双语：伊朗核问题令布什左右为难(图)

　　The President looked awful. He stood puffy-eyed, stoop-shouldered, in front of the press corps discussing the stunning new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) that Iran halted its nuclear-weapons program in 2003. A reporter noted that he seemed dispirited, and the President joked, "This is like — all of a sudden, it's like Psychology 101, you know" He added, "No, I'm feeling pretty spirited, pretty good about life, and I made the decision to come before you so I can explain the NIE." And then, defiantly, "And so, kind of Psychology 101 ain't working. It's just not working. I understand the issues, I clearly see the problems, and I'm going to use the NIE to continue to rally the international community for the sake of peace." And then he walked out.

　　In truth, Bush seemed as befuddled as everyone else about how and why the nation's intelligence community — the 16 federal agencies charged with spying — had issued an NIE that so profoundly undermined his provocative rhetoric toward Iran. As recently as Oct. 17, the President had said Iran's bomb-building program could be a precursor to "World War III." It was a statement that was both outrageous in its extravagance and very strange. Bush acknowledged that he had first heard in August that a new intelligence analysis of Iran's nuclear-bomb program was imminent, but — and here comes the strange part — he hadn't bothered to ask the Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, what it might contain. "If that's true," Senator Joe Biden opined soon after, "then this is ... one of the most incompetent Presidents in modern American history."

　　The moment certainly seemed historic. This was, quite possibly, the most assertive, surprising and rebellious act in the history of the U.S. intelligence community. The Administration seemed to have lost control of its secrets. Gone were the days when spymasters would come to the White House for morning coffee and whisper the latest intelligence to the President, and the rest of the world would find out decades later. Now the latest intelligence evaluations were being announced worldwide, nearly in real time. "It's just mind-boggling," a former CIA officer told me. "The impact of the Iraq WMD fiasco is coming home to roost. The intelligence community was badly burned by that. And the various players never want it asked of them again, 'Why didn't you stand up to the Administration and tell it the truth'"

　　面对新闻界讨论新的、令人震惊的“国家情报评估报告”，总统脸色铁青，两眼发直，肩膀斜歪地站在那里。“国家情报评估报告”表明，伊朗在2003年就终止了核武器计划。一位记者注意到他神情低落，但总统开玩笑道：“这一切好像来得很突然，像是‘心理学101在线课程’，你知道吗？”他继续说：“不，我感觉情绪很好，生活很美好。我决定来见你们以便解释‘国家情报评估报告’。”然后，他不服气地说：“‘心理学101在线课程’不起作用，就是没有作用。我了解这些事。我很清楚地看到了问题之所在。我将用‘国家情报评估报告’，为和平目的继续联合国际社会。”说完后他走了。

　　事实上，布什和其他人一样对于由16个负责谍报的联邦机构组成的国家情报界为什么和如何出台这样一份有损于他对伊朗挑衅性言词的“国家情报评估报告”感到疑惑不解。就在最近的10月17日，总统还在说，伊朗建造核弹的计划可能引发“第三次世界大战”。这个说法既过分夸张又非常奇怪。布什承认，他在8月份就听说马上会出现一份有关伊朗核弹计划的情报分析，但是现在出现的是奇怪的那部分。他没有去问国家情报署主任麦克·麦克考内尔这部分可能包含什么内容。参议员约·毕丹认为：“如果那是真的，他就是现代美国史上最无能的总统之一。”

　　现在这个时刻似乎是历史性的。这可能是美国情报历史上最武断、最令人惊讶和最叛逆的行为。政府似乎丧失了对机密的控制。间谍头子们早上来白宫喝咖啡并低声把世界上其他人几十年以后才能知道的最新情报告诉总统的时代已经一去不复返了。现在最新的情报分析实时地向全世界公布。一位前中情局官员告诉我说，这真是令人难以置信，关于伊拉克大规模杀伤性武器的情报方面的失败在国内阴云不散，情报界为此而遭受重创。所有相关人员再也不希望被问及此事。他说：“你为什么不面对政府说出真相呢？”