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肯尼迪总统遇刺对美国特勤局影响深远

The assassination¹ of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, stunned² the world. President Kennedy’s death put the Secret Service on the defensive³. It's the organization that protects the president and his family. In conversations with several former Secret Service agents, The assassination, and later attempts on Presidents Gerald Ford⁴ and Ronald Reagan, led to changes in how the President and first family are safeguarded.

1963年11月22号约翰?肯尼迪总统遇刺的消息震惊了全世界。肯尼迪的死亡让美国特勤局成为众矢之的。特勤局是负责保护总统和他的家人的组织。几位前特勤局人员说，那次暗杀以及后来几次对福特总统和里根总统的企图暗杀，导致后来特勤局如何保护总统和第一家庭有所改变。

On November 22, 1963, when shots rang out in Dallas, Secret Service Agent Clint Hill was in the best position to react. His analysis of that day is simple.

1963年11月22号，当枪声在达拉斯响起时，美国特勤局人员克林特?希尔正在一个可以及时反应的最佳位置。他对当时发生的事作出简单的分析。

“There’s no question that we failed in providing protection to President Kennedy," said Hill.

他说：“毫无疑问，我们没有尽到保护肯尼迪总统的责任。”

Agent Gerald Blaine, also in Texas that day, but not in Dallas. He says a lack of manpower was partly responsible.

另一位特勤局人员杰拉德?布雷恩当天也在德州，不过他不在达拉斯。布雷恩说，人力不足是此事发生的部分原因。

“In 1963 we had 330 agents, and we had about 34 agents on the White House detail," said Blaine.

他说：“在1963年时，我们有330名人员，其中有34人负责白宫勤务。”

The agents were visible. Some ran alongside or stood on cars in the presidential motorcade. But Blaine says they couldn't communicate with each other.

现场可以看到这些人员。有些人跟着总统车队跑，有些人站在车上。不过布雷恩说，他们彼此间无法联系。

“We didn’t have radios. We operated through hand signals. We had photographs of subjects that we had concerns about, and we would memorize those subjects. We had to rely on each other to work together as a team," he said.

他说：“我们没有通话机。我们通过手打信号互相联系。我们有必须关注的可疑人物照片，我们会记住这些可疑人物。我们必须依赖彼此才能进行团队工作。”

Author Lisa McCubbin collaborated⁵ with Blaine on the book The Kennedy Detail. She says weaknesses exposed by the Kennedy assassination forced a change in how the Secret Service was funded.

作家丽莎?麦库宾在与布雷恩的合作下撰写了“追忆肯尼迪遇刺”一书。她说，肯尼迪遭暗杀一事暴露出的缺点，迫使拨给特勤局的资金有所改变。

“So it made them realize even more how important their mission was, and they were able then to convince Congress to get more money. They had been asking for more money for years and years to get more people. They knew they couldn’t protect the president with what they had," said McCubbin.

麦库宾说：“所以这件事让他们体认到自己的使命有多重要，才能说服国会争取更多经费。他们为争取更多经费和人力已经要求了很多年。他们知道以自己既有的资源不足以保护总统。”

Clint Hill stayed with the Secret Service after the assassination. He rose to Assistant Director and witnessed changes in the agency - no more travel in open automobiles⁶, and more agents, more money, and better communication.

克林特?希尔在暗杀事件后仍然待在特勤局，他后来升任为副局长，并目击了特勤局的改变，包括不再以敞蓬车交通、有更多人员、更多资金与更好的通讯。

But several months after Hill retired⁷ from the Secret Service in 1975, despite the increased protection, not once but twice assailants tried to kill President Gerald Ford during separate visits to California.

不过在1975年希尔自特勤局退休后几个月，尽管有更多的保护，攻击者仍然不只一次，而是2度在福特总统到加州访问时试图暗杀他。

And in 1981, another disaster narrowly averted⁸.

而在1981年时，还有另一个灾难被及时避开。

President Ronald Reagan, emerging from a Washington hotel, was shot by John Hinckley Jr.

里根总统在离开一个华盛顿旅馆时，被约翰?欣克利的子弹打中。

Reagan was rushed to a nearby hospital for life-saving surgery.

里根被紧急送到附近医院进行手术挽救生命。

Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy was shot in the abdomen⁹. Press Secretary James Brady was struck in the head and seriously disabled. But no one died in the attack, and McCarthy says the incident led to even more changes.

特勤局人员提姆?麦卡锡腹部中枪。新闻秘书詹姆斯?布雷迪头部中弹，严重瘫痪。不过没有人在袭击中丧生。麦卡锡说，这次事件引发更多的改变。

“After that, metal detectors¹⁰ were used to screen anyone who gets near the president. And the legacy¹¹ is, since that time, there has not been an attack on any of our presidents by the historic assassin which is the lone¹² gunman," said McCarthy.

他说：“那次事件后，金属探测器被用来过滤任何接近总统的人。它所遗留的结果，就是从那以后，就不再发生过和历史上的暗杀一样那种对总统的袭击，就是由1个单独行动的枪手所做。”

Though technology has improved protection of the President considerably¹³ since the Kennedy assassination 50 years ago, recent threats against current President Barack Obama are a constant reminder¹⁴ of the important mission played by those charged with protecting the chief executive of the United States.

尽管科技已经显著地改善了自50年前肯尼迪遇刺以来对总统的保护，不过近来一些对现任总统奥巴马的威胁经常提醒着人们，那些承担保护美国总统责任的人，他们的使命有多么重要。