本月 7 日，英国媒体曝光了金·达罗克爵士的多封秘密电报和备忘录，电报中达罗克以“无能”、“笨拙”等措辞来贬损特朗普及其政府。事情发酵后，金·达罗克于当地时间 7 月 10 日午间 12 点宣布辞去英国驻美大使一职。那么这件事情真的只是电报泄密这么简单吗？事情背后的动机可能是什么？对英美双方的关系又有何影响？

A specially strained relationship

“The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.” Thus did Sir Kim Darroch resign as Britain’s ambassador to Washington, the country’s top diplomatic post, on July 10th. His departure came days after the Mail on Sunday, a newspaper, published a selection of his cables that were highly critical of President Donald Trump and his administration.
“目前的情况让我无法如我所愿地继续担任这一职位。” 就这样，英国驻美大使金·达罗克爵士于 7 月 10 日辞去了这一国家最高外交职位。英国报纸《星期日邮报》选登了达罗克的一些电报，在这些电报中，达罗克对特朗普总统及其政府表达了强烈不满。事发几天后，达罗克退任。
The furore will test the “special relationship”, on which Western defence is founded. It has also sparked a domestic political storm. Thus, just when it should be preparing for a post-Brexit “Global Britain”, the Foreign Office finds itself fighting fires both at home and in relations with the countries it most needs to cultivate.
这一风波会考验（英美双方的）“特殊关系”，而这是西方防御体系的建立基础。这在英国国内也掀起了政治风暴。因此，在本应该为脱欧后打造“全球化的英国”做准备的时候，英国外交部却忙着平息国内风波，以及解决和最需要维持关系的国家之间的争端。
In truth Sir Kim’s cables revealed little that has not been said frequently in the press. He describes the Trump administration as “dysfunctional” and “diplomatically clumsy and inept”, and did not expect that to change. Unsurprising as these views may be, their leaking is damaging, and has set off a hunt for the mole and speculation on the motive. Suspicions range from familiar Russian mischief-making to the even more unsettling idea that the leaker hoped to ensure a more Brexit-friendly person is put in the key diplomatic post.
事实上，金爵士的电报里所泄露的信息，几乎全都被媒体常常提及。他形容特朗普政府“运行不畅”，“在外交上笨拙无能”，而且并不认为这种情况会有所改变。尽管这些观点可能不足为奇，但它们的泄露却颇具破坏力，并引发了对内奸的搜捕和对其动机的种种猜测。人们的怀疑包括屡见不鲜的俄罗斯蓄意生事，以及一个更令人不安的想法——泄密者想要确保一个更支持脱欧的人来担任这个关键的外交职位。
The international-trade secretary, Liam Fox, is meant to be paving the way for a future deal with America, but in Washington this week he had a front-seat view of how fraught handling this administration might be. The EU, meanwhile, has been busy doing actual trade deals: its pact with Japan came into force in February and last month it reached agreements with Mercosur, a big Latin American trade club, and Vietnam. Global Britain has a lot of catching up to do.
英国国际贸易大臣利亚姆·福克斯本应当为未来与美国达成协议铺平道路，但本周在华盛顿，他已经亲眼目睹到，要处理本届政府事务将有多困难重重。与此同时，欧盟却一直忙于达成实实在在的贸易协议：它与日本的协议于今年 2 月生效，上月又与南方共同市场（一个大型拉美贸易组织）以及越南达成协议。（相比之下，）“全球化英国”还有很多事情要做。