奥巴马总统在美国空军学院毕业典礼上的演讲 英文文本由刀豆文库小编整理，希望给你工作、学习、生活带来方便，猜你可能喜欢“美国总统奥巴马演讲”。
奥巴马总统在美国空军学院2016年毕业典礼上的演讲 英文文本
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Air Force!(Applause.)Thank you so much.Thank you.It is wonderful to be back at the United States Air Force Academy!(Applause.)Thank you，Secretary James, for your service to our Air Force and to our nation.Governor Hickenlooper, Academy leaders, faculty and staff--especially your outstanding Superintendent, Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson.(Applause.)And most of all, congratulations to the Cla of 2016!(Applause.)
As he prepares to conclude a remarkable 40-year career in the Air Force--a career that started on this day 40 years ago--please join me in saluting someone who many of you look up to and whose counsel I've relied on as well--Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh.Thank you, Mark.(Applause.)Thank you, Mark, and thank you, Betty.And although he’s not here today, I am proud to have nominated another Academy graduate--and a combat-tested pilot--to serve as the 21st Air Force Chief of Staff, General David Goldfein.(Applause.)Cadets, you can take enormous pride in all the hard work that has brought you to this day.I also ask you to give a big round of applause to all your moms and dads, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles who supported you and sacrificed for you so you could be here today.Give them another round of applause.(Applause.)
Now, I have to tell you, some days I spend more time with the Air Force than my own family.(Laughter.)Especially on Air Force One.(Applause.)You take good care of me.You are always on time.You never lose my luggage.(Laughter.)I don't have to take off my shoes before I get on.(Laughter.)So I’m really going to mi Air Force One--(laughter)--as well as the incredible Airmen that I’ve come to know.And that includes the pilots who flew me here--Lieutenant Colonels Dan Thorn and Rob Tobler and Major Brett Ellis--all three of them proud Air Force Academy graduates.Give them a big round of applause.(Applause.)
This Academy is one of our nation’s most selective academic institutions.Just being accepted is a big deal--a testament to your talent and your leadership.And we are particularly grateful to those of you with prior enlisted service, including Cameron Kistler, who deployed to Iraq,--(applause)--Robert Parati and Clayton Logan, who deployed to Afghanistan.(Applause.)We thank you.Your country thanks you.Cadets, here you were tested by fire--literally.When you went through Beast, as General Johnson noted, Waldo Canyon was actually on fire.During Recognition, you ran to the Rock in a blizzard.So you have more than earned your unofficial motto--“forged in fire and tempered in ice.”(Applause.)Which is a great motto--although it does sound like something out of Game of Thrones.(Laughter.)
And through it all, you’ve become like family.You survived morning accountability formations, survived living in Sijan Hall.(Applause.)That night in F-1 where you learned to “earn each day.”(Applause.)You cheered Coach Calhoun and the Falcons as I’ve welcomed them to the White House to present the Commander-in-Chief Trophy--(applause)--which Air Force has won a record 19 times.(Applause.)
And I look out into your ranks and I see Airmen who will excel as pilots and engineers, analysts--so many specialties.The first cyber graduates in this Academy’s history.(Applause.)And David Higgins, a marksman who’s going to the Olympics in Rio--bring home the gold, David!(Applause.)No preure.(Laughter.)
In you, I see men and women of integrity and service and excellence.And you’ve made us all proud.And perhaps no one would have been more proud of your succe than Major David Brodeur, whose sacrifice in Afghanistan we honor, and whose family joins us today--2016.(Applause.)
You’ve learned other leons, as well, like what happens when you paint one of the planes on the Terrazo in your cla color.(Applause.)With such “achievements” in mind--I hereby grant amnesty to all cadets serving restrictions and confinements for minor offenses.Only minor.(Laughter.)
Today, we congratulate our newest Air Force officers.On behalf of the American people, I thank you for choosing a life of service.In the coming weeks, some of you will head to the chapel to get married.In the years ahead, you and your families will serve around the world.As officers, you’ll be responsible for the lives of those under your command, and you’ll be called upon to lead with wisdom, courage and compaion.That’s what I want to talk with you about today.I’ve served as Commander-in-Chief for nearly eight years now.It has been the highest honor of my life to lead the greatest military in the history of the world.It inspires me every day.(Applause.)Today will be the last time that I have the honor of addreing a graduating cla of military officers.And there’s a debate going on in our country about our nation’s role in the world.So, with that in mind, I hope you don't mind if I share some leons I’ve learned as Commander-in-Chief--leons that you may find useful as you lead those under your command, and as we work together to keep our nation strong and secure.First, as you look at the world, be guided by an honest and clear-eyed aement.Remember what you learned at this Academy--the importance of evidence and facts and judgment.And here’s a fact: The United States of America remains the most powerful nation on Earth and a force for good.(Applause.)
