生活要好。”

Our enemies are quite explicit about their intentions. They want to overthrow moderate governments, and establish safe havens from which to plan and carry out new attacks on our country. By killing and terrorizing Americans, they want to force our country to retreat from the world and abandon the cause of liberty. They would then be free to impose their will and spread their totalitarian ideology. Listen to this warning from the late terrorist Zarqawi: "We will sacrifice our blood and bodies to put an end to your dreams, and what is coming is even worse." And Osama bin Laden declared: "Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us." 

    这些人并非习惯于闲谈。而且他们仅仅是伊斯兰激进运动的一个阵营。近来变得明显的另外一点是，我们所面临的一个不断升级的危险来自同样敌视美国的、同样决心要主宰中东的什叶派极端分子。许多人据悉听命于伊朗政权。伊朗正在资助和武装真主党等恐怖分子——在夺去美国人生命方面，真主党是仅次于“基地”组织的一个集团。

These men are not given to idle words, and they are just one camp in the Islamist radical movement. In recent times, it has also become clear that we face an escalating danger from Shia extremists who are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the Middle East. Many are known to take direction from the regime in Iran, which is funding and arming terrorists like Hezbollah - a group second only to al Qaeda in the American lives it has taken.

    什叶派和逊尼派极端分子是同一个极权主义威胁的不同面孔。但不管他们喊的是什么口号，他们滥杀无辜时，都具有相同的邪恶目的。他们想要杀害美国人……扼杀中东的民主……并获得武器，以便在更加可怕的规模上进行杀戮。

The Shia and Sunni extremists are different faces of the same totalitarian threat. But whatever slogans they chant, when they slaughter the innocent, they have the same wicked purposes. They want to kill Americans ... kill democracy in the Middle East ... and gain the weapons to kill on an even more horrific scale.

    在我们国家遭到袭击以来的第六个年头，我但愿我能向大家报告说，危险已经消除。危险并没有消除。因此，本届政府的政策仍然是利用情报、外交、执法和军事行动方面的一切合法和适当的工具，以履行我们的职责，找到这些敌人，并保护美国人民。

In the sixth year since our Nation was attacked, I wish I could report to you that the dangers have ended. They have not. And so it remains the policy of this government to use every lawful and proper tool of intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and military action to do our duty, to find these enemies, and to protect the American people. 

    这场战争并不仅仅是一场武装冲突——它是一场决定性的意识形态斗争。我们国家的安全正处于危急关头。为了获胜，我们必须清除这样一些条件：它们煽动人们怀有盲目的仇恨，驱使19名男子乘上飞机前来对我们实施杀戮。每个恐怖分子都十分害怕的是人的自由——在这些社会中，男人和女人们做出自己的选择，对自己的良知负责，依靠希望而不是怨恨生活。对自由的人民来说，暴力和恶毒的意识形态是没有吸引力的——大多数人在有机会的情况下都会选择较好的途径。因此，我们帮助温和派、改革派和争取民主的勇敢的声音，从而推进我们自身的安全利益。我们时代的棘手问题是，美国是否会帮助中东人民建设自由的社会和分享全人类的权利。为了我们自己的安全，……我认为我们必须这样做。

This war is more than a clash of arms - it is a decisive ideological struggle, and the security of our Nation is in the balance. To prevail, we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred, and drove 19 men to get onto airplanes and come to kill us. What every terrorist fears most is human freedom - societies where men and women make their own choices, answer to their own conscience, and live by their hopes instead of their resentments. Free people are not drawn to violent and malignant ideologies - and most will choose a better way when they are given a chance. So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates, reformers, and brave voices for democracy. The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say, for the sake of our own security . . . we must. 

    最近两年，我们在范围更加广泛的中东看到了自由的愿望——敌人的激烈反应使我们清醒。2005年，世界目睹了黎巴嫩公民举起雪松革命的旗帜……，驱逐了叙利亚占领者……，通过自由选举选择了新的领导人。2005年，阿富汗人民藐视恐怖分子，选举了民主的立法机构。也是在2005年，伊拉克人民举行了三次全国性的选举——选择了一个临时政府——通过了阿拉伯世界中最进步的和民主的宪法，然后根据宪法选举了政府。尽管伊拉克将近1200万公民当中的杀手们不断发出威胁，但是公民们还是参加了投票，对于他们所显示出的希望和团结，我们永远也不应当忘记。

In the last two years, we have seen the desire for liberty in the broader Middle East - and we have been sobered by the enemy's fierce reaction. In 2005, the world watched as the citizens of Lebanon raised the banner of the Cedar Revolution ... drove out the Syrian occupiers ... and chose new leaders in free elections. In 2005, the people of Afghanistan defied the terrorists and elected a democratic legislature. And in 2005, the Iraqi people held three national elections - choosing a transitional government ... adopting the most progressive, democratic constitution in the Arab world ... and then electing a government under that constitution. Despite endless threats from the killers in their midst, nearly 12 million Iraqi citizens came out to vote in a show of hope and solidarity we should never forget. 

