2012美國總統(tǒng)大選奧巴馬羅姆尼第三輪辯論稿(英文)

1、精選優(yōu)質(zhì)文檔-傾情為你奉上精選優(yōu)質(zhì)文檔-傾情為你奉上專心-專注-專業(yè)專心-專注-專業(yè)精選優(yōu)質(zhì)文檔-傾情為你奉上專心-專注-專業(yè)Transcript of the Oct. 22, 2012, presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., as prepared by the Commission on Presidential Debates with permission to re-pu

2、blish. This will be updated.PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY,R-MASS., PARTICIPATE IN A CANDIDATES DEBATE, LYNNUNIVERSITY, BOCA RATON, FLORIDAOCTOBER 22, 2012SPEAKERS: FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY, R-MASS.,PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMABOB SCHIEFFER, MODERATOR*SCHIEFFER: Good evening from the ca

3、mpus of Lynn University here in Boca Raton, Florida. This is the fourth and last debate of the 2012 campaign, brought to you by the Commission on Presidential Debates.This ones on foreign policy. Im Bob Schieffer of CBS News. The questions are mine, and I have not shared them with the candidates or

4、their aides.SCHIEFFER: The audience has taken a vow of silence no applause, no reaction of any kind, except right now when we welcome President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.(APPLAUSE)Gentlemen, your campaigns have agreed to certain rules and they are simple. Theyve asked me to divide the ev

5、ening into segments. Ill pose a question at the beginning of each segment. You will each have two minutes to respond and then we will have a general discussion until we move to the next segment.Tonights debate, as both of you know, comes on the 50th anniversary of the night that President Kennedy to

6、ld the world that the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, perhaps the closest weve ever come to nuclear war. And it is a sobering reminder that every president faces at some point an unexpected threat to our national security from abroad.So lets begin.SCHIEFFER: The first segment is

7、 the challenge of a changing Middle East and the new face of terrorism. Im going to put this into two segments so youll have two topic questions within this one segment on the subject. The first question, and it concerns Libya. The controversy over what happened there continues. Four Americans are d

8、ead, including an American ambassador. Questions remain. What happened? What caused it? Was it spontaneous? Was it an intelligence failure? Was it a policy failure? Was there an attempt to mislead people about what really happened?Governor Romney, you said this was an example of an American policy i

9、n the Middle East that is unraveling before our very eyes.SCHIEFFER: Id like to hear each of you give your thoughts on that.Governor Romney, you won the toss. You go first.ROMNEY: Thank you, Bob. And thank you for agreeing to moderate this debate this evening. Thank you to Lynn University for welcom

10、ing us here. And Mr. President, its good to be with you again. We were together at a humorous event a little earlier, and its nice to maybe funny this time, not on purpose. Well see what happens.This is obviously an area of great concern to the entire world, and to America in particular, which is to

11、 see a a complete change in the the structure and the the environment in the Middle East.With the Arab Spring, came a great deal of hope that there would be a change towards more moderation, and opportunity for greater participation on the part of women in public life, and in economic life in the Mi

12、ddle East. But instead, weve seen in nation after nation, a number of disturbing events. Of course we see in Syria, 30,000 civilians having been killed by the military there. We see in in Libya, an attack apparently by, I think we know now, by terrorists of some kind against against our people there

13、, four people dead.Our hearts and and minds go out to them. Mali has been taken over, the northern part of Mali by al-Qaeda type individuals. We have in in Egypt, a Muslim Brotherhood president. And so what were seeing is a pretty dramatic reversal in the kind of hopes we had for that region. Of cou

14、rse the greatest threat of all is Iran, four years closer to a nuclear weapon. And and were going to have to recognize that we have to do as the president has done. I congratulate him on on taking out Osama bin Laden and going after the leadership in al-Qaeda.But we cant kill our way out of this mes

15、s. Were going to have to put in place a very comprehensive and robust strategy to help the the world of Islam and other parts of the world, reject this radical violent extremism, which is its certainly not on the run.ROMNEY: Its certainly not hiding. This is a group that is now involved in 10 or 12

16、countries, and it presents an enormous threat to our friends, to the world, to America, long term, and we must have a comprehensive strategy to help reject this kind of extremism.SCHIEFFER: Mr. President?OBAMA: Well, my first job as commander in chief, Bob, is to keep the American people safe. And t

17、hats what weve done over the last four years.We ended the war in Iraq, refocused our attention on those who actually killed us on 9/11. And as a consequence, Al Qaedas core leadership has been decimated.In addition, were now able to transition out of Afghanistan in a responsible way, making sure tha

18、t Afghans take responsibility for their own security. And that allows us also to rebuild alliances and make friends around the world to combat future threats. Now with respect to Libya, as I indicated in the last debate, when we received that phone call, I immediately made sure that, number one, tha

19、t we did everything we could to secure those Americans who were still in harms way; number two, that we would investigate exactly what happened, and number three, most importantly, that we would go after those who killed Americans and we would bring them to justice. And thats exactly what were going