We have big challenges in our country--in our politics, our economy, our society.Those are challenges we have to addre.But look around.We have the world’s strongest economy.Our scientists, our researchers, our entrepreneurs are global leaders in innovation.Our colleges and universities attract the best talent from around the world.Our values--freedom, equality, opportunity--those values inspire people everywhere, including immigrants who come here, ready to work, and integrate and help renew our country.Our standing in the world is higher.I see it in my travels from Havana to Berlin to Ho Chi Minh City--where huge crowds of Vietnamese lined the streets, some waving American flags.So make no mistake, the United States is better positioned to lead in the 21st century than any other nation.And here’s another fact: Our military is, by a mile, the strongest in the world.(Applause.)Yes, after two major ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we’re drawing down the size of our armed forces, which is natural and neceary.And we have to keep improving readine and modernizing our force.But it is undeniable--our military is the most capable fighting force on the planet.It’s not close.Our soldiers are the best-trained, best-equipped land force on Earth, tested by years of combat, able to sustain power anywhere in the globe.Nobody can match our Army.Our sailors serve on aircraft carriers that can go almost anywhere, and submarines that move undetected--the largest and most lethal Navy in the world, on track to surpa 300 ships.Nobody can match our Navy.Our Marines are ready at a moment’s notice, “first to fight” or deliver help in a crisis, the world’s only truly global expeditionary force.Nobody can match our Marines.Our Coast Guardsmen serve on the most advanced cutters in history, and special teams can shoot smugglers’ engines, hook and climb or repel aboard, protecting our shores.Nobody can match our Coast Guard.And as for our Airmen--(applause)--with your unequaled vigilance and reach, unrivaled fifth-generation fighters, a new generation of remotely piloted aircraft pilots, astonishing precision that calls to mind your actual cla motto, “On Target, On Time”--nobody can match America’s Air Force.(Applause.)Not only that, no other nation brings its forces together like we do in one joint force, as we saw in an operation against ISIL in Syria just last year.Air Force aircraft provided surveillance.Navy F-18s provided close air support.Army aviation aets delivered our Special Operators, an aault force of Marines and soldiers, to the target, and one of ISIL’s top leaders, Abu Sayyaf, was eliminated.That’s the power of America’s military.(Applause.)And we need to keep it that way.And here’s one more fact as you go out into the world: We are bleed to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous era in human history.Now, that sounds controversial until you survey the history of the world.It’s hard to see, with all the violence and suffering in the world, and what’s reported on the news every day.But if you step back for a moment--think about last week, when I was in Hiroshima to remember all who were lost in a World War that killed some 60 million people--not 60,000, 60 million.For decades, there have been no wars between major powers.Wars between nations are increasingly rare.More people live in democracies.More than 1 billion people have been lifted from extreme poverty.From the Americas to Africa to Southeast Asia, there’s a new generation of young people, connected by technology and ready to make their mark.I’ve met them.They look up to America.They aspire to be our partner.That’s the progre and the hope that we have to build on.And so much of that derives from the extraordinary leadership and sacrifice of our Air Force and the other branches of our military.So we are well-positioned.You enter this moment with a lot of good cards to play.But we face serious threats.Terrorist networks slaughter the innocent and plot attacks against our nation.Civil wars like in Iraq tear countries apart and create humanitarian catastrophes and havens for terrorists.Ruian aggreion against Ukraine, disputes in the South China Sea--these are testing an international order that we built, where the sovereignty of nations is respected and all nations abide by the same rules.Nuclear weapons, as in North Korea, and the specter of nuclear terrorism still threaten us all.So how to meet these threats while also seizing the incredible opportunities of this moment in history, that’s going to be your challenge--the challenge of your generation.Which leads me to a second leon.As we navigate this complex world, America cannot shirk the mantle of leadership.We can’t be isolationist.It’s not poible in this globalized, interconnected world.In these uncertain times, it’s tempting sometimes to pull back and try to wash our hands of conflicts that seem intractable, let other countries fend for themselves.But history teaches us, from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, that oceans alone cannot protect us.Hateful ideologies can spark terror from Boston to San Bernardino.In a global economy, it’s not poible to stop trading goods and services with other countries.Weak public health systems on the other side of the world allow diseases to develop that end up reaching our shores.So we cannot turn inward.We cannot give in to isolationism.That’s a false comfort.Allowing problems to fester over there makes us le secure here.So, as Americans, we have to keep leading and working with others to build the security and prosperity and justice we want in the world.By the way, one of the most effective ways to lead and work with others is through treaties that advance our interests.Lately, there's been a mindset in Congre that just about any international treaty is somehow a violation of American sovereignty, and so the Senate almost never approves treaties anymore.They voted down a treaty to protect disabled Americans, including our veterans, while Senator and World War II veteran Bob Dole was sitting right there in the Senate chambers in a wheelchair.We don't always realize it, but treaties help make a lot of things in our lives poible that we take for granted--from international phone calls to mail.Those are good things.Those are not a threat to our sovereignty.I think we can all agree on that.But also from NATO to treaties controlling nuclear weapons, treaties help keep us safe.So if we’re truly concerned about China’s actions in the South China Sea, for example, the Senate should help strengthen our case by approving the Law of the Sea Convention--as our military leaders have urged.And by the way, these treaties are not a new thing.The power to make treaties is written into our Constitution.Our Founding Fathers ratified lots of treaties.So it’s time for the Senate to do its job and help us advance American leadership, rather than undermine it.(Applause.)
