经济学人473:横跨大西洋的谍战 Transatlantic espionage

 　　Transatlantic espionage¹

　　横跨大西洋的谍战

　　The lives of others

　　窃听风暴

　　European governments should not kick up a fuss about American spying. They have too much to lose

　　欧洲国家政府不应为了“棱镜”门而大吵大闹。因为他们将损失惨重

　　NOBODY likes to be spied on, especially by their allies, so it is hardly surprising that Europeans are angry about American espionage operations conducted against them, on their territory. These include spying on the European Union embassy in Washington, DC (with a bug² in the fax machine), and on the governments of France, Germany and other countries, as well as the collection of large amounts of electronic data—in Germany’s case half a billion phone calls, e-mails and text messages every month. In a country where Gestapo and Stasi crimes still leave dark shadows, and privacy rights have near-religious significance, that causes outrage³.

　　没人喜欢被监控，更不要说被自己的盟友监控了。所以，当欧洲国家发现，美国人在对他们实施监控、还是在自己的地盘上时，会火冒三丈就不足为奇了。美国不仅监控了欧盟驻华盛顿大使馆（在其传真机内植入窃听器）、法德等其他国家政府，还搜集了大量电子数据——就德国而言，其电话、邮件、信息的被监控量每月达五亿。在德国，盖世太保（Gestapo）和斯塔西（Stasi）曾犯下许多罪行，人们心头的阴影还没消散，加之隐私权的神圣性在这里堪比宗教，美国的窃听行为可谓激起了民愤。

　　Many Europeans see in the disclosure further evidence of American arrogance⁴ and unaccountability—just another episode in a story that includes an illegal war in Iraq, drone strikes, “extraordinary rendition”, waterboarding and secret prisons. Some European politicians want a punitive⁵ response. One idea is to suspend agreements on sharing financial and other data between intelligence and law-enforcement agencies. Another is to halt talks on a big new transatlantic trade deal. A third is to offer asylum⁶ to Edward Snowden, the source of the leaks about his former employer, America’s National Security Agency. He is now marooned⁷ at a Moscow airport.

　　在许多欧洲人看来，此次“棱镜”门曝光乃美国人傲慢自大、行事鬼祟的又一明证。当人们目睹了发生在伊拉克的非法战争、无人机空袭、“非常规引渡”、水刑、秘密监狱等美国的一系列恶行之后，窃听事件只不过是故事的又一个插曲而已。某些欧洲政客希望对此采取惩罚性对策。第一种方法是，中止情报局、执法机构间的包括金融数据在内的信息共享协议。第二种，暂停最近重要的跨大西洋自由贸易协议谈判。第三种，为爱德华?斯诺登（Edward Snowden）提供庇护。正是他对外披露了美国国家安全局（也就是他的前雇主）的秘密文件。目前，斯诺登仍困在莫斯科的一家机场中。

　　But any of these grandstanding approaches would be a mistake. One reason is hypocrisy⁸. France has formidable foreign-intelligence services that spy on America, for economic and political advantage. Much of the intelligence that America gathers—especially in counter-terrorism—is shared with European countries. And much of the American activity in Europe happens in partnership⁹ with local agencies, even in Germany. Some of this co-operation may be of borderline legality in the countries concerned. Its disclosure may be embarrassing for politicians there. But that is hardly America’s fault.

　　但是，这些高调的处理方法可能都错了。原因之一——虚伪。法国的外国情报工作做得让人胆颤心惊，它为了经济、政治上的利益，也在监视美国。美国搜集的大部分情报都是与欧洲国家共享的，尤其在反恐方面。而且美国在欧洲的大部分行动，如果没有当地机构的合作是完成不了的，即便在德国也不例外。就相关国家而言，其中的部分合作是否合法可能还无法确定。“棱镜”门可能会让那些国家的政客深陷囧地。不过，这可算不上是美国的错。

　　A second reason is self-interest. America’s security umbrella allows European countries to feel safe from, for instance, the possibility of future Russian aggression¹⁰ while spending little on defence. But Europeans cannot take such protection for granted. In many American eyes, Europeans are already wobbly, tiresome¹¹ free-riders who do not police their Islamist extremists properly, breach¹² sanctions, flirt¹³ with dictatorships and leak secrets to the Russians and Chinese. America’s armed forces are already draining away from Europe because of Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia and a shortage of cash. The last tanks left in April. A petulant¹⁴ European response to the spy row risks speeding the pull-out.