20、 to do.But I think its important to step back and think about what happened in Libya. Keep in mind that I and Americans took leadership in organizing an international coalition that made sure that we were able to, without putting troops on the ground at the cost of less than what we spent in two wee

21、ks in Iraq, liberate a country that had been under the yoke of dictatorship for 40 years. Got rid of a despot who had killed Americans and as a consequence, despite this tragedy, you had tens of thousands of Libyans after the events in Benghazi marching and saying America is our friend. We stand wit

22、h them.OBAMA: Now that represents the opportunity we have to take advantage of. And, you know, Governor Romney, Im glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after Al Qaida, but I have to tell you that, you know, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and

23、 is not designed to keep Americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist in the Middle East.ROMNEY: Well, my strategy is pretty straightforward, which is to go after the bad guys, to make sure we do our very best to interrupt them, to to kill them, to take them out of the picture.But my s

24、trategy is broader than that. Thats thats important, of course. But the key that were going to have to pursue is a is a pathway to get the Muslim world to be able to reject extremism on its own.We dont want another Iraq, we dont want another Afghanistan. Thats not the right course for us. The right

25、course for us is to make sure that we go after the the people who are leaders of these various anti-American groups and these these jihadists, but also help the Muslim world.And how do we do that? A group of Arab scholars came together, organized by the U.N., to look at how we can help the the world

26、 reject these these terrorists. And the answer they came up with was this:One, more economic development. We should key our foreign aid, our direct foreign investment, and that of our friends, we should coordinate it to make sure that we we push back and give them more economic development.Number tw

27、o, better education.Number three, gender equality.Number four, the rule of law. We have to help these nations create civil societies.But whats been happening over the last couple of years is, as weve watched this tumult in the Middle East, this rising tide of chaos occur, you see Al Qaida rushing in

28、, you see other jihadist groups rushing in. And and theyre throughout many nations in the Middle East.ROMNEY: Its wonderful that Libya seems to be making some progress, despite this terrible tragedy.But next door, of course, we have Egypt. Libyas 6 million population; Egypt, 80 million population. W

29、e want we want to make sure that were seeing progress throughout the Middle East. With Mali now having North Mali taken over by Al Qaida; with Syria having Assad continuing to to kill, to murder his own people, this is a region in tumult.And, of course, Iran on the path to a nuclear weapon, weve got

30、 real (inaudible).SCHIEFFER: Well get to that, but lets give the president a chance.OBAMA: Governor Romney, Im glad that you recognize that Al Qaida is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked whats the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not Al Qaida; you said

31、 Russia, in the 1980s, theyre now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold Wars been over for 20 years.But Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the e

32、conomic policies of the 1920s.You say that youre not interested in duplicating what happened in Iraq. But just a few weeks ago, you said you think we should have more troops in Iraq right now. And the the challenge we have I know you havent been in a position to actually execute foreign policy but e

33、very time youve offered an opinion, youve been wrong. You said we should have gone into Iraq, despite that fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction.You said that we should still have troops in Iraq to this day. You indicated that we shouldnt be passing nuclear treaties with Russia despite

34、 the fact that 71 senators, Democrats and Republicans, voted for it. You said that, first, we should not have a timeline in Afghanistan. Then you said we should. Now you say maybe or it depends, which means not only were you wrong, but you were also confusing in sending mixed messages both to our tr

35、oops and our allies.OBAMA: So, what what we need to do with respect to the Middle East is strong, steady leadership, not wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map. And unfortunately, thats the kind of opinions that youve offered throughout this campaign, and it is not a recipe for Ameri

36、can strength, or keeping America safe over the long haul.SCHIEFFER: Im going to add a couple of minutes here to give you a chance to respond.ROMNEY: Well, of course I dont concur with what the president said about my own record and the things that Ive said. They dont happen to be accurate. But but I

37、 can say this, that were talking about the Middle East and how to help the Middle East reject the kind of terrorism were seeing, and the rising tide of tumult and and confusion. And and attacking me is not an agenda. Attacking me is not talking about how were going to deal with the challenges that e

38、xist in the Middle East, and take advantage of the opportunity there, and stem the tide of this violence.But Ill respond to a couple of things that you mentioned. First of all, Russia I indicated is a geopolitical foe. Not.(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: Excuse me. Its a geopolitical foe, and I said in the same

39、in the same paragraph I said, and Iran is the greatest national security threat we face. Russia does continue to battle us in the U.N. time and time again. I have clear eyes on this. Im not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin. And Im certainly not going to say to

40、 him, Ill give you more flexibility after the election. After the election, hell get more backbone. Number two, with regards to Iraq, you and I agreed I believe that there should be a status of forces agreement.(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: Oh you didnt? You didnt want a status of.OBAMA: What I would not have

