評(píng)論
打印
The New Nuclear Poker
新一輪核游戲
MORE PLAYERS. LOOSER RULES. EVERYTHING AT STAKE
玩家更多，規(guī)則更松，成敗在此一舉
BY W.J. HENNIGAN
文/W.J.亨尼根
AT A VAST TRACT OF UNINHABITED DESERT IN southern Nevada,
在內(nèi)華達(dá)南部無人居住的廣闊沙漠中，
hundreds of moonlike craters dimple the wasteland,
數(shù)以百計(jì)類似月球表面的石坑就躺在這片荒原上，
remnants of Cold War nuclear explosions that melted the bedrock and fused the sand
這些都是冷戰(zhàn)時(shí)期核爆炸留下的，在核爆炸產(chǎn)生的高溫下，基巖融化，沙土也變成了熔漿，
to ensure that America could take part in the unthinkable: global thermonuclearwar.
這一切都是為了確保美國(guó)能夠把不可能變成可能：全球熱核戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。
The crowds of scientists and generals are long gone—the U. S. hasn’t tested a nuke since 1992,
盡管那批科學(xué)家和將軍早已不在 - 1992年以來，美國(guó)也再未進(jìn)行過核武器測(cè)試，
when then President George H. W. Bush declared a self-imposed testing moratorium.
因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)的喬治·W·布什總統(tǒng)宣布自愿暫停試驗(yàn)。
But the Nevada National Security test site is not completely abandoned.
但內(nèi)華達(dá)州國(guó)家安全局的測(cè)試基地并未完全被拋棄。
A skeleton crew of custodians oversees the long dormant facility, less than 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas,
一批骨干監(jiān)管人員還在距離拉斯維加斯西北方向不到90英里（約145千米)的地方監(jiān)管著那些已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)期休眠的設(shè)施，
standing by to turn the lights back on if the day ever comes.
等著重新啟動(dòng)的那一天。
It may come sooner than many thought.
出人意料的是，這一天可能很快就會(huì)到來。
Since 1993, the Department of Energy has had to be ready to conduct a nuclear test within two to three years if ordered by the President.
自1993年以來，按照規(guī)定，一旦總統(tǒng)下令，兩到三年內(nèi)，能源部必須將核試驗(yàn)準(zhǔn)備就緒。
Late last year, the Trump Administration ordered the department to be ready, for the first time,
去年年底，特朗普政府已經(jīng)下令能源部做好準(zhǔn)備——這還是1993年以來的第一次——
to conduct a short-notice nuclear test in as little as six months.
要求能源部臨時(shí)在短短6個(gè)月時(shí)間內(nèi)進(jìn)行核試驗(yàn)。
That is not enough time to install the warhead in shafts as deep as 4,000 ft. and affix all the proper technical instrumentation and diagnostics equipment.
六個(gè)月的時(shí)間根本無法將核彈彈頭安裝到深達(dá)4000英尺（約1200米)的井筒并配上所有合適的技術(shù)儀器和診斷設(shè)備。
But the purpose of such a detonation, which the Administration labels “a simple test, with waivers and simplified processes,”
不過，這樣的測(cè)試，政府當(dāng)局稱其為“進(jìn)行了各種減免及簡(jiǎn)化的簡(jiǎn)單測(cè)試，”
would not be to ensure that the nation’s most powerful weapons were in operational order,
其目的并不是為了確保這個(gè)國(guó)家最強(qiáng)大的武器能夠正常運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，
or to check whether a new type of warhead worked, a TIME review of nuclear-policy documents has found.
也不是為了檢查一種新型的彈頭是否起作用，本刊在研究了相關(guān)的核政策文件后發(fā)現(xiàn)。
Rather, a National Nuclear Security Administration official tells TIME, such a test would be “conducted for political purposes.”
一位國(guó)家核安全局官員向本刊透露，這樣的測(cè)試是“為了政治目的展開的。”
The point, this and other sources say, would be to show Russia’s Vladimir Putin,
消息人士稱，其目的是為了向俄羅斯的弗拉基米爾·普京，
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Iran’s Ayatullah Ali Khamenei and other adversaries what they are up against.
朝鮮的金正恩，伊朗的阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內(nèi)伊等對(duì)手展示，他們面臨的是怎樣的勁敵。
