Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has pledged, if elected, to focus on diplomatic engagement and mend ties frayed by the war in Iraq and other unpopular Bush administration policies.
美国民主党总统候选人巴拉克.奥巴马承诺说，一旦当选，他将着力推行外交接触政策，并修复由于伊拉克战争和布什政府不得人心的政策而破损的关系。
Bush administration critics say the decision to invade Iraq, policies relating to detainees and the prisoner abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib detention facility in Iraq have left the United States more isolated than ever.
批评布什政府的人士说，出兵伊拉克的决定，以及有关被关押人员的政策，再加上伊拉克阿布·格莱布监狱的虐囚丑闻，使得美国比以往任何时候都更加孤立。
P.J. Crowley, who worked in President Clinton's National Security Council and now advises Senator Barack Obama on foreign policy matters, says the candidate has vowed, if elected, to pursue diplomatic engagement and restore America's standing in the world. He made his comments in an interview on VOA's Press Conference USA.
曾经在克林顿政府时期在国家安全委员会工作，现在是奥巴马参议员外交政策事务顾问的克劳利说，奥巴马承诺，一旦当选，他将推行外交接触政策，恢复美国在国际上的地位。克劳利是在参加美国之音“美国新闻发布会”节目时作出上述表示的。
"A President Obama would believe that it is important to engage the world," said Crowley. "It is important to have alliances not just for alliances sake because you attain both effective action and legitimacy, which is very important in terms of dealing with crises wherever they might occur."
克劳利说：“如果奥巴马成为总统，他相信保持与世界接触很重要。和其他国家结盟是重要的，但是不要为了结盟而结盟，因为那样你获得了有效行动以及合法性，这对处理危机是非常重要的，无论它们在什么地方出现。”
Jimmy Carter: Obama could restore U.S. moral authority
Former President Jimmy Carter says the United States has lost its moral authority under the Bush administration. But, in an interview with VOA, he says that could be quickly restored by a President Obama. "In his inaugural address, he could say, 'when I am president of the United States, we will never torture another prisoner; when I am president of the United States; we will never go to war against another country unless our security is directly threatened; when I am president of the United States, we will be champions of human rights all over the earth.' You see, in 10 minutes he could spell out for the world and for America, of course, the changes he could make," Mr. Carter said.
前总统卡特说，在布什政府当政时期，美国失去了道德权威， 但是，在接受美国之音采访时，卡特说，奥巴马当选后很快就能得到恢复。卡特说：“他在就职演说中可以说，‘当我是美国总统时，我们将永远不会再虐待任何一名囚犯；当我是美国总统的时候，我们将永远不会与另一个国家交战，除非我们的安全受到直接威胁。当我是美国总统时，我们将是全球人权的维护者。你看，在十分钟之内，他可以为美国乃至全世界描绘出他能够带来的变化。”
Candidates differ on engagement with Iran
Obama's position on diplomatic engagement contrasts with that of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, particularly on the issue of Iran, according to P.J. Crowley.
克劳利说，奥巴马在外交接触政策上的立场，特别是伊朗问题上，与共和党总统候选人，参议员约翰.麦凯恩的立场形成鲜明对比。
"One of the areas where there is a sharp disagreement between a potential President Obama and John McCain is over Iran," said Crowley. "Our relations have been frozen 30 years. Hardliners on both sides have dominated that relationship and made it very difficult for the United States and Iran to come together and have a serious conversation and meaningfully address all the issues that confront us."
克劳利说：“奥巴马和麦凯恩在一个问题上的显著分歧就是伊朗问题。我们和伊朗的关系已经冻结了30年。双方的强硬派在双边关系上都占了上风，这使得美国和伊朗很难坐下来，展开严肃的对话，并对两国面临的所有问题采取有效的解决办法。”
But Republican Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia says Obama and particularly his vice presidential running mate, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden, are on the wrong side of the issue.
但是维吉尼亚州国会议员康托尔说，奥巴马，特别是他的副总统竞选夥伴，参议院外交关系委员会主席乔.拜登，在这个问题上是错误的。
"On the most important national security issue facing this country, which is Iran, Joe Biden has been wrong," said Cantor. "He has continued to pursue a policy of engagement with a terrorist-sponsored regime, which is just not the direction we need to go. When you take into consideration of Iran being a destabilizing influence, a threat to our national security, a partnership they have with Hezbollah, Hamas, and threatens our ally Israel, we have got a serious problem."
康托尔说：“在关系到国家安全的最重要问题上， 也就是伊朗问题上，拜登一直是错的。他继续遵循与恐怖分子支持的政权进行外交接触的政策，这不是我们需要的方向。当你考虑到伊朗是一个不稳定的因素，对我们国家安全形成威胁，他们与真主党以及哈马斯的夥伴关系以及他们对我们的盟友以色列的威胁， 我们面临的是一个很严重的问题。”
North Korea
McCain, in addition to opposing engagement with Iran, also took issue with the Bush administration's move toward engaging North Korea, which administration officials argue has convinced Pyongyang to begin dismantling its nuclear facilities. Republican conservatives have argued the achievement has come after large concessions by President Bush.
麦凯恩除了反对同伊朗接触外，还不同意布什政府同北韩接触的政策。布什政府官员说，接触行动已经说服北韩开始拆卸其核设施。共和党保守派人士认为，这些成就是在布什总统作出巨大让步后取得的。
Obama has welcomed the administration's decision to engage North Korea.
奥巴马同意布什政府同北韩接触的决定。
Iraq approach
Another key foreign policy issue where Obama and McCain disagree is Iraq. Obama has pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office. McCain has said U.S. forces must stay in Iraq until victory is achieved without regard to a particular timetable.
奥巴马和麦凯恩有分歧的另外一个重要的外交政策问题是伊拉克。奥巴马保证将在就职后16个月内撤出大部分的美国战斗部队。麦凯恩则表示，美国军队在取得胜利前必须驻守在伊拉克，在这个问题上没有特定的时间表。
Although Obama and Biden initially disagreed on the decision to go to war in Iraq - Biden voted for the war authorization in 2002 while Obama had been opposed - Obama's advisor P.J. Crowley says the positions of both men have come together since then. "I think there is a general consensus that one way or another Iraq was a mistake, costly," said Crowley. "Whatever we achieved there will not redeem what it has cost in terms of Iraqi lives, American lives, and expenditure of a trillion dollars or more."
奥巴马和拜登最初在决定出兵伊拉克的问题上有分歧，拜登2002年投票支持战争授权，而奥巴马则一直表示反对。不过，奥巴马的顾问克劳利说，他们两个人的立场后来一致了。克劳利说：“我认为他们两人都同意，不管怎么样伊拉克是个代价沉重的错误。无论我们在那里取得了什么，都无从弥补丧失的伊拉克人的生命，美国人的生命以及数万亿美元的沉重代价。”
Crowley says other important foreign policy challenges awaiting the next president include China, Pakistan, and the threat posed by al-Qaida. |