经济学人81:唯命是从 Only obeying orders

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;Iraq under Saddam；Only obeying orders；

　　文艺；书评；萨达姆治下的伊拉克；唯命是从；

　　The Weight of a Mustard Seed: The Intimate Story of an Iraqi General and His Family During Thirty Years of Tyranny，By Wendell Steavenson

　　《一粒荠菜籽的重量：一个伊拉克将军和他的家庭在三十年暴政时期的亲密故事》，温德尔·史蒂文森著。

　　Why did so many apparently¹ decent Iraqis serve Saddam Hussein so loyally for so many years? An American-British reporter, Wendell Steavenson, has interviewed a score or more of Iraqi soldiers, from sergeants³ to generals, trawling through their life histories to find an answer. In particular, she befriends the family of a brave general, Kamel Sachet Aziz al-Janabi, delving⁴ into his life story through his wife, several of his nine children and numerous friends and admirers.

　　为什么在那么多的年月里，会有那么多看起来很正直的伊拉克人对萨达姆是那样的忠心耿耿呢？为了找到答案，美裔英籍记者温德尔·史蒂文森采访了二十多名伊拉克军人，其中既有中士也有将军，深入了解了他们的人生经历。值得一提的是，她还为英勇的将军卡米尔·萨西尔·阿齐兹·阿尔-贾纳比的家人提供了热心帮助，并通过他的妻子、9个孩子中的几个以及众多朋友和崇拜者，对他的人生传奇进行了探寻。

　　Only later does the reader discover that he was one of countless⁵ Iraqis executed by Saddam, for reasons that never become clear, in his case only a few years before the Americans toppled the dictator. General Sachet emerges as a fundamentally honest and upright, though occasionally ruthless and intellectually limited, soldier who turns to religion, like so many other Iraqis, as the regime putrefies. His family is battered⁶. Though its members have every cause to celebrate Saddam's demise⁷, most of them sympathise with—and some of them actively⁸ support—the anti-American insurgency⁹ that was still rife¹⁰ as this book went to print.

　　然而随后读者就发现，他是被萨达姆处决的无数伊拉克人之一，而原因一直不明不白。他是在美国推倒萨达姆独裁政权仅仅几年前被处死的。萨西尔将军给人的感觉是一名比较老实、正直的军人，但偶尔也会显示出残忍和不够聪明的一面。随着伊拉克政体的败落，像许多其他伊拉克人一样，他也加入了宗教。他的家庭现已破落不堪，可尽管他的家人完全有理由为萨达姆的死而欢庆，然而对于在该书行将付梓之时仍旧愈演愈烈的反美暴乱事件，他们中大多数人却持赞同态度，有的甚至予以了积极支持。

　　Ms Steavenson seeks to examine the inner lives of other Iraqi military men. She relentlessly¹¹ tracks them down to their abodes¹² of exile in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Damascus and London. After a while, there is a dispiritingly drab sameness about their stories. In short, you had to lie to survive. Perhaps the most honest in his reflections is a doctor who became a senior officer in the medical corps¹³. “You had to lie against your principles. You had to say things you did not believe. It was mental conflict. To live 35 years like this. It becomes a personality trait.”

　　史蒂文森试图探查其他伊拉克军人的内心世界。不屈不挠的她循着他们的踪迹，找到了他们流放至迪拜、安曼、贝鲁特、大马士革以及伦敦后的住所。交谈不一会儿，她便感到气馁了，因为他们的故事千篇一律，单调而乏味。简单点说就是，每个人都不得不靠撒谎活下去。一名后来成为医疗部队高级军官的医生对往事的反思或许最为实在。“你不得不违背原则地说谎，说一些你不相信的事情，这是一种心理矛盾。35年都是这样活过来的，它已经成为一种个性特征。”

　　All those interviewed have tales of horror. Just about all of them witness summary executions: of enemy soldiers (mainly Iranians), of Kurds, of Kuwaitis, of Iraqi deserters, of senior Iraqi officers who are deemed to have been guilty of losing battles or even merely of retreating when they should have stayed to fight and die. General Sachet is ordered to oversee¹⁴ such executions. A sergeant² witnesses an Iraqi, who was alleged¹⁵ to have abused a woman in Kuwait, hauled up by a crane to be shot by fellow Iraqi soldiers. The same happens to an Iraqi colonel caught smuggling¹⁶ gold. Kuwaiti prisoners have their ears nailed to a plank¹⁷ of wood.

