評論
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Now here is a view on politics by James Stavridis
下面是詹姆斯·斯塔夫里蒂斯的一篇政治評論
What H.R. McMaster’s retirement reveals
麥克馬斯特退休說明了什么
By James Stavridis
文/詹姆斯·斯塔夫里蒂斯
I MET COLONEL H.R. MCMASTER IN THE early years of the Iraq War,
我是在伊拉克戰爭初期認識麥克馬斯特上校的，
when he was in command of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment in TalAfar, Iraq.
當時他還在擔任伊拉克塔拉法第三騎兵團的指揮官。
It was a hot and dusty day,
那是一個炎熱而灰暗的日子，
and I was a three-star Vice Admiral traveling with my boss at the time, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld.
作為一名海軍三星中將，認識上校時我正和我當時的領導，國防部長拉姆斯菲爾德一起出差。
McMaster, who looks like he ought to be working as a bouncer in a city bar in the Badlands neighborhood of his Philadelphia hometown,
麥克馬斯特看上去給人的感覺是他更應該在他家鄉費城的巴德蘭茲地區的某個城市酒吧當個保鏢而不是在指揮官
briefed us on his work in pacifying the violent region with an adept blend of hard and soft power—what some have called “smart power.”
他向我們簡要地介紹了他的工作內容：軟硬兼施，有人也稱“巧力”，平息這個充滿暴亂的地區。
The encounter solidified in my mind the superb intellect combined with operational skills that have characterized his career.
那次邂逅進一步加深了我對他不僅擁有超強的實踐能力，還有著卓越的才智的印象，而這兩種能力也一直是他職業生涯的標志性特征。
As the NATO Commander a few years later, and wearing four stars,
幾年后，作為北大西洋公約組織在阿的指揮官以及一名四星中將，
I requested his assignment to my Afghan command as a one-star to take on the dark heart of our challenges there: corruption in the Afghan government.
我要求他以一星軍銜的身份被派往我的阿富汗司令部，負責我們在那里面臨的核心挑戰：阿富汗政府的腐敗。
He did hard work in a difficult place, and my respect for him grew.
在那樣艱難的地方他仍能辛勤工作，我對他的尊敬與日俱增。
MCMASTER’S 1997 BOOK, Dereliction of Duty, is in many ways a stinging indictment
從很多方面來看，麥克馬斯特1997年出版的《玩忽職守》都是一份尖銳的控訴，
of the Washington culture of subtle deceit, hidden agenda and backstabbing that helped pull the U.S. into a quagmire in Vietnam.
控訴華盛頓流行的狡詐地欺騙、隱藏的議程和背后中傷的文化，美國之所以陷入越戰泥潭，這一文化脫不了干系。
It tells the story of the malfeasance of the uniformed senior military
書中講述了一個穿著制服的高級軍官如何瀆職，
in misleading the nation and the President about the true state of affairs as the war spiraled down to defeat.
如何在戰爭逐漸走向失敗時誤導國家和總統，欺瞞真實戰況的故事。
It is also a cautionary tale.
這也是一個意在警醒世人的故事。
In his time in the White House,
在白宮任職期間，
McMaster tried to rise above what Rex Tillerson called in an outburst of candor(and an understatement, frankly) this “mean-spirited town.”
麥克馬斯特試圖超越雷克斯·蒂勒森在一次坦白（坦率地說，這只是一種輕描淡寫的說法)中所說的“心胸狹窄的小鎮?！?/div>
McMaster’s short tenure as President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser certainly reinforced that assessment.
麥克馬斯特擔任美國總統唐納德·特朗普的國家安全顧問的任期之短，無疑也進一步佐證了上述評價。
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