評(píng)論
打印
THE SPY MASTERS
間諜大師
Two former intelligence chiefs chart the collapse of faith in government and warn of the dangers of Trumpism.
兩名前情報(bào)長(zhǎng)官描繪了政府公信力的崩坍，提醒大家要警惕特朗普主義的危險(xiǎn)性。
IT SOUNDED LIKE A SCANDAL.
聽起來(lái)像是一場(chǎng)丑聞。
IN A SERIES OF late-May tweets, President Trump alleged that the Obama Administration had placed a spy in his 2016 campaign for political purposes.
五月底，特朗普總統(tǒng)發(fā)表了一系列推文，聲稱2016年大選時(shí)，奧巴馬政府曾出于政治目的在其陣營(yíng)中部署間諜。
“This is bigger than Watergate!” he wrote.
“這件事的性質(zhì)比水門事件還要嚴(yán)重！”他寫道。
But “SPYGATE,” as Trump dubbed it, was not exactly what he said it was.
然而，特朗普所謂的“間諜門”的真相并非他所說(shuō)的那樣。
The FBI had reportedly deployed an informant to covertly question low-level members of Trump’s circle who had been contacted by Russian operatives.
據(jù)報(bào)道，聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局的確部署了一名線人秘密詢問(wèn)特朗普圈子里與俄羅斯特工有往來(lái)的一些低層成員。
The goal, according to Democratic and Republican members of Congress who have seen the intelligence, was to figure out what Moscow was up to, not to infiltrate Trump’s campaign.
據(jù)看到過(guò)有關(guān)情報(bào)的國(guó)會(huì)民主黨和共和黨議員透露，其目的是為摸清莫斯科的動(dòng)向，而非滲透特朗普的競(jìng)選活動(dòng)。
To James Clapper and Michael Hayden, two long-serving, retired leaders of the U.S. intelligence community,
在現(xiàn)已退休的資深情報(bào)機(jī)構(gòu)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人詹姆斯·克拉珀和邁克爾·海登看來(lái)，
Trump’s tirade was just the latest in a string of politically motivated attacks on America’s spies.
特朗普的這番長(zhǎng)篇大論不過(guò)是他針對(duì)美國(guó)間諜做出的一系列帶有政治動(dòng)機(jī)的攻擊中最新的一例。
“(Trump) is undercutting the validity of institutions on which we’re going to have to rely long after he’s left office,”
“(特朗普)正在動(dòng)搖我們的政府機(jī)構(gòu)，而他離任后的很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間我們都還需仰仗這些機(jī)構(gòu)，”
says Hayden, who led the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 to 2009 and the National Security Agency from 1999 to 2005.
1999年至2005年間任安全局局長(zhǎng)，2006年至2009年任中央情報(bào)局局長(zhǎng)的海登說(shuō)道。
Trump “is constitutionally illiterate (and) a real test of our institutions and values, and the country’s resilience,”
1991年至1995年曾任美國(guó)國(guó)防情報(bào)局局長(zhǎng)，2010年至2017年擔(dān)任國(guó)家情報(bào)總監(jiān)的克拉珀也表示，
says Clapper, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1991 to 1995 and was Director of National Intelligence from 2010 to 2017.
特朗普“對(duì)憲法一無(wú)所知，他考驗(yàn)著我們的制度和價(jià)值觀，也考驗(yàn)著我們國(guó)家的彈性”。
That is unusually tough talk from two former Republican appointees.
作為共和黨任命的兩名前官員，兩人的言辭可謂出奇的強(qiáng)硬。
But Hayden and Clapper say the schism between the President and the U.S. intelligence community
但海登和克拉珀表示，總統(tǒng)和美國(guó)情報(bào)機(jī)構(gòu)之間的分歧，
is really about the breakdown of trust between the government and the governed.
其實(shí)質(zhì)是政府和民眾信任的崩坍。
Over the course of their careers, they have watched Americans’ faith in their government collapse.
在他們的職業(yè)生涯中，他們就親眼目睹了美國(guó)民眾對(duì)政府信心的崩潰。
In 1964, 77% of Americans trusted the federal government most or all of the time, according to the Pew Research Center.
皮尤研究中心的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，1964年，77%的美國(guó)民眾大多數(shù)時(shí)候甚至是一直都十分信任聯(lián)邦政府。
As of December 2017, that number was 18%, nearing an all-time low.
截至2017年12月，這一數(shù)字已經(jīng)跌至18%，接近歷史最低水平。
Now both men have written books arguing that Trump is tapping this distrust to advance his own power, threatening the stability of the Republic in the process.
如今，兩人都已著書立說(shuō)，證明特朗普在利用這種不信任謀取個(gè)人權(quán)力，其行為已威脅到了共和國(guó)的穩(wěn)定。
They worry that the steps taken after Watergate to restore public trust in government are collapsing.
他們擔(dān)心，水門事件后采取的重振政府公信力的舉措正在坍塌。
Ultimately, they fear that the consensus that holds the nation together— objective truth—is breaking down.
歸根結(jié)底，他們擔(dān)心的是，維系國(guó)家統(tǒng)一的共識(shí)——客觀事實(shí)——正在瓦解。
That, they say, has been a precursor to government collapse, civil war and dictatorship in other countries,
從其他國(guó)家的情形來(lái)看，這一共識(shí)的瓦解也是政府垮臺(tái)，內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，走向獨(dú)裁統(tǒng)治的前兆，
and they worry the same thing can happen here.
他們擔(dān)心美國(guó)重蹈那些國(guó)家的覆轍。
“That’s why this really scares me,” says Hayden.
“這就是我害怕的原因，”海登說(shuō)。
Clapper and Hayden are quick to say that Trump is more a symptom of America’s dysfunction than its cause.
克拉珀和海登很快又表示，特朗普更多的是美國(guó)功能失調(diào)的癥候而非原因。
But there is a danger in this kind of talk.
但這種論調(diào)存在一定的危險(xiǎn)性。
Hearing the Republic is under attack from the President can suggest that drastic action is called for,
共和國(guó)受到總統(tǒng)攻擊的傳聞可能意味著需要采取激烈的手段，
which can itself undermine the institutions of government.
而這一舉措本身就可能破壞政府機(jī)構(gòu)的完整性。
And exaggerated threats have been just as damaging to public faith in the intelligence community as threats that went undetected.
此外，夸大的威脅和未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的威脅一樣會(huì)損害公眾對(duì)國(guó)家情報(bào)部門的信心。
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