The Biden administration is discussing how to supply Polish Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine, American officials say, after President Volodymyr Zelensky made a passionate plea to American legislators on Saturday for assistance in obtaining more lethal military aid, especially Russian-made jets that Ukrainian pilots know how to fly. 美國官員表示,在烏克蘭總統澤倫斯基於週六懇求美國國會幫忙爭取更多威力強大的軍援,特別是烏克蘭飛行員能立即操作的前蘇聯遺留戰鬥機之後,拜登政府正在討論怎樣把波蘭空軍手上的前蘇聯製戰鬥機交給烏克蘭。
The White House said a deal with Poland was being discussed that would replace Poland’s planes with American F-16s, but Polish officials seemed less than enthusiastic. After President Andrzej Duda said last week that Poland would not supply planes, the office of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter on Sunday: “Poland won’t send its fighter jets to #Ukraine as well as allow to use its airports. We significantly help in many areas.” 白宮表示正在跟波蘭磋商一個方案,也就是用美製的F-16戰機來交換波蘭手中的機隊,但是波蘭官員看起來興趣缺缺。自從上週波蘭總統安傑伊·賽巴斯汀·杜達表示波蘭不會提供戰機之後,波蘭總理馬特烏什·莫拉維茨基也在週日用Twitter發表聲明"波蘭不會把自己的戰機送交給烏克蘭,也不會允許使用他們的機場。我們已經在很多方面提供援助了。"
(中略)
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, visiting Moldova, said the United States was exploring the idea of supplying jets to Poland should Warsaw choose to send its own to Ukraine. (上)週日,訪問摩爾多瓦的國務卿美國安東尼·布林肯 (Antony J. Blinken) 表示,美國正在積極謀劃,只要華沙要把自有的戰鬥機援助烏克蘭,美國就會提供相對應的噴射戰鬥機給波蘭空軍。
“We are looking actively now at the question of airplanes that Poland may provide to Ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill, should Poland decide to supply those planes,” Mr. Blinken said. “I can’t speak to a timeline, but I can just say we’re looking at it very, very actively.”布林肯說"我們正在積極研究波蘭可以提供烏克蘭什麼機種,以及如果波蘭決定要軍援了,則我們可以提供什麼來彌補他們。"布林肯表示"我沒有辦法說出一個時間表,我只能說我們非常非常積極的在促成這件事。"
There are numerous practical questions, including how to provide replacement planes to Poland and how to get the Polish planes to Ukraine. The next tranche of F-16s for export are set to go to Taiwan, American officials said, and they are reluctant to delay them. 話雖如此,現實上有待克服的問題非常多,包括怎樣提供波蘭在這段時間裡的替代戰機、怎樣把波蘭的戰機交付給烏克蘭。而且,美國下一批海外軍售的F-16戰機已經排定好要交付給台灣了,台灣也不願意讓美方延後交機。
It is a delicate balance. On Saturday, while Mr. Biden was in Wilmington, Del., his National Security Council staff spent much of the day trying to find a way for Poland to transfer to Ukraine a fleet of well-used, Soviet-made MIG-29 fighter jets that Ukrainian pilots know how to fly. But the deal is contingent on giving Poland, in return, far more capable, American-made F-16s, an operation made more complicated by the fact that many of those fighters are promised to Taiwan — where the United States has greater strategic interests.這其中的細微平衡難以拿捏。上週六,當拜登總統回去德拉瓦州威明頓過週末的時候,他的國安委員們才花了大半天的時間,想方設法要找出一個說服波蘭釋出手中米格-29機隊給烏克蘭的方案,它們來自前蘇聯時代,已經服役多年,是烏克蘭飛行員能飛行的機種。但是伴隨的補償條件,是把性能更強的美製F-16戰機提供給波蘭空軍作交換,這樣反而會讓情形變得更複雜:畢竟其中大部分的F-16美國之前就承諾要供應給台灣了,而且台灣對美國有更重大的戰略利益。
Polish leaders have said there is no deal, and are clearly concerned about how they would provide the fighters to Ukraine and whether doing so would make them a new target of the Russians. The United States says it is open to the idea of the plane swap. 波蘭政府高層已經表示「並未答應」,也已經對於要怎樣軍援烏克蘭戰機、會不會因此淪為俄羅斯針對的目標,表達明確的關切。美方則表示,他們對於戰機交換案要怎麼談還是保持開放的態度。
合理的推測是,限於報社每天緊湊的截稿進度壓力,她一開始沒有把兩篇文章都從頭到尾看完,只有看到我所說的第二篇,而且還是採取摘譯方式,沒有把最最最重要的Polish leaders have said there is no deal這一段給譯出來,偏偏這是最最最關鍵的地方。於是,美國、波蘭整個戰機交換的交涉過程,就在一步錯步步錯之下,被斷章取義的編譯,最後意思跟原文差了一百八十度。 事實上,這本來也不是什麼大問題。因為斷章取義這件事,不只外文編譯,即使是中文的編輯作業裡,也時常發生。這些或許是惡意,也或許是疏漏,不一而足。最有名的案例就是劉墉曾經提過的,戒嚴時期曾經有記者在剪輯蔣中正的發言時,把「今天,我們退出聯合國,本人非常高興,因為大家都能莊敬自強、處變不驚」不小心剪掉後半段,於是剪出來的新聞帶子變成駭人的「今天,我們退出聯合國,本人非常高興。」 那麼從聯合報這篇報導後續馬上做出修正來看,記者田小姐是有積極的修訂。因為這篇新聞稿後來增加了一段: