As his plane was refuelling in Alaska en Lroute to Asia, Barack Obama made a vow to the troops who greeted him at Elmendorf air base. "I want you guys to understand I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests," he said. It was an old campaign line, and it drew applause. But it sounded odd, given that Mr Obama has been hesitating to commit more forces to the war in Afghanistan, which he used to call "a war of necessity" that was "fundamental to the defence of our people".
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机译：巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）的飞机在阿拉斯加（Alaska en Lroute）加油前往亚洲时，向在埃尔曼多夫（Elmendorf）空军基地向他致意的部队发誓。他说：“我希望你们了解我将毫不犹豫地使用武力保护美国人民或我们的切身利益。”这是一条古老的竞选路线，赢得了阵阵掌声。但这听起来有些奇怪，因为奥巴马先生一直在犹豫是否要向阿富汗战争增派部队，他过去曾将其称为“必不可少的战争”，“这对捍卫我们的人民至关重要”。
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