英国卫报:绑架为何成了一门生意(12)

Ollie is soft-spoken and understated, but he told me he thinks the British government’s policy is “so crazy”.

奥利说话温和、为人低调，但他告诉我，他认为英国政府的政策“太疯狂了”。

He continued: “It makes absolutely no sense.

他继续说道：“这完全没有道理。

I don’t believe for a second that the kidnappers¹ are checking passports or trying to figure out who is from where.

我根本不相信绑架者会检查护照或者试图弄清楚谁是从哪里来的。

They just grab whoever they can.

他们会抓住任何他们能抓住的人。

I don’t think the British policy protects people in a way that they claim it does, but they are so entrenched² in this idea.

我认为英国的政策并没有像他们宣称的那样保护人民，但他们在这个观念上是如此根深蒂固。

The idea that they get to choose who a terrorist group is based on pretty flimsy reasons sometimes.

他们认定谁是恐怖组织的想法有时是基于非常站不住脚的理由。

At the same time, governments sell weapons or trade with regimes that are incredibly bad.”

同时，政府和极其糟糕的政权销售武器，和他们做贸易。”

The logic⁴ of the no-concessions policy, he believes, is that a certain number of hostages must die in order for the government to show its resolve.

他认为，不让步政策的逻辑是，一定数量的人质必须死亡，才能让政府表示其决心。

If the British government had designated Jude Tebbutt’s kidnappers as terrorists, he says, “my mum would not have come home.”

他说，如果英国政府把裘德·特巴特的绑架者定为恐怖分子，“我妈妈就回不了家了。”

Security consultants⁶ and private negotiators fill a critical role in hostage recovery,

在犯罪案件中，安全顾问和私人谈判人员在解救人质方面发挥着关键作用，

and have an undeniable record of success in criminal cases.

而且有有无可否认的成功记录。

They can even do some things that governments can’t, such as credibly³ claim limited resources as a strategy to get the price down.

他们甚至可以做一些政府做不到的事情，比如可信地宣称财力有限，作为降低价格的一种策略。

Governments, of course, can’t plead poverty.

当然，政府不能以贫穷为借口。

Yet the whole system, as imperfect as it already is, breaks down in terrorism-related cases.

然而，整个系统，尽管是不完善的，却在与恐怖主义相关的案件中崩溃。

If the victim is from a “no-concessions” country, security consultants can offer only limited support.

如果受害者来自“不让步”国家，安全顾问只能提供有限的支持。

If the victim is from a country that negotiates, such as France or Spain,

如果受害者来自谈判国家，如法国或西班牙，

the private security consultant⁵ is generally asked to step aside while national intelligence agencies takes over.

在国家情报机构接手时，私人安全顾问通常会被要求退出。

While the security consultants are pleased to see their clients come home, they are not happy about the massive payouts.

虽然安全顾问很高兴看到他们的客户回家，但他们对巨额支出不满意。

1 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

3 credibly   

ad.可信地；可靠地

参考例句：

• I am credibly informed that. 由可靠方面听说。
• An effective management software ensures network to run credibly. 一个高效的网管软件是网络运行的可靠保证。

4 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。