　　原因之二——自私自利。在美国的安全网保护之下，欧洲国家只需花费少量的国防开支，就可以高枕无忧，比如，不用担心俄国可能会在将来大举进犯。但欧洲国家不能把这种保护看作理所当然的。在许多美国人眼中，欧洲国家早已是个摇摆不定、招人厌的“蹭饭一族”形象——他们没有妥善地治理本国的伊斯兰极端主义者，他们违背制裁、和独裁者暗中勾结，向俄国、中国泄漏机密。美国的武装力量已经从欧洲逐渐消失了，因为巴拉克?奥巴马的“战略轴心”转向了亚洲，而且美国缺乏资金。四月份的时候，最后一批坦克撤离了。欧洲要是这么任性地处理窃听风波，可能会加速美方撤离。

　　Europe also has most to gain from a transatlantic trade deal. It desperately¹⁵ needs the extra economic growth an agreement would bring (see article). America wants it too—but it is already enjoying a moderate economic revival¹⁶ of the sort the Europeans would kill for, and is also involved in negotiating a similar, transpacific pact¹⁷, on which it can focus its efforts if the spying row makes dealing¹⁸ with the Europeans too difficult.

　　而且，跨大西洋自由贸易协议一旦达成，欧洲将成为最大的收益方。它急需这笔协议推动经济发展、带来额外增长（另见文）。美国也需要，但它的经济已经处于温和的复苏状态，而这样的增长速度正是欧洲竭力想达到的。而且美国也正筹备商议一个类似的跨太平洋协议，这样一来，如果窃听风波严重影响到了它和欧洲国家的谈判，它还可以调整重心，转移到跨太平洋协议上来。

　　It won’t stop the snooping

　　窃听活动不会就此停息

　　Finally, there is the pointlessness of the threat. Even if European governments did cut intelligence links with the Americans, that would not stop the spying. America would continue to conduct operations against all but a handful of truly close allies, such as Canada and Britain. Better to work alongside the Americans, than to treat them as enemies.

　　最后要说的是，此时相挟，毫无意义。就算欧洲国家政府切断与美方的情报线，窃听活动也不会就此停息。除英国和加拿大等少数心腹盟友，美国会继续对所有人实施监控。与其把美国当做敌人，还不如和它并肩作战。

　　None of this changes America’s need to discipline its spies for its own sake. As this newspaper made clear when the Snowden scandal broke, Americans need a much clearer idea of what is being done in their name. But Europe has most to lose from a transatlantic row. So why start one?

　　美国有必要为了自己，好好整顿一下情报部门了。这一点是一切都无法改变的。正如本报在斯诺登丑闻被爆时明确所说，美国需要更清楚地弄明白，（间谍）正以美国的名义在干些什么。但欧洲如果因这起跨大西洋窃听案而和美国闹僵，将会是最大失败者。所以，又何必呢？

1 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

2 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

5 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

6 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

7 marooned   

adj.被围困的；孤立无援的；无法脱身的

参考例句：

• During the storm we were marooned in a cabin miles from town. 在风暴中我们被围困在离城数英里的小屋内。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks. 埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。 来自辞典例句

8 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

11 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

12 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

13 flirt   

v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者

参考例句：

• He used to flirt with every girl he met.过去他总是看到一个姑娘便跟她调情。
• He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看着那个陌生人和他女朋友调情，他都要抓狂了。

14 petulant   

adj.性急的，暴躁的

参考例句：

• He picked the pen up with a petulant gesture.他生气地拿起那支钢笔。
• The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife.

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

17 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。