    处心积虑的敌人目睹了所有这一切情景，调整了其策略，2006年他们做出了反击。在黎巴嫩，刺客们夺去了雪松革命的著名参与者皮埃尔·杰马耶勒的生命。在叙利亚和伊朗的支持下，真主党恐怖分子在该地区酝酿了冲突，试图削弱黎巴嫩合法选举的政府的地位。在阿富汗，塔利班和“基地”组织的成员进行重组并与阿富汗以及北约部队交战，从而试图夺回政权。在伊拉克，“基地”组织等逊尼派极端分子炸毁了伊斯兰教什叶派最重要的圣地之一——萨马拉金色穹顶清真寺。对一座穆斯林清真寺犯下的这起暴行的目的是要挑起伊拉克什叶派的报复——结果得逞了。什叶派激进分子组织了敢死队。其中一些人获得了伊朗的支持。其结果是一直延续到今天的教派怒火和报复的悲剧式升级。

A thinking enemy watched all of these scenes, adjusted their tactics, and in 2006 they struck back. In Lebanon, assassins took the life of Pierre Gemayel, a prominent participant in the Cedar Revolution. And Hezbollah terrorists, with support from Syria and Iran, sowed conflict in the region and are seeking to undermine Lebanon's legitimately elected government. In Afghanistan, Taliban and al Qaeda fighters tried to regain power by regrouping and engaging Afghan and NATO forces. In Iraq, al Qaeda and other Sunni extremists blew up one of the most sacred places in Shia Islam - the Golden Mosque of Samarra. This atrocity, directed at a Muslim house of prayer, was designed to provoke retaliation from Iraqi Shia - and it succeeded. Radical Shia elements, some of whom receive support from Iran, formed death squads. The result was a tragic escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal that continues to this day.

    这不是我们当时在伊拉克卷入的战斗，但却是我们目前陷入的战斗。我们当中的每个人都但愿这场战争已经结束并且打赢。但是，如果我们不信守诺言，背弃我们的朋友，使我们自己的安全陷入风险之中，这样做有悖于我们的原则。女士们、先生们：今天，此时此刻，我们还有能力影响这场战争的结局。因此让我们振作起来，使局势朝着胜利的方向发展。

This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory. 

    我们正在伊拉克实施一项新的战略——这项计划对伊拉克的当选政府提出了更高的要求，并为我们在伊拉克的部队提供了他们完成其使命所需的增援。我们的目标是建立一个维护法制、尊重人民权利、为人民提供安全并且成为反恐战争中的盟友的、民主的伊拉克。

We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq - a plan that demands more from Iraq's elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission. Our goal is a democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law, respects the rights of its people, provides them security, and is an ally in the war on terror. 

    为了在实现这一目标方面取得进展，伊拉克政府必须制止首都的教派暴力活动。但伊拉克人尚未做好准备，以便依靠自己的力量做到这一点。因此，我们正在伊拉克部署2万多名士兵和海军陆战队队员的增援部队。其中大多数人都将到巴格达去，在那里帮助伊军进行清剿，确保居民区的安全，并在伊军部队中担任顾问。在伊军带领下，我军将追剿恐怖分子、叛乱分子和四处游荡的敢死队，从而帮助确保这座城市的安全。在安巴尔省——“基地”组织恐怖分子在那里聚集，地方部队已经开始显示出要打击他们的愿望——我们即将派遣额外4000名美国海军陆战队队员，命令他们清剿恐怖分子。我们当初把“基地”组织从阿富汗的安全庇护所赶出来，并不是为了让他们在自由的伊拉克建立新的安全庇护所。

In order to make progress toward this goal, the Iraqi government must stop the sectarian violence in its capital. But the Iraqis are not yet ready to do this on their own. So we are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down terrorists, insurgents, and roaming death squads. And in Anbar province - where al Qaeda terrorists have gathered and local forces have begun showing a willingness to fight them - we are sending an additional 4,000 United States Marines, with orders to find the terrorists and clear them out. We did not drive al Qaeda out of their safe haven in Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe haven in a free Iraq.

    伊拉克人民想要和平地生活，现在是他们的政府采取行动的时候了。伊拉克领导人知道，我们的承诺并不是无休止的。他们已经答应要部署更多的部队来保障巴格达的安全——他们必须这样做。他们已经保证，他们会与任何派别或政党的暴力激进分子针锋相对。他们必须履行承诺，取消对伊军和联军的不必要的限制，以便这些部队能够完成为所有巴格达人民带来安全的使命。伊拉克领导人已经承诺要信守一系列基准，以实现和解——让所有伊拉克公民共享石油收益……把伊拉克的财富投入到伊拉克的重建中……允许更多的伊拉克人重新回到自己国家的公民生活之中……举行地方选举……承担起伊拉克每个省份的安全职责。但要使所有这一切发生，就必须确保巴格达的安全。我们的计划将帮助伊拉克政府夺回首都，并履行承诺。

The people of Iraq want to live in peace, and now is the time for their government to act. Iraq's leaders know that our commitment is not open ended. They have promised to deploy more of their own troops to secure Baghdad - and they must do so. They have pledged that they will confront violent radicals of any faction or political party. They need to follow through, and lift needless restrictions on Iraqi and Coalition forces, so these troops can achieve their mission of bringing security to all of the people of Baghdad. Iraq's leaders have committed themselves to a series of benchmarks to achieve reconciliation - to share oil revenues among all of Iraq's citizens ... to put the wealth of Iraq into the rebuilding of Iraq ... to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's civic life ... to hold local elections ... and to take responsibility for security in every Iraqi province. But for all of this to happen, Baghdad must be s ecured. And our plan will help the Iraqi government take back its capital and make good on its commitments.

    我的同胞们、我们的军事指挥官们和我已经仔细权衡了各项抉择。我们讨论了每种可能的对策。我最终之所以选择了这项行动方针，是因为它的成功可能性最大。在坐的许多人都明白，美国千万不可以在伊拉克失败——因为大家明白，失败的后果会很严重，影响会很深远。

My fellow citizens, our military commanders and I have carefully weighed the options. We discussed every possible approach. In the end, I chose this course of action because it provides the best chance of success. Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq - because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching. 

