He was supposed to be the dictator no one would ever miss. Treacherous and volatile, Muammer Gaddafi had far less diplomatic value than his neighbour, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, a dependable western ally. He did not compare to Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, whose obsessive secularism had its attraction, too. And he could not compete even with Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh, who at least had a sharp sense of humour.
他理应是无人怀念的独裁者。穆阿迈尔•卡扎菲(Muammer Gaddafi)狡诈且喜怒无常，他的外交价值远远低于其邻国埃及前总统、西方的可靠盟友胡斯尼•穆巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)。他也比不上突尼斯的宰因•阿比丁•本•阿里(Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali)，后者对世俗主义的注重有其吸引力。他甚至都比不上也门的阿里•阿卜杜拉•萨利赫(Ali Abdullah Saleh)，后者至少有很强的幽默感。

By the time the Arab revolutions erupted in 2011, Gaddafi had not a single friend left in the Middle East, and only a few beyond. Even though he gave up his mischief in later years — surrendering his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, for example — no one knew whether or when he would be back to his old terrorist tricks. So as his troops prepared for an assault on the eastern city of Benghazi — whose people had risen against him — Nato bombs rained down on them, paving the way for the dictator’s demise. The reaction was, broadly, good riddance.
到2011年阿拉伯革命爆发时，卡扎菲在中东没有一个朋友（在地区以外有几个）。即使在执政后期他不再制造祸端（例如放弃他的大规模杀伤性武器），但没人知道他是否——或者何时——会重拾老一套的恐怖主义把戏。因此，当他的军队准备进攻东部城市班加西（那里的人民奋起反抗他）时，北约(NATO)的炸弹像雨点般落向了他们，为这位独裁者的灭亡铺平了道路。世人对此的普遍反应是，他走了最好。
And yet, barely four years on, there are many in Europe who quietly wish the mad colonel — killed by rebels in late 2011 — was still running things in Tripoli. Such is EU angst over the Mediterranean migrant crisis — where as many as 1,200 people have drowned crossing to Europe in recent weeks — that Gaddafi is held up as the one man able to keep boat people away from European shores.
然而，仅仅4年后，许多欧洲人却在默默希望这位疯子上校（2011年末被叛军处死）仍在的黎波里管理这个国家。欧盟对地中海移民危机的焦虑（最近几周，多达1200名偷渡欧洲的移民在地中海溺亡）如此严重，以至于有人把卡扎菲抬出来，称他本来是唯一能够让船民远离欧洲海岸的人。
There is plenty of scope for regret when one looks back at the Arab uprisings, and particularly at the catastrophe that has befallen Libya, which is riven by sectarian strife. But the tragic loss of life at sea in recent weeks is no excuse to be nostalgic about Gaddafi, or to long for the return of his iron grip.
当回首阿拉伯起义时，有很多令人遗憾的地方，尤其是降临利比亚的灾难，这个国家正被教派冲突撕裂。但是，最近几周发生的移民葬身地中海的悲剧，绝不是怀念卡扎菲、或者渴望他的铁腕统治回归的借口。
Yes, Libya is a failed state and a haven for human traffickers. It is a mess that no one should think will be resolved by the current UN-backed peace process between its warring militias. There is no one in charge that the EU can credibly work with to stem the flow of illegal migration.
没错，利比亚是一个失败国家、蛇头们的天堂。没人会认为当前联合国在各派武装分子之间斡旋的和平进程能解决这个国家的烂摊子。利比亚没有任何掌权者可让欧盟与其展开靠谱的合作，共同阻止非法移民流动。
But it is useful to remember that Nato intervened in Libya in March 2011 to prevent another unfolding tragedy: the likely massacre of hundreds of thousands of Benghazi residents. The European and Arab mistake was to overestimate the will or ability of Libyans, in the aftermath of Gaddafi’s fall, to put the broken pieces of their country back together.
但值得记住的是，2011年3月北约对利比亚的干预是为了阻止另一起即将发生的悲剧：数十万班加西居民可能遭到屠杀。欧洲和阿拉伯国家的错误在于，他们高估了利比亚人民在卡扎菲倒台后重建国家的意志或能力。
Left on their own after a bloody revolt in which the state collapsed and everyone took up arms, they embraced their freedom with bullets as much as ballots. A fair question to ask is whether more could have been done to help them.
结果，利比亚人在经历一场血腥的起义（其间政府崩溃，人人都拿起武器）后陷入“自找出路”的境地，他们用子弹和投票箱来拥抱自己的自由。中肯的问题是，我们是否本应做更多事来帮助他们？
There’s also cause to regret the world’s betrayal of Syria, the origin of most of the migrants who crossed the Mediterranean last year. When more than 8m of them have been displaced from their homes in the war waged by President Bashar al-Assad and another 4m are refugees [SOURCE OF NUMBERS?], why are we shocked to see some of them braving death for the fleeting hope of a better future in Europe?
世界对叙利亚的背叛同样令人遗憾。去年大多数横渡地中海的移民都来自叙利亚。当逾800万叙利亚人在总统巴沙尔•阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)发动的战争中流离失所，另有400万人沦为难民时，为什么我们会震惊于他们中的一些人愿意为了到欧洲寻觅更美好未来的渺茫希望而冒险渡海？
In any case, Gaddafi was not as useful on illegal migration as he liked to advertise. True, on his good days he would shut the spigot by terrorising or paying off the tribes that facilitated the boats’ passage; sometimes he agreed to joint patrols with Italians, whose coasts the migrants aim for. But, on his bad days, he flung the doors open.
无论如何，卡扎菲在非法移民问题上并不真像他喜欢吹嘘的那样有用。没错，在他心血来潮的时候，他会通过恐吓或收买那些为船只通行提供便利的部落来堵住移民流动；有时，他会同意与意大利人联合巡逻（意大利海岸是移民的登陆目标）。但当他心情不好的时候，他会把所有大门敞开。
For him destitute refugees — at that time mostly from sub-Saharan Africa — were a card he cynically bargained with, warning in 2009, for example, that he could turn Europe “black”.
对卡扎菲来说，赤贫的难民（当时主要来自撒哈拉以南非洲地区）是他手中一张牌，可以用来为一己私利讨价还价。例如，他在2009年警告称，他可以将欧洲变成“黑色”。
Rumour has it that by 2011, he had worked out an understanding — probably with Italy — that so long as he was welcomed in European capitals, he would help keep the migrants away. That changed when Nato launched air strikes in March 2011. A government spokesman threatened to retaliate by opening the floodgates. Trafficking was a lucrative business for Libyans, he said, and the government would do nothing to stop it.
有传言称，到了2011年，他已经（很可能是与意大利）达成谅解：只要欧洲各国首都欢迎他，他将帮助欧洲挡住移民。当北约在2011年3月发动空袭时，这一默契发生了变化。一位政府发言人威胁要打开“闸门”以进行报复。他称，贩运人口对利比亚人是一份有利可图的生意，政府不会采取措施进行阻止。
Back then it was a relief that Gaddafi’s authority lasted only a few months longer. It should still be: given how much Libyans have suffered since, surely we should wish them better than another Gaddafi.
当时让人宽慰的是，卡扎菲政权仅仅再支撑了几个月。世人依然应该感到宽慰：鉴于自那以来利比亚人民遭受了那么多苦难，我们当然应该希望他们得到比又一个卡扎菲好一点的领导人。