A part of the reason this is so important is because the United States remains the one indisputable nation in world affairs.I say this all the time.After eight years, I have not gone to an international conference, summit, meeting where we were not the ones who made the agenda poible--even if we weren’t hosting it.We have more alliances with other countries than anybody else--and they’re the foundation of global stability and prosperity.On just about every iue, the world looks to us to set the agenda.When there’s a problem around the world, they do not call Beijing or Moscow--they call us.And we lead not by dictating to other nations, but by working with them as partners;by treating other countries and their peoples with respect, not by lecturing them.This isn’t just the right thing to do;it’s in our self-interest.It makes countries more likely to work with us, and, ultimately, it makes us more secure.So we need smart, steady, principled American leadership.And part of leading wisely is seeing threats clearly.Remember Ebola? That was a serious threat, and we took it seriously.But in the midst of it, there was hysteria.“Flights must be banned!” “Quarantine citizens!” These were actual quotes.“Seal the border!” And my favorite--“Remove Obama…or millions of Americans die!”(Laughter.)That’s an actual quote.(Laughter.)
The thing is, when we panic, we don’t make good decisions.So, with Ebola, instead of responding with fear, we responded with facts and responded with science and organization.And thanks to a coordinated global response--enabled by the American military and our medical workers who got in there first--we stopped the spread of Ebola in West Africa and saved countle lives, and protected ourselves.(Applause.)
So we’ve got to engage with the world.We can’t pull back.Of course, leading wisely also means resisting the temptation to intervene militarily every time there’s a problem or crisis in the world.History is littered with the ruins of empires and nations that overextended themselves, draining their power and influence.And so we have to chart a smarter path.As we saw in Vietnam and the Iraq War, oftentimes the greatest damage to American credibility comes when we overreach, when we don’t think through the consequences of all of our actions.And so we have to learn from our history.And that also means we’re doing right by our men and women in uniform.So, cadets, in your positions of leadership, you will be called upon to sustain this balance--to be hard-headed and big-hearted;guided by realism and idealism, even when these forces are sometimes at odds.We’ve got to have the realism to see the world as it is--where sometimes uncomfortable compromises are neceary;where we have the humility to recognize that there are limits to what even a nation as powerful as ours can do;that there may be wars we cannot always stop right away, or lives we cannot save.But we also need the idealism that sees the world as it ought to be--a commitment to the universal values of democracy and equality and human rights, and a willingne to stand up for them around the world--not just when it’s easy, but when it’s hard.Because that’s who we are and that’s American leadership.At times, ensuring our security requires the use of military force.That’s the third leon I want to discu.As Commander-in-Chief, I have not hesitated to use force, unilaterally where neceary, to protect the American people.Thanks to our military, intelligence and counterterrorism profeionals, bin Laden is gone.(Applause.)Anwar al-Awlaki, a leader of the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, is gone.(Applause.)Ahmed Abdi Godane, the al Qaeda leader in Somalia--he’s gone.(Applause.)Ahmed Abu Khattala, accused in the attacks in Benghazi--captured.Mohammad Mansur, the leader of the Taliban--gone.(Applause.)Leader after leader in ISIL--Haji Mutazz, their number two;Mohamed Emwazi, who brutally murdered Americans;Abu Nabil, the ISIL leader in Libya--all gone.Abu Dawud, a leader of their chemical weapons program--captured.The list goes on.Because if you target Americans, we will find you and justice will be done, and we will defend our nation.(Applause.)