    如果美军在巴格达获得安全之前撤退，伊拉克政府就会被所有方面的极端分子推翻。我们可以预测，在伊朗支持的什叶派极端分子和得到“基地”组织以及旧政权的支持者帮助的逊尼派极端分子之间，会有一场大战。暴力活动的病毒可能会外溢到全国各地——随着时间的推移，整个地区都可能会卷入冲突。

If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides. We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by al Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country - and in time the entire region could be drawn into the conflict.

    对美国来说，这是一种噩梦的情景。对敌人而言，这则是目的。在这场斗争中，混乱是他们最好的盟友。伊拉克如果陷入混乱，从中浮现的将是拥有新的安全庇护所的、壮了胆的敌人……招募得新成员……新的资源……还有危害美国的更大决心。如果任凭这种事情发生，就是无视911事件的教训和招致悲剧。女士们、先生们，在我们历史上的此时此刻，最重要的莫过于使美国在中东获得成功……在伊拉克获得成功……使美国人民免遭这种危险侵害。

For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective. Chaos is their greatest ally in this struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq, would emerge an emboldened enemy with new safe havens... new recruits ... new resources ... and an even greater determination to harm America. To allow this to happen would be to ignore the lessons of September 11th and invite tragedy. And ladies and gentlemen, nothing is more important at this moment in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East ... to succeed in Iraq ... and to spare the American people from this danger. 

    这就是今晚，即此时此地的情况。我曾亲自与你们当中的许多人谈过。我尊重你们和你们所阐述的论点。我们开始干这件事的时候基本上是团结一致的——在我们的假设和信念方面。不论你们是为什么投票，都不是为失败投票。我们的国家正在寻求在伊拉克采取一项新的战略——我请求大家给它一个机会，以使之发挥效力。我请求大家支持我们投入战场的部队——还有正在赶赴战场的部队。

This is where matters stand tonight, in the here and now. I have spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and the arguments you have made. We went into this largely united - in our assumptions, and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq - and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field - and those on their way. 

    我们今天进行的反恐战争是一场几代人的斗争。在大家和我早已卸任之后，这场斗争还会继续。我们同心协力，以使我国能够成就这项伟大事业之所以重要，原因就在于此。两党和两个政府分支都应当在密切协商的情况下工作。我之所以建议建立一个由两党国会领导人组成的反恐战争特别顾问委员会，原因就在这里。我们将从有关美国采取什么立场来应付摆在我们面前的每项挑战的思想中共同受益。我们将向国外的敌人显示，我们团结一致，以实现胜利的目标。

The war on terror we fight today is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others. That is why it is important to work together so our Nation can see this great effort through. Both parties and both branches should work in close consultation. And this is why I propose to establish a special advisory council on the war on terror, made up of leaders in Congress from both political parties. We will share ideas for how to position America to meet every challenge that confronts us. And we will show our enemies abroad that we are united in the goal of victory.

    我们可以共同采取的最初步骤之一就是扩军——以便美军为应付未来的所有挑战做好准备。今晚我请求国会，批准在今后5年内把我们的陆军和海军陆战队现役部队的规模扩充9.2万人。我们可以共同承担的第二项任务是设计和建立一支非军事预备役志愿部队。这样一支部队的作用将十分类似于我们的预备役军事部队。这样一来，将会使我们得以雇用具有关键技能的非军事人员，以便在美国需要他们的时候让其在国外的任务中服役，从而减轻军队所承受的负担。这样也会使全美各地没有从戎的人们有机会为我们时代这场决定性的斗争效力。

One of the first steps we can take together is to add to the ranks of our military - so that the American Armed Forces are ready for all the challenges ahead. Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next five years. A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time. 

    美国人可以对这场斗争的结局满怀信心——因为我们并非单枪匹马在进行这场斗争。我们的外交战略使全世界团结起来加入到反对极端主义的斗争之中。在伊拉克，多国部队正在按照联合国的命令作战——我们还正在与约旦、沙特阿拉伯、埃及和海湾各国合作，以增加对伊拉克政府的支持。联合国对伊朗实施了制裁措施，并且阐明，世界不会任凭德黑兰政权获得核武器。我们与四方集团的其它成员——联合国、欧盟和俄罗斯——一道，正在寻求外交途径，以帮助圣地（巴勒斯坦）实现和平，寻求建立与以色列和平和安全地共存的一个民主的巴勒斯坦国家。在阿富汗，北约组织带头反击塔利班和“基地”组织的进攻——这是北约联盟第一次在北大西洋地区以外地方部署部队。我们与我们在中国、日本、俄罗斯和韩国的合作伙伴一道，正在寻求进行频繁的外交活动，以使朝鲜半岛摆脱核武器。我们将继续在古巴、白俄罗斯和缅甸等地为自由事业代言——继续唤醒全世界的良知，以拯救达尔富尔人民。

Americans can have confidence in the outcome of this struggle - because we are not in this struggle alone. We have a diplomatic strategy that is rallying the world to join in the fight against extremism. In Iraq, multinational forces are operating under a mandate from the United Nations - and we are working with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Gulf States to increase support for Iraq's government. The United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran, and made it clear that the world will not allow the regime in Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons. With the other members of the Quartet - the UN, the European Union, and Russia - we are pursuing diplomacy to help bring peace to the Holy Land, and pursuing the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security. In Afghanistan, NATO has taken the lead in turning back the Taliban and al Qaeda offensive - the first time the Alliance has deployed forces outside the North Atlantic area. Together with our partners in China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, we are pursuing intensive diplomacy to achieve a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. And we will continue to speak out for the cause of freedom in places like Cuba, Belarus, and Burma - and continue to awaken the conscience of the world to save the people of Darfur.

