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On the morning of september 11, 2001, Sater was still working at Bayrock and making his normal morning commute into Manhattan.
2001年11月的一個(gè)早上，仍在貝羅克集團(tuán)工作的薩特像往常一樣通勤去曼哈頓。
But when he neared the Midtown Tunnel, he saw it: The twin towers of the World Trade Center had been hit by planes, one after the other.
但在中城隧道附近，他看到世貿(mào)中心的雙子塔遭到飛機(jī)接連襲擊。
Sater doesn't remember exactly when he realized bin Laden was responsible for the carnage.
薩特不記得是什么時(shí)候意識(shí)到本·拉登就是這場(chǎng)屠殺的始作俑者。
But once he did, he says, his mind raced back to his time in Moscow,
但是薩特說，他一想到這件事，他的思緒就回到了莫斯科的日子，
when he was funneling information to the U.S. government.
那段時(shí)間他向美國政府傳遞信息。
One bizarre episode stood out, he claims:
他還講了一段不容忽視的離奇經(jīng)歷：
In the spring of 1998, he, E and about 15 or 20 ex–Soviet special forces fighters went to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan,
1998年春，薩特、E和約15到20名前蘇聯(lián)特種部隊(duì)?wèi)?zhàn)士前往塔吉克斯坦首都杜尚別，
a former Soviet republic that borders Afghanistan.
塔吉克斯坦與阿富汗接壤，曾屬于前蘇聯(lián)。
They had information from Hamid's sources in the Northern Alliance about bin Laden's location—a camp in the mountain range called Tora Bora.
他們從哈米德在北方聯(lián)盟的線人那里得得知本·拉登的位置信息——一托拉博拉山脈的一個(gè)營(yíng)地。
Hamid had proved his bona fides,
哈米德已經(jīng)證明其誠意，
so "we had no reason to doubt what he was telling us," Sater claims.
所以“我們沒有理由懷疑消息的真實(shí)性，”薩特聲稱。
And E and his men were going to try to take out bin Laden—for a price.
為了錢，E和他帶的人準(zhǔn)備試著干掉本·拉登。
They drove from Dushanbe across the border to Mazar-i-Sharif,
他們從杜尚別開車穿過塔吉克斯坦的邊界，來到阿富汗的馬扎里沙里夫，
where they rendezvoused with Northern Alliance fighters.
與北方聯(lián)盟的戰(zhàn)士會(huì)和。
Sater claims he called Langley,
薩特稱他電話聯(lián)系了中情局總部，
saying he had real intelligence about bin Laden's whereabouts and soldiers who were willing to move on the camp.
說明自己掌握了關(guān)于本·拉登下落，以及想離開本·拉登營(yíng)地士兵的真實(shí)情報(bào)。
What he needed to know was how much the agency would pay.
他要知道中情局會(huì)為此付多少錢。
"Greed was always my go-to weapon," Sater says.
“貪婪是我可靠的武器，”薩特說。
Getting E into potentially lucrative telecom deals,
讓E參與可能有利可圖的電信交易，
as well as Sater's background as a Russian-speaking former Wall Street guy,
以及薩特自己曾以俄裔身份在華爾街工作的背景，
had cemented his relationship with the former military intelligence officer.
都鞏固了薩特與這位前蘇聯(lián)軍事情報(bào)官員E的關(guān)系。
The CIA, Sater says, told him the bounty on bin Laden was $5 million.
據(jù)薩特稱，中情局告訴他抓住本·拉登的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)是500萬美元。
He claims he told the agency that wasn't going to cut it:
薩特告訴中情局這根本不夠本:
"These guys were walking into a potential bloodbath.
“這些人正在搞一起極有可能發(fā)生的大屠殺。
There were about 50 of (them) total.
總共約有50人。
They needed at least a million dollars each."
每人至少需要100萬美元。”
The CIA balked, Sater claims, and the group retreated to Dushanbe, then back to Moscow.
中情局不同意，所以他們退到杜尚別，之后又返回莫斯科。
(Three former CIA officials declined to either confirm or deny this account.
（三名前中情局官員拒絕證實(shí)或否認(rèn)這一說法。
Hamid couldn't be reached for comment.)
記者無法聯(lián)系到哈米德置評(píng)。）
As bin Laden's face became a permanent fixture in the papers and on the news,
當(dāng)本拉登的臉頻頻出現(xiàn)在報(bào)紙和新聞廣播上時(shí)，
Sater couldn't shake the thought out of his mind:
薩特腦子里有一個(gè)移不開的念頭：
"Could we have had him? Was that a possibility? I'll never know."
“我們本來能抓住本·拉登嗎？有這個(gè)可能嗎？我無從知曉。”
Not long after the 9/11 attacks, the FBI again reached out to Sater.
