譯/李京倫
Pentagon Pressed to Review How It Judges an Ally's Will to Fight
五角大廈被迫檢討 如何評斷盟邦鬥志
Congress is poised to force the Pentagon to study how it assesses allies' will to fight, amid criticism from lawmakers that the U.S. government has regularly failed to make such assessments accurately.
美國國會將強迫五角大廈調查自己如何評估盟邦戰鬥意願。多名國會議員批，美政府常在這方面判斷失準。
A provision approved for inclusion in the Senate version of the annual defense policy bill would mandate a study by the Defense Department of how it judges the willingness of foreign militaries to fight their enemies.
獲納入參院年度國防政策法案的一項條款，將要求國防部研究自己如何判定外國軍隊與敵人戰鬥的意願。
In Afghanistan, some U.S. officials thought the Afghan military could hold together and continue to fight the Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal. In Ukraine, U.S. officials initially forecast that the Russians would take Kyiv, the capital, within a few days. Both predictions were wrong.
在阿富汗，一些美國官員以為，阿富汗軍方在美軍撤離後能團結一致，繼續對抗激進組織神學士。在烏克蘭，美國官員起初預測，俄軍將在幾天內拿下首都基輔。兩個預測都錯了。
While the Pentagon has acknowledged problems with its assessment of Afghanistan's military, it has pushed back against accusations that it misjudged Ukraine. Intelligence officials have said errors in predicting the course of the Russian invasion were more a matter of overestimating the Russians than underestimating the Ukrainians.
五角大廈雖然坦承在評估阿富汗軍隊方面有問題，卻不承認誤判烏克蘭的指控。情報官員說，預測俄軍入侵過程有錯，與其是低估烏軍，毋寧是高估俄軍。
Senator Angus King, the Maine independent who pushed for the provision to be included in the annual bill, said that the Pentagon and intelligence agencies had made errors in judging an ally's willingness to fight, but that such assessments are far more difficult, and more subjective, than counting up tanks.
推動將這條款納入年度法案的緬因州無黨籍聯邦參議員金恩說，五角大廈和情報機構錯判盟邦戰鬥意志，不過這樣的評估本來就遠比算戰車數量困難且主觀。
"The Department respectfully rejects the notion that there was any doubt about Ukraine's will to fight," said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth, a Defense Department spokesperson. "It remains inspiring to see the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people as they stand up against Russia's unprovoked and brutal invasion."
國防部發言人陸戰隊中校塞梅羅斯說：「本部駁斥對於烏克蘭戰鬥意願有疑慮的說法。看到烏克蘭人民挺身對抗俄國無端殘暴入侵的膽量和英勇，仍激勵人心。」
In a hearing before the Senate Arms Services Committee in May, King argued with Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, over whether the Pentagon had misjudged the capacity of the Ukrainians and the Russian forces rather than the will of the Ukrainian military.
金恩5月在參院軍事委員會聽證會上與國防情報局局長貝里爾中將爭論，五角大廈是誤判烏軍與俄軍的實力，還是誤判烏軍的意志。
"Intelligence is often shaped by perception of the viewer, of the listener," King said. "And the challenge is for policymakers to have unvarnished, clear intelligence, even though it may contradict their policy preference."
金恩說：「情報往往受到觀看和聆聽者的見解影響，決策者的挑戰是獲取不加掩飾的清晰情報，即使它可能與政策偏好相反。」
"Long-term commitments such as these, however, can only accomplish so much if beneficiary forces are not willing to stand and fight,"said Army Maj. Rob Lodewick, a Pentagon spokesperson."One needs only to look at the current situation in Ukraine for an example of what an equipped, trained and resilient force is capable of achieving."
五角大廈發言人陸軍少校洛德韋克說：「如果受援助的軍隊不願挺身抗敵，這類長期承諾能做到的只有這麼多。但只需看看烏克蘭作為範例，就知道裝備齊全、受過訓練且堅韌的軍隊能達成什麼。」