    美国的对外政策并不仅仅是战争和外交问题。我们在世界上的工作还建立在一项永恒的真理基础上：受益多的人也要承担很多义务。我们听到了要求承担饥饿、贫困和疾病等挑战的呼吁——这恰恰是美国正在做的。我们必须继续与艾滋病作斗争，尤其是在非洲大陆上——由于各位为我们的艾滋病救济紧急计划提供了拨款，获得挽救生命的药品的人数在短短三年里已经从5万增加到80万以上。我请求大家继续资助我们与艾滋病作斗争的努力。我请求各位在5年里提供12亿美元，以使我们能够在15个非洲国家与疟疾作斗争。我请求大家为“千年挑战账户”拨款，以便美国的援助能够送到需要援助的人们手中。在这些国家，民主正在崛起，腐败正在退避三舍。让我们继续支持扩展贸易和减免债务，因为这些最有希望使人们的生活质量得到提高和消除贫困。

American foreign policy is more than a matter of war and diplomacy. Our work in the world is also based on a timeless truth: To whom much is given, much is required. We hear the call to take on the challenges of hunger, poverty, and disease - and that is precisely what America is doing. We must continue to fight HIV/AIDS, especially on the continent of Africa - and because you funded our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the number of people receiving life-saving drugs has grown from 50,000 to more than 800,000 in three short years. I ask you to continue funding our efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. I ask you to provide $1.2 billion over five years so we can combat malaria in 15 African countries. I ask that you fund the Millennium Challenge Account, so that American aid reaches the people who need it, in nations where democracy is on the rise and corruption is in retreat. And let us continue to support the expanded trade and debt re lief that are the best hope for lifting lives and eliminating poverty. 

    由于美国人如此为他人服务，所以我们显示出了我们国家的力量与慷慨。这些行动反映出了我们人民的品格。我们所拥有的最大长处就是美国人民的崇高的善意、勇气和自我牺牲精神。如果大家知道到何处去寻觅，就会经常看到这种精神——今晚我们只需抬头，把目光投向长廊。

When America serves others in this way, we show the strength and generosity of our country. These deeds reflect the character of our people. The greatest strength we have is the heroic kindness, courage, and self sacrifice of the American people. You see this spirit often if you know where to look - and tonight we need only look above to the gallery. 

    迪肯别·穆汤博在非洲的赤贫与疾病环境中长大。他凭借一笔奖学金到乔治城大学学习医学——但是汤普森教练看了一下迪肯别，有了不同的想法。迪肯别于是成为NBA中的明星和一位美国公民。但是他从未忘记自己出生的国家——也没有忘记自己有责任与别人有福同享。他在家乡修建了一所崭新的医院。一位朋友这样描述这位好心人：“穆汤博相信上帝赐予了他做大事的机会。”我们自豪地把刚果的这个儿子称为美国同胞。

Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa, amid great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine - but Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth - or the duty to share his blessings with others. He has built a brand new hospital in his hometown. A friend has said of this good hearted man: "Mutombo believes that God has given him this opportunity to do great things." And we are proud to call this son of the Congo our fellow American.

    在女儿出生后，朱丽·艾格娜-克拉克千方百计地与孩子共享自己的音乐和艺术爱好。因此她借来了一些设备，开始在自家的地下室里摄制儿童的录像。婴儿爱因斯坦公司就这样诞生了——在仅仅5年内，她的生意就增长到2000万美元以上的销售额。2001年11月，朱丽把公司卖给了迪斯尼公司。在她的帮助下，婴儿爱因斯坦公司已经成长为一家2亿美元的企业。朱丽代表着美国的伟大创业精神。她正在利用自己的成功帮助他人——与全国失踪和受剥削儿童中心的约翰·沃尔什一起录制儿童安全录像。朱丽如此评述自己的新项目：“我认为这是我有生以来所做的最重要的事情。我相信儿童们有权生活在一个安全的世界上。”我们很高兴地欢迎这位有才华的企业家和慷慨的社会事业家——朱丽·埃格娜-克拉克。

After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children's videos in her basement. The Baby Einstein Company was born - and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. In November 2001, Julie sold Baby Einstein to the Walt Disney Company, and with her help Baby Einstein has grown into a $200 million business. Julie represents the great enterprising spirit of America. And she is using her success to help others - producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new project: "I believe it's the most important thing that I've ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe." We are pleased to welcome this talented business entrepreneur and generous social entrepreneur - Julie Aigner-Clark.

    三周前，韦斯利·奥特雷正同自己的两个小女儿一起在纽约哈莱姆区的一个地铁站候车，突然看到一名男子跌入列车的轨道之中。在可以采取行动的刹那间，韦斯利跳到轨道上把这个人拉入铁轨之间的缝隙……，摁住他，列车从头顶隆隆驶过。韦斯利非说自己不是英雄。他说：“我们的军人正在海外为我们的自由英勇献身。我们必须彼此关爱。”一个国家培养出像韦斯利·奥特雷这样勇敢和谦虚的人，真是可喜可贺。

Three weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls, when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks ... pulled the man into a space between the rails ... and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he's not a hero. Wesley says: "We got guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms. We got to show each other some love." There is something wonderful about a country that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey. 

