評論
打印
American spies in Germany
美國間諜在德國
Up pops another…and another
一個一個冒出來
The Americans are snooping even on Germany's anti-snooping committee
美國人竟挑釁德國反監聽委員會
IF THE tawdry tale is confirmed, the Americans hired a German working for his country's equivalent of the CIA as their double agent. A 31-year-old clerk sorting classified papers reportedly gave the Americans 218 documents in return for a paltry 25,000. Three concerned the committee in the Bundestag that is investigating revelations by Edward Snowden about American surveillance in Germany. So the Americans are spying on Germany's parliament even as it looks into American spying.
像美國雇傭一名在德國相當于CIA部門工作的德國人做雙面間諜這種低俗故事居然是真的。據報道一名整理機密文件的31歲員工將218份關于美國的文件排序分類以不到25000歐元的價格出售給美國。其中3份是關于西德聯邦議會的一個委員會，這個委員會正在調查愛德華·斯諾登關于美國監視德國的啟示書。所以美國監視德國議會就如同在調查美國間諜一樣。
This was followed on July 9th by news of a second American spy—though few details have been released. The downward spiral in German-American relations began with the Snowden affair and continued with news that America had tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone. It seems that the Americans collect German metadata on a vast scale. American surveillance has caught up a 27-year-old computer-science student in Bavaria named Sebastian Hahn: his mistake was merely to run a server belonging to a network that encrypts internet communications.
這個美國第二個間諜的新聞于7月9日曝光，即使并沒有什么細節被透露。德美關系呈螺旋形下降起于斯諾登事件，又因美國監聽德國總理安吉拉·默克爾的電話而加劇。由此看來美國似乎收集了大量的德國元數據。美國的監管部門于巴伐利亞監控了一名27歲計算機科學專業的學生，其名叫斯巴斯蒂安·韓。他犯的錯誤僅僅是運營了一個服務器，而這個服務器隸屬于一個將網絡通信轉化為密碼的網絡。
Outrage over America's behaviour is widespread. Joachim Gauck, Germany's president, called it “a gamble with friendship” between the two countries. “We have to say, enough!” As a former East German, like Mrs Merkel, Mr Gauck is sensitive about state spying and personal liberty. The interior and foreign ministers chimed in. The justice minister accused the Americans of “surveillance mania” and suggested he may prosecute them. The opposition has stepped up calls to give Edward Snowden, now in Russia, asylum in Germany in exchange for his testimony.
對美國這種行為的憤怒正在德國蔓延。德國總統約阿希姆·高克稱之為兩國之間“友誼的冒險”。“我們受夠了！”同默克爾一樣，高克曾經也是東德人，他對國家監視和人身自由非常敏感。內政和外交部長也插手了。司法部長指控美國政府是“監控狂熱”，并且暗示自己會起訴他們。反對黨加緊提出要給現在俄羅斯的愛德華·斯諾登的德國政治庇護權來交換他的證詞。
Mrs Merkel was in China when the news broke. She would have preferred not to comment there, but the timing left her little choice. The allegations are “very serious,” she said, standing next to a beaming Chinese premier. They “contradict everything that I understand to be a trusting co-operation between friendly partners.” Her counterpart, Li Keqiang, presented China and Germany as bonded in victimhood under a common American threat.
當消息爆發時默克爾總理正在中國。她選擇不對此作評論，但是時機讓她別無選擇。站在坦蕩的中國總理旁邊的她稱這些斷言是“非常嚴肅的”。這些監視行為“否定了我對友好伙伴之間的信任合作的理解。”與她相襯的李克強稱中國和德國是在美國常見威脅下的犧牲品中緊密結合。
Scenes like these should make American policymakers pause. Are the benefits of their spying worth the costs? In Berlin to plug her new book, Hillary Clinton, America's former secretary of state, suggested the answer may be no. She offered an apology to Mrs Merkel for the phone-tapping. And she told interviewers that she would like senior American policymakers to visit Germany, to listen and to understand.
這樣的場景通常應該讓美國的決策者們暫停行動。他們的監視所帶來的益處與代價相比是否值得？在柏林美國前國務卿希拉里·克林頓宣傳她的新書時，表示答案是不值得。她為竊聽電話的事件像默克爾道歉。并且她還告訴采訪者她希望美國高級決策人能來訪問德國，來傾聽和理解。
Germany will stop short of granting Mr Snowden asylum or expelling American agents. The transatlantic free-trade talks, already controversial in Germany, may survive. But a crucial Western alliance has been damaged. When members of Germany's anti-spying parliamentary commission meet now, they throw their mobile phones into a box and turn up the music—for fear of America, not Russia. That is what things have come to.
德國將暫停授予斯諾登政治庇護和驅逐美國特工的提議。美國的自由貿易談話原本在德國還存有爭議，但如今也可以得以發展。但是一個重要的西方聯盟關系已經被破壞了。如今當德國反監聽議會委員會的成員見面時，他們將自己的手機扔進一個箱子里并且打開音樂，防的就是美國，而非俄羅斯。這就是事態的發展。
