伊拉克首都巴格达周三上午发生了一系列汽车炸弹爆炸和爆炸袭击事件，导致至少95人死亡，在美国军队逐步撤出伊拉克之际，此事对伊拉克安全部队维持社会安定的能力构成了直接挑战。
　　A series of car bombings and explosions rocked the capital on Wednesday morning, killing at least 95 people and directly challenging the effectiveness of Iraqi security services amid a U.S. pullback.
　　据伊拉克官员说，自美军6月30日起从伊拉克城市撤出以来，此次爆炸事件是伊拉克最严重的有组织暴力活动，导致至少563人受伤。周三还有一人在基尔库克被杀，这一天似乎是伊拉克一年多以来最血腥的一天。
　　The blasts, the worst episode of coordinated violence since American forces withdrew from Iraqi cities on June 30, injured at least 563 people, according to Iraqi officials. Another person was killed in Kirkuk in what appeared to be the deadliest day in Iraq in more than a year.
　　此次事件彰显了美国在准备从伊拉克撤军时就已预料到的风险，而此时美国在阿富汗的策略也正面临着愈演愈烈暴力活动的考验。美国官员们说，他们正在密切关注伊拉克政府对事态的反应，人们日益担心如此高的死亡人数有可能使伊拉克重新陷入派系仇杀中去。
　　The attacks underscored the calculated risk that American officials took with the withdrawal, and they came as the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan also is coming under stress from insurgent violence. U.S. officials say they are closely monitoring the reaction of the Iraqi government, saying there is increasing anxiety that such high death tolls could tip Iraq back into a cycle of sectarian fighting.
　　美国总统奥巴马本周一时还坚称，明年年底前从伊拉克撤出所有美军作战部队、2011年底前从伊拉克撤出所有美军的计划不会改变。但美国官员们指出，根据美国目前与伊拉克政府达成的安全协议，巴格达有权要求美国增加对伊援助。美国国防部一名高级官员说，虽然没人认为巴格达会要求美军重新驻防伊拉克城市，但伊拉克政府却有可能要求增加伊、美两军在动荡地区的联合行动。
　　President Barack Obama insisted as recently as Monday that there will be no change in his plans to withdraw all U.S. combat forces over the course of the next year and to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. But U.S. officials noted that the current security agreement with Baghdad allows the Iraqi government to request additional American assistance. 'Nobody anticipates they're going to ask us to reposition into the cities,' but requests may come for more joint operations in troubled regions, said a senior U.S. Defense Department official.
　　在周三的爆炸事件前，伊拉克各地不时发生血腥袭击事件的局面已持续了两周，许多袭击针对的都是什叶派平民和伊拉克北部地区的少数民族。而周三爆炸事件针对的则是伊拉克政府的重要部门，如外交部和财政部。
　　The violence Wednesday came after two weeks of bloody attacks across the country, many of which struck Shiite civilians and ethnic minorities in northern Iraq. Wednesday's attacks, by contrast, targeted high-profile pillars of the state's authority, including the Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry.
　　在美军逐步撤出伊拉克之际发生的这些暴力事件表明，伊拉克军队和伊拉克总理马立基(Nouri al-Maliki)未来将面临重大安全挑战。伊拉克和美国官员原本已预料到在美军撤出前后暴力袭击事件将会增多。他们还警告说，在明年1月的议会选举前，暴力活动有可能增加。
　　The violence points to the significant security challenges ahead for Iraqi armed forces and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki amid the U.S. troop withdrawal. Iraqi and U.S. officials had braced for increased attacks surrounding that milestone. They also warned that violence could increase ahead of parliamentary elections in January.