    汤米·里曼是肯塔基州独立市的一名青年加油工。后来他应征入伍，参加了美国陆军。2003年12月，他在伊拉克执行一项侦查任务，他的小组遭遇了敌人的猛烈炮火。里曼中士从悍马吉普车上进行了还击——用自己的身体掩护了炮手。他胸部和胳膊中弹，腿部被弹片击伤——但他拒绝治疗，坚持战斗。他帮助击退了第二次进攻，向敌人阵地发射了榴弹。由于自己格外的勇气，里曼中士获得了银星奖章。像志愿保家卫国的许多其他美国人一样，他赢得了举国上下的尊敬与感激。

Tommy Rieman was a teenager pumping gas in Independence, Kentucky, when he enlisted in the United States Army. In December 2003, he was on a reconnaissance mission in Iraq when his team came under heavy enemy fire. From his Humvee, Sergeant Rieman returned fire - and used his body as a shield to protect his gunner. He was shot in the chest and arm, and received shrapnel wounds to his legs - yet he refused medical attention, and stayed in the fight. He helped to repel a second attack, firing grenades at the enemy's position. For his exceptional courage, Sergeant Rieman was awarded the Silver Star. And like so many other Americans who have volunteered to defend us, he has earned the respect and gratitude of our whole country. 

    女士们、先生们，我们在这种勇气和同情心中看到了美国的精神与品格——这些素质不断涌现。这是一个体面和高尚的国家——而且坚韧不拔。我们共同经历了许多事情。我们应付了挑战，面对了危险，我们知道，前进的道路上有更多的挑战和危险。但我们可以满怀信心地勇往直前——因为美利坚合众国是强大的……，我们在世界上的事业是正确的……，今晚这项事业将继续下去。

In such courage and compassion, ladies and gentlemen, we see the spirit and character of America - and these qualities are not in short supply. This is a decent and honorable country - and resilient, too. We have been through a lot together. We have met challenges and faced dangers, and we know that more lie ahead. Yet we can go forward with confidence - because the State of our Union is strong ... our cause in the world is right ... and tonight that cause goes on.

 （尹宏毅译、张惠录入）

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 英文原文

Prepared For Delivery

Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour - when decisions are hard and courage is tested. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies - and the wisdom to face them together. 

Some in this Chamber are new to the House and Senate - and I congratulate the Democratic majority. Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not. Each of us is guided by our own convictions - and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we are all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this Nation's prosperity ... to spend the people's money wisely ... to solve problems, not leave them to future generations ... to guard America against all evil, and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us. 

We are not the first to come here with government divided and uncertainty in the air. Like many before us, we can work through our differences, and achieve big things for the American people. Our citizens don't much care which side of the aisle we sit on - as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done. Our job is to make life better for our fellow Americans, and help them to build a future of hope and opportunity - and this is the business before us tonight.

A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy - and that is what we have. We are now in the 41st month of uninterrupted job growth - in a recovery that has created 7.2 million new jobs ... so far. Unemployment is low, inflation is low, and wages are rising. This economy is on the move - and our job is to keep it that way, not with more government but with more enterprise.

Next week, I will deliver a full report on the state of our economy. Tonight, I want to discuss three economic reforms that deserve to be priorities for this Congress. 

First, we must balance the federal budget. We can do so without raising taxes. What we need to do is impose spending discipline in Washington, D.C. We set a goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009 - and met that goal three years ahead of schedule. Now let us take the next step. In the coming weeks, I will submit a budget that eliminates the federal deficit within the next five years. I ask you to make the same commitment. Together, we can restrain the spending appetite of the federal government, and balance the federal budget.

Next, there is the matter of earmarks. These special interest items are often slipped into bills at the last hour - when not even C-SPAN is watching. In 2005 alone, the number of earmarks grew to over 13,000 and totaled nearly $18 billion. Even worse, over 90 percent of earmarks never make it to the floor of the House and Senate - they are dropped into Committee reports that are not even part of the bill that arrives on my desk. You did not vote them into law. I did not sign them into law. Yet they are treated as if they have the force of law. The time has come to end this practice. So let us work together to reform the budget process ... expose every earmark to the light of day and to a vote in Congress ... and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half by the end of this session.

Finally, to keep this economy strong we must take on the challenge of entitlements. Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid are commitments of conscience - and so it is our duty to keep them permanently sound. Yet we are failing in that duty - and this failure will one day leave our children with three bad options: huge tax increases, huge deficits, or huge and immediate cuts in benefits. Everyone in this Chamber knows this to be true - yet somehow we have not found it in ourselves to act. So let us work together and do it now. With enough good sense and good will, you and I can fix Medicare and Medicaid - and save Social Security. 

Spreading opportunity and hope in America also requires public schools that give children the knowledge and character they need in life. Five years ago, we rose above partisan differences to pass the No Child Left Behind Act - preserving local control, raising standards in public schools, and holding those schools accountable for results. And because we acted, students are performing better in reading and math, and minority students are closing the achievement gap. 

Now the task is to build on this success, without watering down standards ... without taking control from local communities ... and without backsliding and calling it reform. We can lift student achievement even higher by giving local leaders flexibility to turn around failing schools ... and by giving families with children stuck in failing schools the right to choose something better. We must increase funds for students who struggle - and make sure these children get the special help they need. And we can make sure our children are prepared for the jobs of the future, and our country is more competitive, by strengthening math and science skills. The No Child Left Behind Act has worked for America's children - and I ask Congress to reauthorize this good law. 

A future of hope and opportunity requires that all our citizens have affordable and available healthcare. When it comes to healthcare, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the disabled, and poor children. We will meet those responsibilities. For all other Americans, private health insurance is the best way to meet their needs. But many Americans cannot afford a health insurance policy. 

Tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single Americans with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on $7,500 of their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men, women, and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance will benefit from lower tax bills.

At the same time, this reform will level the playing field for those who do not get health insurance through their job. For Americans who now purchase health insurance on their own, my proposal would mean a substantial tax savings - $4,500 for a family of four making $60,000 a year. And for the millions of other Americans who have no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic private health insurance plan within their reach. Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making healthcare affordable for more Americans.

