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Mild-mannered spy chief Dan Coats gives Trump the facts Gently
温文尔雅的国家情报总监丹·科茨 和风细雨地向特朗普陈述事实
By Massimo Calabresi
文/马西莫·卡拉布雷西
DAN COATS IS NOT EXACTLY CENTRAL CASTING’S version of a spymaster.
丹·科茨并不是角色分派中心中意的那种间谍首领。
Sitting down for an interview in his spacious office in suburban Virginia,
坐在弗吉尼亚郊区宽敞的办公室里接受采访时，
the Director of National Intelligence is cheerful and earnest.
这位国家情报总监看上去爽朗而真诚。
His manner is the same brand of friendly Midwestern self-effacement
态度也依旧是他在担任印第安纳州共和党参议员的16年里
for which he was known during 16 years as a Republican Senator from Indiana.
为人熟知的那种中西部人的友好和谦逊。
“The technical capabilities of this (job) and the diversity of skills are high above my intellectual capacity,” he says.
“这份工作所需的各项技术性能力以及所需技能的多样性远远超出了我的理解能力，”他说。
One veteran Washington intelligence observer uses the word guileless to describe his demeanor.
华盛顿某资深情报观察人士用了“厚道”这个词来形容丹·科茨的举止。
Which is definitely not in the job description for America’s top spy.
而这个此显然是不在美国顶级间谍的职责范围之内的。
As head of 17 intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA, FBI and multiple military intelligence arms,
作为包括中央情报局，国家安全局，联邦调查局及多个军事情报机构在内的17个情报机构的负责人，
Coats, 75, oversees everything from domestic counterterrorism to foiling foreign espionage plots.
现年75岁的科茨肩负着从国内反恐到挫败外国间谍阴谋的一切事务。
Just as challenging: he controls the agencies’ $70 billion collective annual budget.
同样具有挑战性的是：他还手握着那些机构总计700亿美元的年度预算。
Spies are no slouches when it comes to bureaucratic maneuvering;
在执掌官僚机构问题上，间谍们绝对算不上懒汉；
being the boss of all spy bosses requires not just authority but cunning.
而担任所有间谍头领的头领不仅需要权威，还需要狡诈。
Even in normal times, the job is among the most thankless in government.
因为即便是正常情况下，这份工作也是政府里最吃力不讨好的工作之一。
Yet Coats’ bashful exterior has helped him survive in the tumultuous Trump Administration.
然而，科茨那害羞的外表帮助他在动荡的特朗普政府里幸存了下来。
The President has declared war on Washington bureaucracy
即便总统已经对整个华盛顿的官僚作风开战，
and came into office particularly hostile to the intelligence services
对情报机构的敌意尤其强烈，
for supporting the investigation into Russia’s 2016 election meddling, which he calls a “witch hunt.”
因为这些机构对调查俄罗斯干预2016年美国大选一事持支持态度，而特朗普称，那次调查是对他的“政治迫害”。
Coats nonetheless has managed to stay in President Trump’s good graces
科茨还是赢得了特朗普总统的好感，
and briefs him and Vice President Mike Pence most mornings in the Oval Office.
大多数早晨他都会到总统办公室给特朗普及副总统迈克·彭斯汇报工作。
“There’s a tendency to underestimate him that he can turn to his advantage,”
“人们倾向于低估他，他却能将此化为他的优势，”
says Steven Aftergood, an intelligence expert at the Federation of American Scientists.
美国科学家联合会的情报专家史蒂文·阿夫特古德评价道。
At the same time, the hawkish Coats has established a reputation in Washington
与此同时，科茨还在华盛顿，甚至包括民主党人中间，
as a straight shooter focused on America’s long-term national security, even among Democrats.
培养起了直言不讳，一心关注美国长期的国家安全的鹰派形象。
That’s no small achievement in a hyperpartisan environment that has damaged the reputations of other intelligence players.
在一个已经毁掉了其他情报人员的声誉的超党派环境中，这堪称是不小的成就。
“He’s a person of great personal integrity,”
“他是个非常正直的人，”
says California Democrat Adam Schif, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.
加州民主党人、众议院情报委员会高级委员亚当·舍夫说。
“He has been nonideological and nonpolitical.”
“他既没有意识形态，也没有政治倾向。”
In that sense, Coats embodies the eforts of many in the embattled U.S. intelligence community:
从这个意义上说，科茨体现了深陷困境的整个美国情报界的许多人的努力：
hunkered down and determined to survive the current crisis.
坐下来，坚决要熬过当前的危机。
“My message to the entire intelligence community is,
“我相对整个情报界说的是，
‘Let’s keep our head down, stay here and be as objective a purveyor of collected intelligence as we can,’” he says.
“让我们冷静下来，留下来，尽可能客观地提供收集到的情报，”他说。
But that alone doesn’t equal success in a job that carries responsibility for the lives of countless service members and civilians.
但仅凭这一点，还不足以在一份肩负着无数军人和平民性命的工作中取得成功。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
