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Mild-mannered spy chief Dan Coats gives Trump the facts Gently
溫文爾雅的國家情報總監丹·科茨 和風細雨地向特朗普陳述事實
By Massimo Calabresi
文/馬西莫·卡拉布雷西
DAN COATS IS NOT EXACTLY CENTRAL CASTING’S version of a spymaster.
丹·科茨并不是角色分派中心中意的那種間諜首領。
Sitting down for an interview in his spacious office in suburban Virginia,
坐在弗吉尼亞郊區寬敞的辦公室里接受采訪時，
the Director of National Intelligence is cheerful and earnest.
這位國家情報總監看上去爽朗而真誠。
His manner is the same brand of friendly Midwestern self-effacement
態度也依舊是他在擔任印第安納州共和黨參議員的16年里
for which he was known during 16 years as a Republican Senator from Indiana.
為人熟知的那種中西部人的友好和謙遜。
“The technical capabilities of this (job) and the diversity of skills are high above my intellectual capacity,” he says.
“這份工作所需的各項技術性能力以及所需技能的多樣性遠遠超出了我的理解能力，”他說。
One veteran Washington intelligence observer uses the word guileless to describe his demeanor.
華盛頓某資深情報觀察人士用了“厚道”這個詞來形容丹·科茨的舉止。
Which is definitely not in the job description for America’s top spy.
而這個此顯然是不在美國頂級間諜的職責范圍之內的。
As head of 17 intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA, FBI and multiple military intelligence arms,
作為包括中央情報局，國家安全局，聯邦調查局及多個軍事情報機構在內的17個情報機構的負責人，
Coats, 75, oversees everything from domestic counterterrorism to foiling foreign espionage plots.
現年75歲的科茨肩負著從國內反恐到挫敗外國間諜陰謀的一切事務。
Just as challenging: he controls the agencies’ $70 billion collective annual budget.
同樣具有挑戰性的是：他還手握著那些機構總計700億美元的年度預算。
Spies are no slouches when it comes to bureaucratic maneuvering;
在執掌官僚機構問題上，間諜們絕對算不上懶漢；
being the boss of all spy bosses requires not just authority but cunning.
而擔任所有間諜頭領的頭領不僅需要權威，還需要狡詐。
Even in normal times, the job is among the most thankless in government.
因為即便是正常情況下，這份工作也是政府里最吃力不討好的工作之一。
Yet Coats’ bashful exterior has helped him survive in the tumultuous Trump Administration.
然而，科茨那害羞的外表幫助他在動蕩的特朗普政府里幸存了下來。
The President has declared war on Washington bureaucracy
即便總統已經對整個華盛頓的官僚作風開戰，
and came into office particularly hostile to the intelligence services
對情報機構的敵意尤其強烈，
for supporting the investigation into Russia’s 2016 election meddling, which he calls a “witch hunt.”
因為這些機構對調查俄羅斯干預2016年美國大選一事持支持態度，而特朗普稱，那次調查是對他的“政治迫害”。
Coats nonetheless has managed to stay in President Trump’s good graces
科茨還是贏得了特朗普總統的好感，
and briefs him and Vice President Mike Pence most mornings in the Oval Office.
大多數早晨他都會到總統辦公室給特朗普及副總統邁克·彭斯匯報工作。
“There’s a tendency to underestimate him that he can turn to his advantage,”
“人們傾向于低估他，他卻能將此化為他的優勢，”
says Steven Aftergood, an intelligence expert at the Federation of American Scientists.
美國科學家聯合會的情報專家史蒂文·阿夫特古德評價道。
At the same time, the hawkish Coats has established a reputation in Washington
與此同時，科茨還在華盛頓，甚至包括民主黨人中間，
as a straight shooter focused on America’s long-term national security, even among Democrats.
培養起了直言不諱，一心關注美國長期的國家安全的鷹派形象。
That’s no small achievement in a hyperpartisan environment that has damaged the reputations of other intelligence players.
在一個已經毀掉了其他情報人員的聲譽的超黨派環境中，這堪稱是不小的成就。
“He’s a person of great personal integrity,”
“他是個非常正直的人，”
says California Democrat Adam Schif, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.
加州民主黨人、眾議院情報委員會高級委員亞當·舍夫說。
“He has been nonideological and nonpolitical.”
“他既沒有意識形態，也沒有政治傾向。”
In that sense, Coats embodies the eforts of many in the embattled U.S. intelligence community:
從這個意義上說，科茨體現了深陷困境的整個美國情報界的許多人的努力：
hunkered down and determined to survive the current crisis.
坐下來，堅決要熬過當前的危機。
“My message to the entire intelligence community is,
“我相對整個情報界說的是，
‘Let’s keep our head down, stay here and be as objective a purveyor of collected intelligence as we can,’” he says.
“讓我們冷靜下來，留下來，盡可能客觀地提供收集到的情報，”他說。
But that alone doesn’t equal success in a job that carries responsibility for the lives of countless service members and civilians.
但僅憑這一點，還不足以在一份肩負著無數軍人和平民性命的工作中取得成功。
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