My second proposal is to help the states that are coming up with innovative ways to cover the uninsured. States that make basic private health insurance available to all their citizens should receive federal funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and the sick. I have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with Congress to take existing federal funds and use them to create "Affordable Choices" grants. These grants would give our Nation's governors more money and more flexibility to get private health insurance to those most in need.

There are many other ways that Congress can help. We need to expand Health Savings Accounts ... help small businesses through Association Health Plans ... reduce costs and medical errors with better information technology ... encourage price transparency ... and protect good doctors from junk lawsuits by passing medical liability reform. And in all we do, we must remember that the best healthcare decisions are made not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors.

Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration system worthy of America - with laws that are fair and borders that are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms the interests of our country. To secure our border, we are doubling the size of the Border Patrol - and funding new infrastructure and technology.

Yet even with all these steps, we cannot fully secure the border unless we take pressure off the border - and that requires a temporary worker program. We should establish a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter our country to work on a temporary basis. As a result, they won't have to try to sneak in - and that will leave border agents free to chase down drug smugglers, and criminals, and terrorists. We will enforce our immigration laws at the worksite, and give employers the tools to verify the legal status of their workers - so there is no excuse left for violating the law. We need to uphold the great tradition of the melting pot that welcomes and assimilates new arrivals. And we need to resolve the status of the illegal immigrants who are already in our country - without animosity and without amnesty. 

Convictions run deep in this Capitol when it comes to immigration. Let us have a serious, civil, and conclusive debate - so that you can pass, and I can sign, comprehensive immigration reform into law. 

Extending hope and opportunity depends on a stable supply of energy that keeps America's economy running and America's environment clean. For too long our Nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists - who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments ... raise the price of oil ... and do great harm to our economy. 

It is in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply - and the way forward is through technology. We must continue changing the way America generates electric power - by even greater use of clean coal technology ... solar and wind energy ... and clean, safe nuclear power. We need to press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles, and expand the use of clean diesel vehicles and biodiesel fuel. We must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol - using everything from wood chips, to grasses, to agricultural wastes.

We have made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies in Washington and the strong response of the market. Now even more dramatic advances are within reach. Tonight, I ask Congress to join me in pursuing a great goal. Let us build on the work we have done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next ten years - thereby cutting our total imports by the equivalent of three-quarters of all the oil we now import from the Middle East. 

To reach this goal, we must increase the supply of alternative fuels, by setting a mandatory Fuels Standard to require 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 - this is nearly five times the current target. At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks - and conserve up to eight and a half billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017. 

Achieving these ambitious goals will dramatically reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but will not eliminate it. So as we continue to diversify our fuel supply, we must also step up domestic oil production in environmentally sensitive ways. And to further protect America against severe disruptions to our oil supply, I ask Congress to double the current capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable us to live our lives less dependent on oil. These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment - and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change. 

A future of hope and opportunity requires a fair, impartial system of justice. The lives of citizens across our Nation are affected by the outcome of cases pending in our federal courts. And we have a shared obligation to ensure that the federal courts have enough judges to hear those cases and deliver timely rulings. As President, I have a duty to nominate qualified men and women to vacancies on the federal bench. And the United States Senate has a duty as well - to give those nominees a fair hearing, and a prompt up-or-down vote on the Senate floor.

For all of us in this room, there is no higher responsibility than to protect the people of this country from danger. Five years have come and gone since we saw the scenes and felt the sorrow that terrorists can cause. We have had time to take stock of our situation. We have added many critical protections to guard the homeland. We know with certainty that the horrors of that September morning were just a glimpse of what the terrorists intend for us - unless we stop them. 

With the distance of time, we find ourselves debating the causes of conflict and the course we have followed. Such debates are essential when a great democracy faces great questions. Yet one question has surely been settled - that to win the war on terror we must take the fight to the enemy. 

From the start, America and our allies have protected our people by staying on the offense. The enemy knows that the days of comfortable sanctuary, easy movement, steady financing, and free flowing communications are long over. For the terrorists, life since Nine-Eleven has never been the same.

Our success in this war is often measured by the things that did not happen. We cannot know the full extent of the attacks that we and our allies have prevented - but here is some of what we do know: We stopped an al Qaeda plot to fly a hijacked airplane into the tallest building on the West Coast. We broke up a Southeast Asian terrorist cell grooming operatives for attacks inside the United States. We uncovered an al Qaeda cell developing anthrax to be used in attacks against America. And just last August, British authorities uncovered a plot to blow up passenger planes bound for America over the Atlantic Ocean. For each life saved, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave public servants who devote their lives to finding the terrorists and stopping them.

Every success against the terrorists is a reminder of the shoreless ambitions of this enemy. The evil that inspired and rejoiced in Nine-Eleven is still at work in the world. And so long as that is the case, America is still a Nation at war. 

In the minds of the terrorists, this war began well before September 11th, and will not end until their radical vision is fulfilled. And these past five years have given us a much clearer view of the nature of this enemy. Al Qaeda and its followers are Sunni extremists, possessed by hatred and commanded by a harsh and narrow ideology. Take almost any principle of civilization, and their goal is the opposite. They preach with threats ... instruct with bullets and bombs ... and promise paradise for the murder of the innocent. 

Our enemies are quite explicit about their intentions. They want to overthrow moderate governments, and establish safe havens from which to plan and carry out new attacks on our country. By killing and terrorizing Americans, they want to force our country to retreat from the world and abandon the cause of liberty. They would then be free to impose their will and spread their totalitarian ideology. Listen to this warning from the late terrorist Zarqawi: "We will sacrifice our blood and bodies to put an end to your dreams, and what is coming is even worse." And Osama bin Laden declared: "Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us." 

