CGTN时评 | 美国为何超过90%的时间都在打仗？
The United States has always regarded itself as an exceptional nation – and an example for others to follow.
美国一向以“例外之国”自居, 并且各国都应当奉其为榜样。
Most Americans think of their country as a beacon of goodness admired around the world. Former president Ronald Reagan once described the U.S. as a "shining city on a hill," "teeming with people of all kinds, living in harmony and peace."
大多数美国人认为自己的国家是光辉的灯塔，举世景仰。前总统罗纳德·里根曾将美国形容为“山巅的光明之城”, “形形色色的人们在这里过着和谐、安宁的生活”。
But the truth is, most Americans won't see themselves the way others do. Where Americans see "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," others see a nation that has fought for unfair interests and unjustified values.
但事实上，大多数美国人从不自省自己在他人心目中的形象。在美国人眼里，美国尊重“生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利” ；而在别人看来，美国却经常为本国的私利和非正义的价值而战。
Americans have forgotten or are unaware of the people who suffered in helping to build the U.S. into a global power.
美国人已经忘记，或者说从不知道那些经受百般苦难将美国建成世界强国的人们。
And they don't realize that their country has almost always been at war.
他们同样没有意识到，自己的国家几乎从未停止过战争。
At any given time, most Americans couldn't identify the countries where U.S. troops are fighting on a map – let alone explain why they are engaged in conflict.
大多数美国人无法在地图上找到美国出兵打仗的地点，更无法解释出兵作战的原因。
Since 1776, the U.S. has only been at peace for 17 years.
自1776年以来，美国仅有17年没有参与战争。
American colonists took up arms against Britain to win independence.
最初，美国人拿起武器反抗英国殖民者统治，并赢得独立。
European settlers then wiped out North America's indigenous people in order to expand westward.
之后，欧洲移民为向西扩张领土，几乎将北美原住民屠杀殆尽。
There were an estimated 10 million native people living on the continent when the settlers arrived. By 1900, the estimated indigenous population was less than 300,000.
欧洲移民到达时，北美原住民人口约1000万。到1900年，该数字降低至不足30万。
In an almost unbroken stream of wars and fighting, the U.S. expanded from 13 colonies to 50 states.
战争和冲突几乎从未中断过。自此，美国领土从建国之初的13个州扩张至50个州。
The U.S. has also annexed or conquered five territories. It has military bases in about 80 foreign countries and territories. Since 1776, the U.S. has been at peace for just one out of every 20 years.
此外，美国还吞并或占领了5个海外领地，并在约80个国家建立了军事基地。1776年至今，美国平均每20年中仅有1年没参与任何战争。
Why is the U.S. always fighting?
为何这个国家总是在打仗？
Politicians over time have offered various justifications:
古往今来的政客给出了各种各样的理由：
The original colonists thought God had granted them a new Promised Land; The American revolution was fueled by commercial interests; The violent westward expansion was driven by a sense of special purpose dubbed "manifest destiny"; Many U.S. wars in the last century were justified as protecting democracy from fascism or communism.
起初，生活在殖民统治下的人们认为是上帝赋予了他们一片新的乐土；美国独立战争是在商业利益的驱动下暴发的；暴力的西进运动背后，是一种称为“天命论”的特殊使命感；在过去一个世纪中，美国参与的战争多以捍卫民主、抗击法西斯主义或共产主义为名。
Sometimes the justification was politics and money, or politics, money, and religion.
有时，战争原因是政治和金钱或者政治、金钱和宗教。
The justifications have changed over time. But if you look between the lines, the real reasons are always the same.
战争的理由随着时间的推移而变化。但仔细想想，其根本原因却从未改变。
From the beginning, the U.S. went to war for two things.
自始至终，美国发动战争的目的只有两个。
First, to defend or expand its territory. Second, to do business without constraint – often shortened to "freedom."
一是为保卫或扩张领土；二是为毫无约束地做生意，或称“自由”。
War is good for business – and war is good business, especially for the U.S. of the past century.
战争有利于商业发展，且战争本身就是生意。对于过去一个世纪以来的美国来说尤为如此。
Look at the acrimony between the U.S., Australia and France over a submarine deal.
想一想最近美国、澳大利亚和法国之间的潜艇交易风波。
Some French analysts are saying NATO may never be the same – all because of a $60 billion submarine deal gone bad.
一些法国分析人士认为，因为一笔毁约了的600亿美元的潜艇交易，北约可能再也回不到从前。
Former President George W. Bush said the Iraq War was about weapons of mass destruction. This turned out to be a big lie. So why did the U.S. invade?
美国前总统小布什称，发动伊拉克战争的原因是该国拥有大规模杀伤性武器。这一说法之后被证实是彻头彻尾的谎言。那么，美国到底为何侵略伊拉克？
"Of course it's about oil. It's very much about oil and we can't really deny that," John Abizaid, CENTCOM commander from 2003 to 2007, said in an interview.
“原因当然是石油。石油是主要原因，这一点我们不能否认。” 2003年至2007年任美国中央司令部司令的约翰·阿比扎伊德在采访中如是说。
It's no secret that war has always been about money and the power it represents.
众所周知，战争的目的永远是金钱和金钱所代表的权力。
By the 1950s, the ties between industry and the military had become so strong that then President Eisenhower, a World War II hero, – gave a warning to the public.
到了20世纪50年代，工业和军事间的联系已经异常紧密。时任总统、二战英雄艾森豪威尔曾向公众表达了担忧。
He warned of an out-of-control war machine that always needs an enemy to stay profitable.
他说，要警惕失控的战争机器为维持盈利而不断寻找新的敌人。
"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist," he warned.
“我们必须防止军事工业复合体获得不正当的影响力，不论它这样追求与否。权力错配现象正日益显现，其造成灾难性后果的可能将长期存在，”他警告称。
The U.S. loves to talk peace. But all it knows is war.
美国嘴里谈的都是和平，但心里想的却只是战争。
Can the U.S. change its ways? History suggests not.
美国的这种好战习性能改吗？历史告诉我们，不能。
But the allies of the United States, new and old, should hope against hope that Washington has learned something from its disasters in Afghanistan, and Iraq, and Syria, and Vietnam – and will not drag the world into another costly, pointless and unwinnable fight.
美国的盟友们，无论新旧，最好祈祷华盛顿能够在经历了阿富汗战争、伊拉克战争、叙利亚战争和越战泥潭后吸取一些教训，这样世界才不会被美国拖进另一场代价高昂、毫无意义和也无胜算的战争。
The 78 million Americans born after 2001 have never lived in a United States that has been at peace.
对于2001年之后出生的7800万美国人来说，他们从未生活在和平年代。
After fighting for 228 of the last 245 years, maybe it's time for U.S. soldiers to put down their guns for at least a few years.
在美国的245年历史中，美国经历了228年的战争。美国的士兵或许是时候放下枪了，至少休息上几年。