私营军事公司的兴起(5)

Test case in Africa

[20] This week, MPRI expects to get government approval to go into Equatorial Guinea, an agreement that illustrates¹ the questions some critics have with a so-called privatization of foreign policy.

[21] The contract was initially² rejected by two State Department desks, holding it up for two years, Soyster says. It was approved only after MPRI lobbied the department's Africa desk, arguing that if it was not allowed to do the job, someone else would.

[22] Equatorial Guinea, most of which is an island off western Africa, will pay for the contract. It wants to develop a coast guard to protect its vast oil resources, which are being tapped by Mobil Oil, Soyster says.

[23] In doing so, the government could secure probably strengthen its grip on power.

[24] Yet the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema is a rampant³ violator of human rights, accused of political killings⁴, election fraud, and questionable⁵ monetary⁶ practices, according to the 1999 State Department world report on Human Rights.

[25] Equatorial Guinea's closest allies seem to be North Korea and Cuba, and it was once the brunt of State Department jokes as the worst overseas post. In 1993, US ambassador John Bennett received a death threat for trying to save local political prisoners.

[26] "The question is, 'Do you want to train a military in modern techniques so it can preserve itself?'" says Arvind Ganesan, who follows the issue for Human Rights Watch.

[27] David Isenberg, an arms-control analyst⁷ at DynMeridian, a consulting firm, says PMCs are often used in these borderline situations, when working through official channels is either too cumbersome⁸ or politically difficult . "The administration likes it because it avoids the prospect⁹ of creating a furor¹⁰ if ( something goes wrong)," he says.

[28] But, he explains, the US needs to do a better job of regulating PMCs, which by and large are willing to follow clearly laid rules.

[29] "If the government wants to get the most out of them, they need to regulate them," he says. "That would quiet.. .fear that they could become rogues¹¹ or soldiers of fortune."

 

非洲的试验案例

[20)军事专业资源股份有限公司期待本周得到政府的批准前往赤道几内亚，这项双方达成的协议恰好说明了某些批评家指出的所谓对外政策私营化的问题。

[21]索伊斯特说，国务院的两个司最初都拒绝这项合同，使事情拖了两年。公司向国务院非洲司做了疏通工作，讲明即使不允许他们公司去做这项工作，也会有别人去做--只是在此之后，国务院才批准。

[22]赤道几内亚的大部分领土是非洲西部海岸外的一座岛屿，上述合同所需经费将由该国支付。索伊斯特说，赤道几内亚希望建立一支海岸卫队来保护本国庞大的石油资源，这些资源正由美孚石油公司进行开发。

[23]政府这样做可能可以保持住甚至强化其政权。

[24]然而，据国务院1999年世界人权报告介绍，特奥多罗·奥比昂·恩圭马总统的政府是一个疯狂践踏人权的政府，他被指责进行政治屠杀、在选举中舞弊，而且在金融币制方面也有问题。

[25]赤道几内亚最亲密的盟国好像是朝鲜和古巴，国务院有些人开玩笑时曾首当其冲地戏称该国为最差的海外岗位。1993年，美国大使约翰·贝内特因尽力解救当地的政治犯而收到了死亡威胁。

[26]阿尔温德·加内桑为《人权观察》工作，一直跟踪研究这个问题。他说："问题是，'你希望用现代技术训练出一支可以自我保存下来的军队吗?'"

[27]戴维·伊森伯格是DynMeridian咨询公司的军备控制分析家。他说，当遇到官方渠道做工作受到阻碍或政治上有困难等不确定情况时，就常常使用私营军事公司。"政府喜欢这样，因为如果(发生什么问题)，这可以避免引起抗议浪潮。"

[28]但是，他解释说，美国需要更好地对私营军事公司进行规范管理，总的来说，这些公司愿意遵循明确制定的规章。

[29]"如果政府想充分利用他们，就需要对他们进行规范管理，"他说。"那会平息……害怕他们会成为恶棍流氓或兵痞的恐惧心理。"

1 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

2 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

3 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

6 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

10 furor   

n.狂热；大骚动

参考例句：

• His choice of words created quite a furor.他的措辞引起了相当大的轰动。
• The half hour lecture caused an enormous furor.那半小时的演讲引起了极大的轰动。

11 rogues   

n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽

参考例句：

• 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