These men are not given to idle words, and they are just one camp in the Islamist radical movement. In recent times, it has also become clear that we face an escalating danger from Shia extremists who are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the Middle East. Many are known to take direction from the regime in Iran, which is funding and arming terrorists like Hezbollah - a group second only to al Qaeda in the American lives it has taken.

The Shia and Sunni extremists are different faces of the same totalitarian threat. But whatever slogans they chant, when they slaughter the innocent, they have the same wicked purposes. They want to kill Americans ... kill democracy in the Middle East ... and gain the weapons to kill on an even more horrific scale.

In the sixth year since our Nation was attacked, I wish I could report to you that the dangers have ended. They have not. And so it remains the policy of this government to use every lawful and proper tool of intelligence, diplomacy, law enforcement, and military action to do our duty, to find these enemies, and to protect the American people. 

This war is more than a clash of arms - it is a decisive ideological struggle, and the security of our Nation is in the balance. To prevail, we must remove the conditions that inspire blind hatred, and drove 19 men to get onto airplanes and come to kill us. What every terrorist fears most is human freedom - societies where men and women make their own choices, answer to their own conscience, and live by their hopes instead of their resentments. Free people are not drawn to violent and malignant ideologies - and most will choose a better way when they are given a chance. So we advance our own security interests by helping moderates, reformers, and brave voices for democracy. The great question of our day is whether America will help men and women in the Middle East to build free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And I say, for the sake of our own security . . . we must. 

In the last two years, we have seen the desire for liberty in the broader Middle East - and we have been sobered by the enemy's fierce reaction. In 2005, the world watched as the citizens of Lebanon raised the banner of the Cedar Revolution ... drove out the Syrian occupiers ... and chose new leaders in free elections. In 2005, the people of Afghanistan defied the terrorists and elected a democratic legislature. And in 2005, the Iraqi people held three national elections - choosing a transitional government ... adopting the most progressive, democratic constitution in the Arab world ... and then electing a government under that constitution. Despite endless threats from the killers in their midst, nearly 12 million Iraqi citizens came out to vote in a show of hope and solidarity we should never forget. 

A thinking enemy watched all of these scenes, adjusted their tactics, and in 2006 they struck back. In Lebanon, assassins took the life of Pierre Gemayel, a prominent participant in the Cedar Revolution. And Hezbollah terrorists, with support from Syria and Iran, sowed conflict in the region and are seeking to undermine Lebanon's legitimately elected government. In Afghanistan, Taliban and al Qaeda fighters tried to regain power by regrouping and engaging Afghan and NATO forces. In Iraq, al Qaeda and other Sunni extremists blew up one of the most sacred places in Shia Islam - the Golden Mosque of Samarra. This atrocity, directed at a Muslim house of prayer, was designed to provoke retaliation from Iraqi Shia - and it succeeded. Radical Shia elements, some of whom receive support from Iran, formed death squads. The result was a tragic escalation of sectarian rage and reprisal that continues to this day.

This is not the fight we entered in Iraq, but it is the fight we are in. Every one of us wishes that this war were over and won. Yet it would not be like us to leave our promises unkept, our friends abandoned, and our own security at risk. Ladies and gentlemen: On this day, at this hour, it is still within our power to shape the outcome of this battle. So let us find our resolve, and turn events toward victory. 

We are carrying out a new strategy in Iraq - a plan that demands more from Iraq's elected government, and gives our forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete their mission. Our goal is a democratic Iraq that upholds the rule of law, respects the rights of its people, provides them security, and is an ally in the war on terror. 

In order to make progress toward this goal, the Iraqi government must stop the sectarian violence in its capital. But the Iraqis are not yet ready to do this on their own. So we are deploying reinforcements of more than 20,000 additional soldiers and Marines to Iraq. The vast majority will go to Baghdad, where they will help Iraqi forces to clear and secure neighborhoods, and serve as advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units. With Iraqis in the lead, our forces will help secure the city by chasing down terrorists, insurgents, and roaming death squads. And in Anbar province - where al Qaeda terrorists have gathered and local forces have begun showing a willingness to fight them - we are sending an additional 4,000 United States Marines, with orders to find the terrorists and clear them out. We did not drive al Qaeda out of their safe haven in Afghanistan only to let them set up a new safe haven in a free Iraq.

The people of Iraq want to live in peace, and now is the time for their government to act. Iraq's leaders know that our commitment is not open ended. They have promised to deploy more of their own troops to secure Baghdad - and they must do so. They have pledged that they will confront violent radicals of any faction or political party. They need to follow through, and lift needless restrictions on Iraqi and Coalition forces, so these troops can achieve their mission of bringing security to all of the people of Baghdad. Iraq's leaders have committed themselves to a series of benchmarks to achieve reconciliation - to share oil revenues among all of Iraq's citizens ... to put the wealth of Iraq into the rebuilding of Iraq ... to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's civic life ... to hold local elections ... and to take responsibility for security in every Iraqi province. But for all of this to happen, Baghdad must be s ecured. And our plan will help the Iraqi government take back its capital and make good on its commitments.

My fellow citizens, our military commanders and I have carefully weighed the options. We discussed every possible approach. In the end, I chose this course of action because it provides the best chance of success. Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq - because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching. 

If American forces step back before Baghdad is secure, the Iraqi government would be overrun by extremists on all sides. We could expect an epic battle between Shia extremists backed by Iran, and Sunni extremists aided by al Qaeda and supporters of the old regime. A contagion of violence could spill out across the country - and in time the entire region could be drawn into the conflict.

