The Rise of the Private-Sector Military
私营军事公司的兴起


In era of shrinking armed forces, America turns to private firms to carry out foreign military aid.

在武装部队缩减的时代，美国转而求助私营公司履行军事援外工作。

[1]Washington--faced with more overseas commitments and fewer resources, the US is increasingly relying on private military companies to do some of its most difficult international jobs.

[2] These aren't the mercenaries who parachute into hot spots, guns blazing, for cold cash. But they're controversial nonetheless.

[3] Over the past 10 years, private military companies, or PMCs, have quietly taken a central role in the exporting of security, strategy, and training for foreign militaries.

[4] In the process, PMCs are raising questions about the privatization of foreign policy, and whether a profit-seeking company can be accountable with limited government oversight. Oftentimes the companies are training armies in turbulent areas. And, once granted an export license, they are minimally supervised.

[5] "The worry tends to have less to do with the people involved than it has to do with the policy in place," says Deborah Avant, a George Washington University expert who is writing a book on PMCs. "It's a tool for foreign policy in a less public way--and that is not a good thing in the long term."

[1]华盛顿--面对日益增多的海外义务和逐渐减少的资源，美国正越来越多地依靠私营军事公司来完成某些最困难的国际任务。

[2]这些公司不是那种外国雇佣军，为了冰冷的金钱而空降到热点地区，枪口喷射着火焰。但是，他们仍然引起了人们的争议。

[3]在过去的10年里，私营军事公司(简称PMC)在输出安全、战略及训练外军等工作中悄悄地扮演着主要角色。

[4]与此同时，私营军事公司也引出了一些有关对外政策私营化的问题，以及一个营利的公司在政府监督有限的情况下做事是否会负责任的问题。这类公司经常是到动乱地区训练部队。而一旦获得出口许可，他们就很少受到监督了。

[5]德博拉·阿旺是乔治·华盛顿大学的一位专家，正在写一本有关私营军事公司的书。他说："这种担忧与其说是与参与此类活动的人有关，倒不如说更与此项政策是否合适有关。这是对外政策中一种不大公开的手段--长此以往不是件好事。"