41、had done was left 10,000 troops in Iraq that would tie us down. And that certainly would not help us in the Middle East.ROMNEY: Im sorry, you actually there was a there was an effort on the part of the president to have a status of forces agreement, and I concurred in that, and said that we should h

42、ave some number of troops that stayed on. That was something I concurred with.(CROSSTALK)OBAMA: Governor.(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: .that your posture. That was my posture as well. You thought it should have been 5,000 troops.(CROSSTALK)OBAMA: Governor?ROMNEY: . I thought there should have been more troops,

43、 but you know what? The answer was we got.(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: . no troops through whatsoever.OBAMA: This was just a few weeks ago that you indicated that we should still have troops in Iraq.ROMNEY: No, I.(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: .Im sorry thats a.(CROSSTALK)OBAMA: You you.ROMNEY: .thats a I indicated.(CROS

44、STALK)OBAMA: .major speech.(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: .I indicated that you failed to put in place a status.(CROSSTALK)OBAMA: Governor?(CROSSTALK)ROMNEY: .of forces agreement at the end of the conflict that existed.OBAMA: Governor here heres heres one thing.(CROSSTALK)OBAMA: .heres one thing Ive learned as

45、commander in chief.(CROSSTALK)SCHIEFFER: Let him answer.OBAMA: Youve got to be clear, both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand and what you mean. You just gave a speech a few weeks ago in which you said we should still have troops in Iraq. That is not a recipe for making sure that w

46、e are taking advantage of the opportunities and meeting the challenges of the Middle East.Now, it is absolutely true that we cannot just meet these challenges militarily. And so what Ive done throughout my presidency and will continue to do is, number one, make sure that these countries are supporti

47、ng our counterterrorism efforts.Number two, make sure that they are standing by our interests in Israels security, because it is a true friend and our greatest ally in the region.Number three, we do have to make sure that were protecting religious minorities and women because these countries cant de

48、velop unless all the population, not just half of it, is developing.Number four, we do have to develop their economic their economic capabilities.But number five, the other thing that we have to do is recognize that we cant continue to do nation building in these regions. Part of American leadership

49、 is making sure that were doing nation building here at home. That will help us maintain the kind of American leadership that we need.SCHIEFFER: Let me interject the second topic question in this segment about the Middle East and so on, and that is, you both mentioned alluded to this, and that is Sy

50、ria.The war in Syria has now spilled over into Lebanon. We have, what, more than 100 people that were killed there in a bomb. There were demonstrations there, eight people dead.Mr. President, its been more than a year since you saw you told Assad he had to go. Since then, 30,000 Syrians have died. W

51、eve had 300,000 refugees.The war goes on. Hes still there. Should we reassess our policy and see if we can find a better way to influence events there? Or is that even possible?And you go first, sir.OBAMA: What weve done is organize the international community, saying Assad has to go. Weve mobilized

52、 sanctions against that government. We have made sure that they are isolated. We have provided humanitarian assistance and we are helping the opposition organize, and were particularly interested in making sure that were mobilizing the moderate forces inside of Syria.But ultimately, Syrians are goin

53、g to have to determine their own future. And so everything were doing, were doing in consultation with our partners in the region, including Israel which obviously has a huge interest in seeing what happens in Syria; coordinating with Turkey and other countries in the region that have a great intere

54、st in this.This what were seeing taking place in Syria is heartbreaking, and thats why we are going to do everything we can to make sure that we are helping the opposition. But we also have to recognize that, you know, for us to get more entangled militarily in Syria is a serious step, and we have t

55、o do so making absolutely certain that we know who we are helping; that were not putting arms in the hands of folks who eventually could turn them against us or allies in the region.And I am confident that Assads days are numbered. But what we cant do is to simply suggest that, as Governor Romney at

56、 times has suggested, that giving heavy weapons, for example, to the Syrian opposition is a simple proposition that would lead us to be safer over the long term. SCHIEFFER: Governor?ROMNEY: Well, lets step back and talk about whats happening in Syria and how important it is. First of all, 30,000 peo

57、ple being killed by their government is a humanitarian disaster. Secondly, Syria is an opportunity for us because Syria plays an important role in the Middle East, particularly right now.ROMNEY: Syria is Irans only ally in the Arab world. Its their route to the sea. Its the route for them to arm Hez

58、bollah in Lebanon, which threatens, of course, our ally, Israel. And so seeing Syria remove Assad is a very high priority for us. Number two, seeing a a replacement government being responsible people is critical for us. And finally, we dont want to have military involvement there. We dont want to g

59、et drawn into a military conflict.And so the right course for us, is working through our partners and with our own resources, to identify responsible parties within Syria, organize them, bring them together in a in a form of if not government, a form of of of council that can take the lead in Syria.

60、 And then make sure they have the arms necessary to defend themselves. We do need to make sure that they dont have arms that get into the the wrong hands. Those arms could be used to hurt us down the road. We need to make sure as well that we coordinate this effort with our allies, and particularly