{0>NEW YORK – After Saddam Hussein’s fall, the United States successfully pressed creditors to write off much of Iraq’s external debt.<}0{>纽约——萨达姆·侯赛因倒台后，美国成功迫使债主免除了伊拉克绝大部分外债。<0} {0>Senior American officials, including Paul Wolfowitz, later President of the World Bank, argued that the Iraqi people should not be saddled with 背负obligations that the dictator contracted in order to enrich himself and oppress his subjects臣民.<}0{>后任世行行长的保罗·沃尔福威茨等美国高官提出伊拉克民众不应负担独裁者为塞满腰包和压迫臣民欠下的债务。<0} {0>Citing a long-standing doctrine in international law, advocates of a write-off claimed that Iraq’s debt was “odious.”可憎的 As a result, the creditors were no longer protected under global legal rules.<}0{>免债鼓吹者们援引长期形成的国际法理论，宣称伊拉克债务是“可憎”的。因此，债主们不再受到国际法律规则的保护。<0}
{0>As political change again sweeps across the Middle East, the issue of odious debt is back.<}0{>随着政治变革的浪潮再次席卷中东，“可憎债务”问题又一次引发人们的关注。<0} {0>But all debt that was contracted by a previous oppressive regime cannot, for that reason alone, be classified as “odious.”<}0{>但仅仅出于以上原因，不能将之前的压迫政权所欠下的所有债务全部划归“可憎债务”范畴。<0} {0>The question is this:<}0{>问题在于：<0} {0>how much of the money went to meritorious值得赞赏的 development projects, and how much went instead to prop up扶持 the regime and line its leaders’ pockets?<}0{>这笔资金有多少用于值得称道的开发项目，又有多少用于扶持独裁政权，流进了独裁领袖的腰包？<0}
{0>In the case of Egypt, for example, Minister of Economic Cooperation 经济合作部长Faiza Abu al-Naga suggested in January that Mubarak himself was directing the country’s foreign-loan policy and “oversee[ing] the entire process.”<}0{>比如以埃及为例，经济合作部长法伊扎·阿布·娜佳曾在1月表示，制定国内外国贷款政策并“监督整个过程”的工作由穆巴拉克亲自负责。<0} {0>Even if true, there may be nothing legally wrong with such an arrangement.<}0{>就算事实果真如此，这样的安排在法律上也无可指责。<0} {0>After all, lending and aid to Egypt by the US and other Western powers have long been entangled with geopolitics, and using the tools of finance to back a loyal ally in an unstable region is not odious 可恶or illegitimate per se本身.<}0{>归根结底，美国和其他西方大国对埃及的借款和援助一直就和地缘政治搅在一起，利用金融工具支持动荡地区的忠诚盟友本身不能算是可恶或者非法。<0}
{0>NEW YORK – After Saddam Hussein’s fall, the United States successfully pressed creditors to write off much of Iraq’s external debt.<}0{>纽约——萨达姆·侯赛因倒台后，美国成功迫使债主免除了伊拉克绝大部分外债。<0} {0>Senior American officials, including Paul Wolfowitz, later President of the World Bank, argued that the Iraqi people should not be saddled with 背负obligations that the dictator contracted in order to enrich himself and oppress his subjects臣民.<}0{>后任世行行长的保罗·沃尔福威茨等美国高官提出伊拉克民众不应负担独裁者为塞满腰包和压迫臣民欠下的债务。<0} {0>Citing a long-standing doctrine in international law, advocates of a write-off claimed that Iraq’s debt was “odious.”可憎的 As a result, the creditors were no longer protected under global legal rules.<}0{>免债鼓吹者们援引长期形成的国际法理论，宣称伊拉克债务是“可憎”的。因此，债主们不再受到国际法律规则的保护。<0}
{0>As political change again sweeps across the Middle East, the issue of odious debt is back.<}0{>随着政治变革的浪潮再次席卷中东，“可憎债务”问题又一次引发人们的关注。<0} {0>But all debt that was contracted by a previous oppressive regime cannot, for that reason alone, be classified as “odious.”<}0{>但仅仅出于以上原因，不能将之前的压迫政权所欠下的所有债务全部划归“可憎债务”范畴。<0} {0>The question is this:<}0{>问题在于：<0} {0>how much of the money went to meritorious值得赞赏的 development projects, and how much went instead to prop up扶持 the regime and line its leaders’ pockets?<}0{>这笔资金有多少用于值得称道的开发项目，又有多少用于扶持独裁政权，流进了独裁领袖的腰包？<0}
{0>In the case of Egypt, for example, Minister of Economic Cooperation 经济合作部长Faiza Abu al-Naga suggested in January that Mubarak himself was directing the country’s foreign-loan policy and “oversee[ing] the entire process.”<}0{>比如以埃及为例，经济合作部长法伊扎·阿布·娜佳曾在1月表示，制定国内外国贷款政策并“监督整个过程”的工作由穆巴拉克亲自负责。<0} {0>Even if true, there may be nothing legally wrong with such an arrangement.<}0{>就算事实果真如此，这样的安排在法律上也无可指责。<0} {0>After all, lending and aid to Egypt by the US and other Western powers have long been entangled with geopolitics, and using the tools of finance to back a loyal ally in an unstable region is not odious 可恶or illegitimate per se本身.<}0{>归根结底，美国和其他西方大国对埃及的借款和援助一直就和地缘政治搅在一起，利用金融工具支持动荡地区的忠诚盟友本身不能算是可恶或者非法。<0}