I asked Lushman, who had done several combat tours in Afghanistan, if he thought a new Cold War was coming to the north. He laughed.
我問盧什曼,如果他認為一場新的冷戰(zhàn)將在北方開始,那么是誰在阿富汗進行了那么多次的對抗戰(zhàn)爭。他笑了。
"Man, look at this." He spread his arms wide, taking in the empty tundra, the rangers, the paper Russians. "What would anyone do up here? Tanks driving around, soldiers, planes?" He turned to Atqittuq. "Whaddya say, Marv? You ready to fight the Russians?" Atqittuq grinned up from his notebook. "Too much hassle."
“伙計,看看這兒?!彼麖堥_雙臂,把空無一人的凍原、士兵還有紙做的俄羅斯人都攏在自己的雙臂之內(nèi)?!坝姓l會在這里做什么?用坦克、士兵,還是飛機?”他轉向阿提庫。“你覺得呢,馬爾文?你準備好去打俄國佬了嗎?”阿提庫笑起來?!疤闊┝恕!?/p>
"From a military standpoint, it doesn't make sense, eh?" Lushman said. "You've seen how much time we spend out here just doing basic shit. You've seen how often our stuff breaks down, how much work it takes just to survive. Ain't no war comin' up here."
“從軍事角度來說,這說不通,不是嗎?”盧什曼說?!拔覀冊谶@里花了多長時間做這些基本的事,你已經(jīng)見識過了。你也看到我們的東西老是壞,為了生存我們花了老大力氣。這里不會發(fā)生戰(zhàn)爭的。”
The Canadian Rangers had been created during the first Cold War, when military planners, worried about ballistic missiles and the space race, had looked at the Arctic and seen a vulnerable back door. But the rangers themselves were never intended to battle invading armies. Even now, the eyes and ears of the north are far more likely to watch for passing ships: the Chinese icebreakers, cargo vessels, and cruise ships that are expected to appear in ever greater numbers as ice disappears.
加拿大騎兵是第一次冷戰(zhàn)后才建立的,當軍事家擔憂彈道導彈和太空競爭的時候,回頭看一眼北極,卻發(fā)現(xiàn)一個脆弱的后門。但騎兵們自己從沒想過去打入侵的軍隊。甚至是現(xiàn)在,他們的眼睛和耳朵更不可能是用來盯著那些過往的船只的:中國的破冰船、貨船,還有隨著冰川消失而出現(xiàn)的越來越多的游船。