美國懷疑以色列與60年代鈾失竊案有關

Declassified documents from the 1970s provide new evidence that federal officials believed bomb-grade uranium that disappeared from a Pennsylvania nuclear facility in the 1960s was likely taken for use in a clandestine Israeli atomic-weapons program.

20世紀70年代的解密文件提供了新的證據，表明美國聯邦官員相信，上世紀60年代在美國賓夕法尼亞州核設施丟失的核彈級鈾很可能被用於以色列的祕密原子武器計劃。

The documents, obtained earlier this year through public-records requests by a Washington-based nonprofit group, also indicate that senior officials wanted to keep the matter under wraps for fear it could undermine U.S. Middle East peace efforts.

這些文件還顯示，高層官員希望將此事保密，因爲他們擔心這可能會破壞美國促進中東和平的努力。這批文件是華盛頓的一個非營利組織今年早些時候通過請求披露公共檔案獲得的。

Though the Central Intelligence Agency's case for the suspected theft wasn't conclusive, it was sufficiently persuasive that 'I do not think that the President has plausible deniability' regarding the question, said a memo dated July 28, 1977, by a National Security Council staffer in President Jimmy Carter's administration.

美國前總統卡特(Jimmy Carter)執政時期的美國國家安全委員會一位工作人員在日期爲1977年7月28日的一份備忘錄中稱：美國中央情報局(Central Intelligence Agency, 簡稱CIA)對這起疑似盜竊案並無最終定論，但足以使我認爲總統並沒有在這個問題上進行巧妙的推諉。

A security council memo to Mr. Carter a few days later expressed more uncertainty about whether a theft had occurred, but noted that then-Secretary of State Cyrus Vance had a coming Middle East trip and discussed the need to keep attention 'away from the CIA's information.'

美國國家安全委員會在幾天後提交給卡特的備忘錄中表達了更多對於是否已發生盜竊的不確定，但表示時任國務卿萬斯(Cyrus Vance)即將訪問中東，並提出有必要將注意力從CIA的情報上轉移。

The question of whether one of America's closest allies was involved in the theft of some of its most valuable and dangerous material in pursuit of nuclear weapons has been one of the enduring mysteries of the atomic age. The suspected theft has drawn the attention of at least three presidents and other senior government officials.

作爲美國最親密的盟友之一，以色列是否參與了盜取美國最有價值、最危險的某些材料用於製造核武器，這個問題一直是原子時代的未解之謎。以色列盜鈾的嫌疑引起了至少三位總統和其他政府高官的注意。

The evidence suggested that 'something did transpire,' said Zbigniew Brzezinski, Mr. Carter's national-security adviser, in a recent interview. 'But until you have conclusive evidence you don't want to make an international incident. This is a potentially very explosive, controversial issue.'

卡特的國家安全顧問布熱津斯基(Zbigniew Brzezinski)近期接受採訪時說，有證據表明，某些東西確實消失不見了；但在掌握決定性證據之前，美國並不想引發國際事件。他說，這有可能會是一個極具爆炸性、爭議性的事件。

Besides, he added, 'What are we going to say to the Israelis, 'Give it back?' '

他還說，美國人應該怎麼跟以色列人說呢？“把美國的東西還回來”？

Israel has never said whether it has nuclear weapons. A spokeswoman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., declined to comment for this article.

以色列從沒有表示過是否擁有核武器。以色列駐華盛頓大使館發言人也拒絕就本文發表置評。

So did a spokeswoman for the Obama administration, which like past U.S. administrations has declined to say whether it believes Israel has an atomic arsenal. A CIA spokesman also declined to comment.

奧巴馬政府發言人同樣不願置評。過去的幾屆政府也是一樣，都不願評述是否認爲以色列掌握了原子武器。CIA發言人也不予置評。

Mr. Carter, who said at a 2008 gathering in Britain that he believes Israel has nuclear weapons, declined through a spokeswoman to be interviewed.

卡特通過發言人表示不願就此接受採訪。2008年，卡特曾經在英國一次會議上說，他堅信以色列擁有核武器。

His diplomatic efforts as president, which helped produce a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979, likely wouldn't have been possible 'if there was some huge scandal at the time about this,' said John Marcum, the staffer who wrote the July 28, 1977, memo, in a recent interview.

