Bin Laden letters reveal a leader obsessed with micro-management

　　Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 assault on the US, spent his final years fretting about how to keep his global terror network alive, planning big attacks and obsessing over minute bureaucratic details, scrutinising the resumes of candidates seeking promotion within al-Qaeda.

　　9/11恐怖袭击的策划者奥萨马•本•拉登(Osama bin Laden)在生命的最后几年为保持其全球恐怖网络的活力而操心，同时还策划重大袭击，纠结于琐碎的官僚细节，审查希望在基地组织(al-Qaeda)内得到晋升的候选人的简历。

　　In a letter from 2010 from his Pakistan hideout – one of 17 missives released yesterday by a privately funded institution within the West Point military school – bin Laden demands to see the “detailed and lengthy” resume of Anwar al-‘Awlaqi.

　　本•拉登于2010年在巴基斯坦藏身处所写的一封信中，要求看到安瓦尔•奥拉基(Anwar al-Awlaki)“详尽而完整”的简历。这封信是西点军校内一家私人资助的研究所昨天公布的17封信件之一。

　　An American of Yemeni descent, al-‘Awlaqi, was a regional commander for al- Qaeda and an imam, or religious leader, in Yemen, known for his fiery rhetoric and his talent in using the internet to recruit followers.

　　奥拉基是一名也门裔美国人，曾担任基地组织地方指挥官，也是也门的一名宗教领导人。他以激烈的言辞和运用互联网号召追随者的才华著称。

　　In August of 2010, with al-‘Awlaqi aspiring to head al- Qaeda in Yemen, bin Laden asked one of his “brothers” to send the imam’s resume so he could understand why the American had been recommended for the job. “We would like to be reassured more,” writes bin Laden.

　　2010年8月，在奥拉基希望领导基地组织也门分支之际，本•拉登让他的“兄弟”把奥拉基的简历送过来，以便他搞明白为什么这位美国人被推荐担任这份工作。“我们想要更加放心，”本•拉登写道。

　　Al-‘Awlaqi, who seems eventually to have been won the coveted position, was later targeted by the US and killed in a drone attack approved by President Barack Obama in 2011.

　　奥拉基似乎最终获得了这份觊觎的职位，他后来成为美国打击的目标，在2011年一次由巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统批准的无人机袭击中身亡。

　　The bin Laden letters reveal the al-Qaeda leader both as detached and isolated by his need to hide, but also constantly trying to run his organisation remotely from his compound in Abbottabad. The details released by the US also hold him up to ridicule, including the fact that he remained concerned enough about his image to keep the grey out of his hair, using the Just for Men hair dye.

　　本•拉登的信件显示，出于藏匿行踪的需要，这位基地组织的领导既要离群索居，又要在巴基斯坦阿伯塔巴德藏身的院子里不断试图遥控指挥基地组织。美国发布的这些细节也披露了本•拉登的可笑之处，如他非常关切自己的形象，所以使用Just for Men染发剂染发，以免暴露出头发灰白。

　　The publication of the letters is part of a highly political series of events and information released by the Obama administration and his re-election campaign to highlight the successful raid to kill bin Laden a year ago.

　　发布这些信件是奥巴马政府及其连任竞选活动发布的一系列高度政治化的事件和信息的一部分，旨在突出一年前消灭本•拉登的那场成功袭击。

　　Mr Obama’s campaign first released a video that praised his leadership in approving the raid and also questioned whether Mitt Romney, his Republican opponent, would have taken the same decision. The advertisement enraged Republicans, who said it turned a unifying national event into a political stunt. They fell silent a day later when Mr Obama made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on the anniversary of the raid.

　　奥巴马竞选团队首先发布了一段视频，表扬了他批准袭击的领导能力，同时质疑共和党对手米特•罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)能否做出同样的决策。这则宣传广告激怒了共和党人，他们指出，这把全国团结一致的事件变成了政治噱头。一天后，奥巴在发起袭击一周年后未经宣布突然造访阿富汗，共和党便不再作声。