　　所有被采访者都经历过恐怖的事情。几乎所有人都目睹过处决现场，被处决的有敌军（主要是伊朗人），有库尔德人，有科威特人，有伊军的逃兵，也有因为打败仗或者因为本该战斗到死却撤退而被认定有罪的伊拉克高级将领。萨西尔将军受命监督了这些处决过程。一个伊拉克人被指控曾在科威特对一妇女施虐，一位中士亲眼见到他被吊在起重机上然后伊拉克士兵开枪把他击毙。一位走私黄金被抓的伊拉克上校也有同样的遭遇。科威特战俘的耳朵则被钉在厚厚的木板上。

　　A former bodyguard¹⁸ of Saddam's describes, admiringly, how he saw the dictator taking out his revolver and “shooting between the eyes” one of his own relatives who had taken a younger wife and had rejected the president's request to go back to his original one. A relation of General Sachet tells how Qusay Saddam Hussein, the dictator's son, gave an order to kill 2,000 prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison (which became notorious for abuses during the early years of the American occupation) to relieve overcrowding.

　　一名萨达姆前任贴身护卫描述了他看到的这位独裁者拔出左轮手枪，朝自己的一名亲戚开枪并“打中眉心”的情景，言语中流露出钦佩之意。那人娶了一名年轻的妻子，而总统要求他回到他原来的妻子身边但被他拒绝了。萨西尔将军的一个亲戚说，这位独裁者的儿子乌赛·萨达姆·侯赛因曾下令杀死阿布格莱布监狱的2000名囚犯，以减轻监狱人满为患的压力。（在美国占领伊拉克的头几年，阿布格莱布监狱曾因虐囚事件变得臭名昭著。）

　　Perhaps most dispiriting of all, virtually none of those interviewed acknowledges responsibility for what was done. Most of their explanations are variations on “we were only obeying orders”. “What could I do?” “But I helped people, many people!” “I suffered also, you know.” “This was usual then.” The gassing of 5,000 Kurds in Halabja was, concedes a seemingly upright general, “a political mistake”.

　　或许最令人气馁的是，事实上没有一个受访者承认对自己的所作所为负有责任。他们的辩解说来道去，大多都是“我们只是在执行命令”，“我有什么办法呢？”“但我还是帮了人的，很多人！”，“你知道的，我也很痛苦。”一名似乎还算正直的将军说，在哈拉布甲用毒气杀害5000名库尔德人的事件，“是一个政治错误”。

　　“I liked them. I joked with them. I sympathised with them,” writes Ms Steavenson. “But not one ever looked me straight in the eye and admitted responsibility for the crimes of the government which they had served.” Even after the depredations¹⁹ of Saddam Hussein, many of those Ms Steavenson talked to still hankered after someone like him. Iraqis, says one, are “an unruly mass of shirugi—slang for thick-headed Marsh²⁰ Arabs—who need the rule of the rod, a strongman, to control them.” Judging by this remorselessly bleak²¹ account of Iraq's moral collapse²², one cannot but feel squeamish about Iraq's future, under any regime.

　　“我喜欢他们，和他们一起开玩笑，我同情他们，”史蒂文森写道，“但是没有一个人直视过我的眼睛，承认他们对自己曾经效忠的政府所犯下的罪行负有责任。”尽管受尽萨达姆的蹂躏，接受史蒂文森访谈的许多人依然渴望以后还能有像他那样的人出现。有一个人说，伊拉克人是“一群不守规矩的shirugi（俚语，指愚笨的沼地阿拉伯人），需要棒压统治，需要一名强势之人来管住他们。”伊拉克的道德崩溃竟然会有一个如此无情、黯淡的注脚，我们不禁要为伊拉克的未来捏一把汗了，不管它是怎样的政体。

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

3 sergeants   

警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士

参考例句：

• Platoon sergeants fell their men in on the barrack square. 排长们在营房广场上整顿队伍。
• The recruits were soon licked into shape by the drill sergeants. 新兵不久便被教育班长训练得象样了。

4 delving   

v.深入探究，钻研( delve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He has been delving into the American literature of 20th century. 他一直在潜心研究美国20世纪文学。 来自互联网
• In some ways studying Beckett is like delving into Shakespeare's words. 在某些方面，研究Beckett的戯好像是深入研究莎士比亚的语句。 来自互联网

5 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

6 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

7 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

11 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

12 abodes   

住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留

参考例句：

• Now he begin to dig near the abodes front legs. 目前他开端挖马前腿附近的土了。
• They built a outstanding bulk of abodes. 她们盖了一大批房屋。

13 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。

14 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

17 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

18 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

19 depredations   

n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Protect the nation's resources against the depredations of other countries. 保护国家资源，不容他人染指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Hitler's early'successes\" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon. 希特勒的早期“胜利”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。 来自辞典例句

20 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

21 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

22 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。