在9·11恐怖襲擊事件發(fā)生后不久，中情局再次聯(lián)系了薩特。
Only this time the bureau wanted him to get in touch with Hamid—and help with counterterrorism—not the mob.
只有這次中情局才想讓薩特聯(lián)系哈米德，并協(xié)助反恐行動(dòng)，而不是去抓恐怖分子。
The American informant did what the bureau asked, and he knew what to expect from the Afghan.
薩特這位美國情報(bào)人員照做了，他知道阿富汗將會(huì)發(fā)生什么。
"What's in it for me?" Hamid asked.
“我從終會(huì)得到什么？”哈米德問道。
He "didn't give a damn about Americans," Sater says.
薩特說哈米德“毫不在意美國人，”
But Al-Qaeda had recently assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader of the Northern Alliance,
但是基地組織那時(shí)暗殺了北方聯(lián)盟領(lǐng)袖艾哈邁德·沙赫·馬蘇德，
so the Afghan said he would help if the money was right.
所以如果酬金夠豐厚，哈米德表示愿意協(xié)助。
Sater had already given this some thought.
薩特已經(jīng)考慮過這個(gè)問題。
He claims he told Hamid—accurately, as it turned out, but not because he knew anything—that the Americans would soon invade the country.
薩特和哈米德說美國之后會(huì)侵入阿富汗，事實(shí)確實(shí)如此，但這并不是因?yàn)樗裁炊贾馈?/div>
The Afghan needed more than that.
哈米德想知道更多。
So Sater claims he assured him the U.S. would depose the Taliban and set up a central bank in Kabul.
所以薩特向哈米德保證美國將推翻塔利班，并在喀布爾建立中央銀行。
The Afghan, he says, could help run it.
薩特說哈米德可以幫助管理。
This was a complete lie,
這是一個(gè)彌天大謊，
but Sater says he sold it by putting together a packet of official-looking legal documents, allegedly from the U.S. government,
但據(jù)薩特講，他拼湊了一套看起來像官方文件的法律文件(據(jù)稱來自美國政府)，
authorizing the creation of the bank.
文件授權(quán)成立銀行。
He shipped them and a satellite phone to Hamid, who believed the story, according to Sater.
據(jù)薩特所言，他把這些文件和一部衛(wèi)星電話送到哈米德那里，使得哈米德相信了這一說法。
Soon, the American asset says, before the first CIA paramilitary operators entered Afghanistan, the information started to flow.
對(duì)美國極有價(jià)值的薩特說，很快，在第一批中央情報(bào)局準(zhǔn)軍事人員進(jìn)入阿富汗之前，情報(bào)開始傳遞。
It was detailed and specific,
情報(bào)詳細(xì)具體，
and even included locations of Al- Qaeda fighters, weapons
甚至還包括基地組織武裝分子的位置、武器
and information about how the 9/11 attackers had financed their operation.
以及9·11恐怖襲擊分子如何為恐怖襲擊籌集資金。
The way Sater recalls it, a relative of his Afghan informant was married to Taliban leader Mullah Omar's personal secretary,
薩特回憶道，阿富汗線人哈米德的親戚與塔利班領(lǐng)袖毛拉·奧馬爾的私人秘書的結(jié)婚了，
and they traveled everywhere together, including to the caves of Tora Bora,
并一起到處旅行，還去了托拉博拉山脈的營(yíng)地山洞，
where he and bin Laden retreated after the United States invaded.
而這個(gè)地方就是這位親戚和本拉登在美國入侵后撤退的地方。
For Sater, the work was surreal and often gratifying.
對(duì)于薩特來說，這個(gè)工作離奇而又快意。
"FBI agents would come to my house each night and stay there until 2 or 3 in the morning,"
“聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局的特工每天晚上都到我家來，待到凌晨?jī)扇c(diǎn)，”
he says, "drinking my wife's coffee, poring over this stuff."
薩特說，“我妻子做咖啡，我和他們研究這些事。”
(An FBI official who knew Sater at the time said the general outline of this story is accurate but declined to go into specifics.)
（一位了解薩特的聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局官員當(dāng)時(shí)說這個(gè)事情的大體框架是準(zhǔn)確的，但這位官員拒絕透露更多細(xì)節(jié)。）
Sater says he has never been paid by any U.S. government agency for his assistance,
薩特說他從未因協(xié)助調(diào)查收到任何美國政府機(jī)構(gòu)的酬金，
and current and former FBI officials confirm that.
前任及現(xiàn)任聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局官員都證實(shí)了此事。
"All this was going on," Sater says,
“一切都持續(xù)推進(jìn)，”薩特說，
"I just remember thinking how crazy it all was.
“我只記得當(dāng)時(shí)我在想，一切都是如此瘋狂。
How did I get involved in all this?"
我是怎么卷進(jìn)來的?”
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