时代周刊 麦克马斯特退休说明了什么(1)

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评论

What H.R. McMaster’s retirement¹ reveals

麦克马斯特退休说明了什么

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,

我是在伊拉克战争初期认识麦克马斯特上校的，

when he was in command of the 3rd Cavalry² Regiment³ in TalAfar, Iraq.

当时他还在担任伊拉克塔拉法第三骑兵团的指挥官。

It was a hot and dusty day,

那是一个炎热而灰暗的日子，

and I was a three-star Vice⁴ Admiral traveling with my boss at the time, Secretary of Defense⁵ Don Rumsfeld.

作为一名海军三星中将，认识上校时我正和我当时的领导，国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德一起出差。

McMaster, who looks like he ought to be working as a bouncer in a city bar in the Badlands neighborhood of his Philadelphia hometown,

麦克马斯特看上去给人的感觉是他更应该在他家乡费城的巴德兰兹地区的某个城市酒吧当个保镖而不是在指挥官

briefed us on his work in pacifying⁶ the violent region with an adept⁷ blend of hard and soft power—what some have called “smart power.”

他向我们简要地介绍了他的工作内容：软硬兼施，有人也称“巧力”，平息这个充满暴乱的地区。

The encounter solidified⁸ in my mind the superb intellect combined with operational skills that have characterized his career.

那次邂逅进一步加深了我对他不仅拥有超强的实践能力，还有着卓越的才智的印象，而这两种能力也一直是他职业生涯的标志性特征。

As the NATO Commander a few years later, and wearing four stars,

几年后，作为北大西洋公约组织在阿的指挥官以及一名四星中将，

I requested his assignment to my Afghan command as a one-star to take on the dark heart of our challenges there: corruption⁹ in the Afghan government.

我要求他以一星军衔的身份被派往我的阿富汗司令部，负责我们在那里面临的核心挑战：阿富汗政府的腐败。

He did hard work in a difficult place, and my respect for him grew.

在那样艰难的地方他仍能辛勤工作，我对他的尊敬与日俱增。

MCMASTER’S 1997 BOOK, Dereliction of Duty, is in many ways a stinging indictment¹⁰

从很多方面来看，麦克马斯特1997年出版的《玩忽职守》都是一份尖锐的控诉，

of the Washington culture of subtle deceit, hidden agenda and backstabbing that helped pull the U.S. into a quagmire¹¹ in Vietnam.

控诉华盛顿流行的狡诈地欺骗、隐藏的议程和背后中伤的文化，美国之所以陷入越战泥潭，这一文化脱不了干系。

It tells the story of the malfeasance of the uniformed senior military

书中讲述了一个穿着制服的高级军官如何渎职，

in misleading the nation and the President about the true state of affairs as the war spiraled down to defeat.

如何在战争逐渐走向失败时误导国家和总统，欺瞒真实战况的故事。

It is also a cautionary tale.

这也是一个意在警醒世人的故事。

In his time in the White House,

在白宫任职期间，

McMaster tried to rise above what Rex Tillerson called in an outburst of candor(and an understatement, frankly) this “mean-spirited town.”

麦克马斯特试图超越雷克斯·蒂勒森在一次坦白（坦率地说，这只是一种轻描淡写的说法)中所说的“心胸狭窄的小镇。”

McMaster’s short tenure¹² as President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser¹³ certainly reinforced that assessment¹⁴.

麦克马斯特担任美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的国家安全顾问的任期之短，无疑也进一步佐证了上述评价。

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

3 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 pacifying   

使（某人）安静( pacify的现在分词 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平

参考例句：

• The papers put the emphasis on pacifying rather than suppressing the protesters. 他们强调要安抚抗议者而不是动用武力镇压。
• Hawthorn products have the function of pacifying the stomach and spleen, and promoting digestion. 山楂制品，和中消食。

7 adept   

adj.老练的，精通的

参考例句：

• When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。
• He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

8 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

11 quagmire   

n.沼地

参考例句：

• On their way was a quagmire which was difficult to get over.路上他俩遇到了—个泥坑,很难过得去。
• Rain had turned the grass into a quagmire.大雨使草地变得一片泥泞。

12 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。

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？