For America, this is a nightmare scenario. For the enemy, this is the objective. Chaos is their greatest ally in this struggle. And out of chaos in Iraq, would emerge an emboldened enemy with new safe havens... new recruits ... new resources ... and an even greater determination to harm America. To allow this to happen would be to ignore the lessons of September 11th and invite tragedy. And ladies and gentlemen, nothing is more important at this moment in our history than for America to succeed in the Middle East ... to succeed in Iraq ... and to spare the American people from this danger. 

This is where matters stand tonight, in the here and now. I have spoken with many of you in person. I respect you and the arguments you have made. We went into this largely united - in our assumptions, and in our convictions. And whatever you voted for, you did not vote for failure. Our country is pursuing a new strategy in Iraq - and I ask you to give it a chance to work. And I ask you to support our troops in the field - and those on their way. 
The war on terror we fight today is a generational struggle that will continue long after you and I have turned our duties over to others. That is why it is important to work together so our Nation can see this great effort through. Both parties and both branches should work in close consultation. And this is why I propose to establish a special advisory council on the war on terror, made up of leaders in Congress from both political parties. We will share ideas for how to position America to meet every challenge that confronts us. And we will show our enemies abroad that we are united in the goal of victory.

One of the first steps we can take together is to add to the ranks of our military - so that the American Armed Forces are ready for all the challenges ahead. Tonight I ask the Congress to authorize an increase in the size of our active Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 in the next five years. A second task we can take on together is to design and establish a volunteer Civilian Reserve Corps. Such a corps would function much like our military reserve. It would ease the burden on the Armed Forces by allowing us to hire civilians with critical skills to serve on missions abroad when America needs them. And it would give people across America who do not wear the uniform a chance to serve in the defining struggle of our time. 

Americans can have confidence in the outcome of this struggle - because we are not in this struggle alone. We have a diplomatic strategy that is rallying the world to join in the fight against extremism. In Iraq, multinational forces are operating under a mandate from the United Nations - and we are working with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Gulf States to increase support for Iraq's government. The United Nations has imposed sanctions on Iran, and made it clear that the world will not allow the regime in Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons. With the other members of the Quartet - the UN, the European Union, and Russia - we are pursuing diplomacy to help bring peace to the Holy Land, and pursuing the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security. In Afghanistan, NATO has taken the lead in turning back the Taliban and al Qaeda offensive - the first time the Alliance has deployed forces outside the North Atlantic area. Together with our partners in China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, we are pursuing intensive diplomacy to achieve a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. And we will continue to speak out for the cause of freedom in places like Cuba, Belarus, and Burma - and continue to awaken the conscience of the world to save the people of Darfur.

American foreign policy is more than a matter of war and diplomacy. Our work in the world is also based on a timeless truth: To whom much is given, much is required. We hear the call to take on the challenges of hunger, poverty, and disease - and that is precisely what America is doing. We must continue to fight HIV/AIDS, especially on the continent of Africa - and because you funded our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the number of people receiving life-saving drugs has grown from 50,000 to more than 800,000 in three short years. I ask you to continue funding our efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. I ask you to provide $1.2 billion over five years so we can combat malaria in 15 African countries. I ask that you fund the Millennium Challenge Account, so that American aid reaches the people who need it, in nations where democracy is on the rise and corruption is in retreat. And let us continue to support the expanded trade and debt re lief that are the best hope for lifting lives and eliminating poverty. 

When America serves others in this way, we show the strength and generosity of our country. These deeds reflect the character of our people. The greatest strength we have is the heroic kindness, courage, and self sacrifice of the American people. You see this spirit often if you know where to look - and tonight we need only look above to the gallery. 

Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa, amid great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship to study medicine - but Coach John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth - or the duty to share his blessings with others. He has built a brand new hospital in his hometown. A friend has said of this good hearted man: "Mutombo believes that God has given him this opportunity to do great things." And we are proud to call this son of the Congo our fellow American.

After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children's videos in her basement. The Baby Einstein Company was born - and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. In November 2001, Julie sold Baby Einstein to the Walt Disney Company, and with her help Baby Einstein has grown into a $200 million business. Julie represents the great enterprising spirit of America. And she is using her success to help others - producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new project: "I believe it's the most important thing that I've ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe." We are pleased to welcome this talented business entrepreneur and generous social entrepreneur - Julie Aigner-Clark.


Three weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls, when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks ... pulled the man into a space between the rails ... and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he's not a hero. Wesley says: "We got guys and girls overseas dying for us to have our freedoms. We got to show each other some love." There is something wonderful about a country that produces a brave and humble man like Wesley Autrey. 


Tommy Rieman was a teenager pumping gas in Independence, Kentucky, when he enlisted in the United States Army. In December 2003, he was on a reconnaissance mission in Iraq when his team came under heavy enemy fire. From his Humvee, Sergeant Rieman returned fire - and used his body as a shield to protect his gunner. He was shot in the chest and arm, and received shrapnel wounds to his legs - yet he refused medical attention, and stayed in the fight. He helped to repel a second attack, firing grenades at the enemy's position. For his exceptional courage, Sergeant Rieman was awarded the Silver Star. And like so many other Americans who have volunteered to defend us, he has earned the respect and gratitude of our whole country. 


In such courage and compassion, ladies and gentlemen, we see the spirit and character of America - and these qualities are not in short supply. This is a decent and honorable country - and resilient, too. We have been through a lot together. We have met challenges and faced dangers, and we know that more lie ahead. Yet we can go forward with confidence - because the State of our Union is strong ... our cause in the world is right ... and tonight that cause goes on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

北京大军经济观察研究中心

地址：北京西城区温家街2号，邮编：100031，

电话：010-63071372，66079391, 电子邮箱：zdjun@263.net,

网站网址：www.dajun.com.cn，