VOA慢速英语2019 美国人如何决定参战（在线收听）

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三在白宫发表讲话，为他有意杀害一名伊朗将军辩护。

Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran's Quds Force. He died last Friday in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

Qassem Soleimani是伊朗圣战军团的负责人。他于上周五在巴格达国际机场附近的一次空袭中丧生。

His death increased tensions in the area. Iran has already answered by firing missiles into Iraq. The missiles landed at two military bases that house U.S. troops.

他的去世加剧了该地区的紧张局势。伊朗已经通过向伊拉克发射导弹来回应。导弹降落在容纳美军的两个军事基地。

No casualties from that attack were reported. Trump did not speak Wednesday about using additional military force against Iran. Instead, he said he would put more economic restrictions on the country.

这次袭击没有造成人员伤亡。特朗普周三没有发表有关对伊朗使用额外军事力量的言论。相反，他说他将对该国施加更多的经济限制。

But many American lawmakers are expressing concerns about open war between the two countries. They will vote this week on a measure to prevent U.S. military forces from taking action against Iran unless Congress approves.

但是许多美国议员对两国之间的公开战争表示担忧。他们将在本周投票表决一项措施，除非国会批准，否则将阻止美军对伊朗采取行动。

How does the U.S. declare war?

美国如何宣战？

The U.S. Constitution says Congress has the authority to declare war. And it says the president is the commander-in-chief of the military.

美国宪法规定国会有权宣战。它说总统是军队的总司令。

The men who wrote the Constitution divided these powers on purpose. They wanted to prevent one person or group from making a sudden move toward war without others in the government agreeing.

制定宪法的人故意将这些权力分开。他们想防止一个人或一个团体在没有政府其他人士同意的情况下突然走向战争。

But lawmakers and the president have often clashed over how to operate within the rules of the Constitution. The last time Congress officially declared war was almost 80 years ago, during World War II. American military actions since then have happened without an official declaration of war.

但是立法者和总统经常就如何在《宪法》规则内运作进行争执。上一次国会正式宣布战争是在80年前的第二次世界大战期间。自那时以来，美国的军事行动一直没有正式宣战。

In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act to further define the president's role in directing military actions. The law required that U.S. presidents had 38 hours to report to Congress after committing U.S. forces to military actions overseas. The president must also officially say why she or he is committing forces.

1973年，国会通过了《战争权力法》，进一步确定了总统在指挥军事行动中的作用。法律要求美国总统在将美军投入海外军事行动后有38个小时向国会报告。总统还必须正式说出她或他为什么投降。

In 2001, lawmakers and the president worked together to create a resolution permitting actions to answer terrorist threats. It is called the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF. The AUMF is unusual because it permits actions against groups or people, as opposed to nations or areas.

在2001年，立法者和总统共同制定了一项决议，允许采取行动应对恐怖主义威胁。它称为军事使用授权或AUMF。 AUMF之所以与众不同，是因为它允许针对群体或人民而不是国家或地区采取行动。

The resolution has created debate under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump. All three leaders have used the AUMF's large definition of a terrorist threat to say military actions are needed.

该决议在乔治·W·布什总统，巴拉克·奥巴马总统和特朗普总统的领导下引发了辩论。所有三位领导人都使用AUMF对恐怖威胁的大定义来表示需要采取军事行动。

What does Trump say?

特朗普怎么说？

Observers say Trump appears to be using his ability to strike under the War Powers Act, which permits the president to use military force to answer an attack. Trump's government noted intelligence they say pointed to planned attacks on Americans as a reason for the airstrike.

观察人士说，特朗普似乎正在利用他的能力根据《战争权力法》进行打击，该法允许总统动用军事力量来应对袭击。特朗普政府注意到他们说的情报指出，有计划的对美国人的袭击是空袭的原因。

In a tweet on Sunday, Trump wrote, "These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!"

特朗普在周日的一条推文中写道：“这些媒体帖子将向美国国会发出通知，如果伊朗打击任何美国个人或目标，美国将迅速全面地进行打击，而且可能采取不成比例的方式。不需要法律通知，但仍然会发出！”

How is Congress reacting?

国会对此有何反应？

Lawmakers from the opposition party to the president, the Democrats, have expressed concerns about how Trump's government told lawmakers about the airstrike. Some want to require Trump to discuss increasing hostilities against Iran with Congress and the public before taking action.

从反对党到总统民主党的议员对特朗普政府如何向议员介绍空袭表示担忧。有些人想要求特朗普在采取行动之前与国会和公众讨论对伊朗日益增加的敌对行动。

For his part, Trump on Wednesday called on the security alliance of NATO to become "much more involved in the Middle East process."

特朗普周三呼吁北约安全联盟“更多地参与中东进程”。

重点词汇：

Words in This Story：

casualty - n. a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war, etc.

authority - n. the power to give orders or make decisions : the power or right to direct or control someone or something

role - n. a part that someone or something has in a particular activity or situation

commit - v. to decide to use something for some particular purpose or use

disproportionate - adj. having or showing a difference that is not fair, reasonable, or expected : too large or too small in relation to something

nevertheless - adv. in spite of what has just been said