2013年经济学人 风生水起,恃强凌弱

Books and Arts; Book Review;Richard Holbrooke；Bullish and bullying¹；

文艺；书评；理查德·霍尔布鲁克；风生水起，恃强凌弱；

The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World. Edited by Derek Chollet and Samantha Power.

《不安分的美国人：理查德·霍尔布鲁克世界作为记》。德里克·乔列特和萨曼莎·帕沃编辑。

Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat² known by friend and foe³ as a bulldozer, was accustomed to getting his way. His final assignment to fix the mess in Afghanistan and Pakistan, however, proved more than he bargained for.

理查德·霍尔布鲁克，一位美国外交官，朋友和对手都认为他是个恃强凌弱的人，他做事总是我行我素。然而，他的最后一次任务——收拾阿富汗和巴基斯坦的烂摊子——却没能如他所愿。

Barack Obama appointed him as his presidential envoy⁴, but Mr Holbrooke held little authority. Senior officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan, who resented his abrasive⁵ personality and his relative lack of knowledge of the region, kept him at arm's length. At home, American generals and the CIA ran the show. Most debilitating⁶, Mr Obama, whose distaste for self-promotion is well documented, treated his envoy with a coolness not unlike that shown by many of the subcontinent's leaders.

霍尔布鲁克先生由巴拉克·奥巴马指定为自己的总统特使，但手上几乎没有什么权力。阿富汗和巴基斯坦的高级官员都看不惯他蛮横粗暴的性格，指责他对当地相关情况不了解，对他敬而远之。而美国国内事务由将军和中央情报局掌管。最削弱他意志的是，人人皆知奥巴马先生最讨厌像霍尔布鲁克先生这样毛遂自荐的人，因而总统对他的特使态度冷淡，和次大陆国家领导人常有的不冷不热的态度没什么两样。

This frustrating⁷ final post of Holbrooke's life, coupled with his failure to get the job he most coveted⁸, secretary of state, may have been what prompted his friends to assemble an encomium⁹ in such fast order that it appears less than a year after he died. This tribute offers essays by colleagues, protégés, several journalists (a tribe on which he lavished¹⁰ unwavering attention), as well as his wife, Kati Marton, a former foreign correspondent. The reader is presented with mostly admiring anecdotes¹¹ about Holbrooke's early days in Vietnam as a questioning foreign-service officer, his rebellious¹² tenure¹³ as Peace Corps¹⁴ director in Morocco, and onwards and upwards¹⁵ as assistant secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, peace negotiator for Bosnia and ambassador to the United Nations.

霍尔布鲁克先生人生中最后的工作让人提不起劲儿来，再加上他没始终能坐上自己最想要的职位，国务卿，或许是这些原因使得他的朋友们在他去世后不到一年的时间里就为他写好了颂词，这本颂词的文章作者有他生前的同事、受保护人、几名记者（他生前坚定不移地给予关注的群体），还有他曾是一名外事通讯记者的妻子卡蒂·马顿。读者将会看到霍尔布鲁克先生早年在越南发生的令人羡慕的奇闻异事，那时，他还是个喜欢刨根问底的驻外事务部官员；还将重温他作为美国和平队执行官在摩洛哥时的叛逆时光，作为东亚和太平洋地区事务助理秘书时平步青云的时代，以及作波斯尼亚和平谈判员和联合国大使时的经历。

This all feels less complex and engaging than the man himself. More striking are Holbrooke's own writings on foreign policy. Whenever he needed to drive a point home, particularly on subjects he was in the midst of negotiating, he was quick to put pen to paper. The editors have selected some short pieces on Bosnia that stand out for their passion, and that pass the test of time.

这些都不如他本人更立体更有魅力。最令人吃惊的霍尔布鲁克先生自己写的关于外交政策方面的文章，不论什么时候，只要他认为有必要把问题讲清楚，尤其是他正在谈判中的问题，他会立刻用笔纸写下来。编者遴选了他的几篇有关波斯尼亚问题的短文，文章富有激情，经得住时间的考验。

A stellar piece of Holbrookeiana, now 40 years old but more current than ever, is a critique of the lumbering¹⁶ process of foreign-policy making in Washington, DC. The endemic caution, overstaffing and endless circulation of policy papers among dozens of bureaucrats¹⁷ mean that presidents and secretaries of state often lack the guidance they need. “The massive foreign affairs machine built up during the post-war era rumbles¹⁸ on, as ornate and unwieldy as ever,” he wrote after being in the Foreign Service less than ten years. A routine cable on a humanitarian¹⁹ issue needed 27 clearances²⁰ in Washington before being sent to the field, he discloses. The essay was passed around the state department earlier this year. It still feels accurate, say the editors of this book.

霍尔布鲁克先生有一篇非常精彩的文章，写了已经有40年了，但现在看来比以往任何时候都更具时效性，这就是对华盛顿政府制定外交政策过程拖沓的批评。一贯的过分谨慎，人员冗余，以及几十个官僚无休止地审查政策文件，这都表示总统和国务卿常常无法得到他们所需要的指导。“二战后建立起来的庞大的外交事务机器现在还在隆隆地缓慢运作着，和以往一样零件过多、运作笨拙，”只在驻外事务部待了不到10年的他就这样写到。他披露到，一份关于人权问题的常规电报要在华盛顿经过27次检阅才能送往外地。今年早些时候，这篇文章已分发给国务院。本书编者说，对于文章所提到的问题，现在的情况仍然是这样。

Mr Holbrooke accomplished²¹ much. He might have done more in South Asia and, perhaps, Washington if he had understood that the bullying tactics he used to forge a peace in Bosnia did not necessarily work elsewhere. “If Richard calls and asks you for something, just say yes,” Henry Kissinger is quoted as saying. “If you say no, you'll eventually get to yes, but the journey will be very painful.” In Pakistan and Afghanistan it was hard for Mr Holbrooke to even start making calls.

霍尔布鲁克先生取得了很多成就。在南亚，他本能做更多，如果他能明白自己辛苦在波斯尼亚建立和平局势所采用的欺凌策略并不是在任何其他地方都受用的，也许他在华盛顿也会有更大作为。“如果理查德打电话来问你什么事情，只管说是，”亨利·基辛格这样说过，“如果你说否，最终你还是要说是，只是这个过程将会非常痛苦。”在巴基斯坦和阿富汗，霍尔布鲁克先生甚至还没来得及打电话。

1 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 abrasive   

adj.使表面磨损的；粗糙的；恼人的

参考例句：

• His abrasive manner has won him an unenviable notoriety.他生硬粗暴的态度让他声名狼藉。
• She had abrasions to her wrists where the abrasive rope had scraped her.她的手腕有多出磨伤，那是被粗糙的绳子擦伤的。

6 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 encomium   

n.赞颂；颂词

参考例句：

• He pronounced a splendid encomium upon her in the forum.他在广场上为她作了华丽的赞颂。
• We hear only encomiums to it.我们只听到对它的溢美之词。

10 lavished   

v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
• An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上，我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句

11 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

13 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

16 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

17 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

18 rumbles   

隆隆声，辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If I hear any rumbles I'll let you know. 我要是听到什么风声就告诉你。
• Three blocks away train rumbles by. 三个街区以外，火车隆隆驶过。

19 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

20 clearances   

清除( clearance的名词复数 )； 许可； （录用或准许接触机密以前的）审查许可； 净空

参考例句：

• But I can't get to him without clearances. 但是没有证明我就没法见到他。
• The bridge and the top of the bus was only ten clearances. 桥与公共汽车车顶之间的间隙只有十厘米。

21 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。