卡特在任職總統期間的外交努力促成以色列與埃及在1979年達成了和平條約。但撰寫1977年7月28日備忘錄的工作人員馬庫姆(John Marcum)在近期一次採訪中稱，如果當時有關此事的某個重大丑聞被曝光，卡特可能就不會作出上述努力。

The theft suspicions surround events at a now-dismantled facility in Apollo, Pa., owned by a company called Nuclear Materials & Equipment Corp., or Numec. In the mid-1960s, some 200 pounds of bomb-grade uranium--enough possibly for several Hiroshima-sized bombs--couldn't be accounted for there.

疑似的盜鈾事件發生在一家名爲Nuclear Materials & Equipment Corp.（簡稱Numec）的公司在賓夕法尼亞州阿波羅一處現已被拆除的設施內。上世紀60年代中期，約200磅核彈級鈾材料在這裏莫名失蹤，如此大量的鈾足以生產好幾枚爆炸威力堪比廣島事件的核彈。

An FBI investigation began in the late 1960s, which drew interest from top Nixon administration officials, including the president, couldn't determine what happened to the uranium, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agency documents. But FBI officials did raise questions about suspected dealings between Numec's founder and president, Zalman Shapiro, and Israeli intelligence officials, according to government documents. Babcock & Wilcox Co., a nuclear-technology company that acquired Numec in 1971, declined to comment.

根據美國聯邦調查局(FBI)等機構檔案，60年代末FBI開始對此事進行調查，並受到了尼克松(Richard Nixon)政府高級官員及總統本人的關注，但調查無法判定核材料究竟爲何失蹤。據政府檔案，FBI官員的確懷疑Numec創始人兼總裁夏皮羅(Zalman Shapiro)可能與以色列情報官員進行了交易。在1971年收購了Numec的Babcock & Wilcox Co.拒絕就此置評。

In an interview late last year, the 93-year-old Mr. Shapiro said that no theft took place. He said his dealings with Israel, where Numec had commercial activities, were legitimate and to his knowledge never involved intelligence officials.

93歲的夏皮羅在去年底的一次採訪中稱沒有發生盜竊事件。他說，他與以色列的交易是正當的，且據他所知從未有情報官員參與其中。Numec曾在以色列有商業活動。

Potentially crucial sections of the recently released documents--obtained by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, an organization that has been critical of Israel--remain classified.

最近公佈的文件中具有潛在重要性的部分仍屬機密。這些文件被一直以來批評以色列的組織Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy獲得。

The latest document release underscores the need for the government to declassify the remaining information about the suspected theft, some former federal officials say.

一些前聯邦官員稱，這次的文件公佈凸顯出政府有必要解密有關被指失竊案的剩餘信息。

'We know the CIA thought the material was stolen. We want to know why they thought that,' says Victor Gilinsky, a former commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

核能管制委員會(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)前專員吉林斯基(Victor Gilinsky)說：“我們知道中央情報局以爲材料被偷了，我們想弄清他們爲何這樣認爲。”

Government records show that a federal nuclear-enrichment facility in Ohio sent shipments to Numec containing the highest percentage of U235, the explosive form of uranium, ever known to have been produced, said Roger Mattson, another former NRC official.

另外一位核能管制委員會前官員馬特森(Roger Mattson)稱，政府記錄顯示，俄亥俄州的一個聯邦核濃縮設施向Numec發送了含有迄今爲止已知生產出來的最高濃度鈾235的貨物。鈾235是爆炸性的鈾。

Did the CIA later find that such uranium had turned up in Israel, as some documentary evidence suggests? 'That's not something that's declassified,' said Jessica Tuchman Mathews, a national-security official in the Carter administration who wrote or received some of the recently declassified documents.

中央情報局後來是否發現這些鈾最終落入以色列之手，就像一些文檔證據所顯示的？卡特政府時期的國家安全官員馬修斯(Jessica Tuchman Mathews)稱，這部分文件還沒有解密。馬修斯曾撰寫或接到最近解密的部分文件。