又中又英 | Fog of war | 褚簡寧
Countries at war must often deal with confusion and uncertainty during military operations. Military leaders sometimes need to make decisions based on incomplete or misleading information, causing miscalculations. These problems are called the fog of war. Fog is a weather condition in which tiny drops of water form a low cloud which makes it difficult to see. The fog of war can sometimes make it difficult for military leaders to know or see if their missiles or bombs have destroyed intended enemy targets.
When the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran last February, their strikes killed many top Iranian leaders and destroyed much of Iran’s weapons on the first day of the war. But a US missile mistakenly struck an elementary school for girls, killing about 170 people, mostly schoolchildren. It was the fog of war. There is currently a ceasefire between the US and Iran while the two sides negotiate a peace agreement. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the US destroyed almost all of Iran's weapons. But Western media reports said Iran still has about 70 percent of its missiles.
It is unclear how much of Iran's weapons US strikes have really destroyed because of an Iranian veil of secrecy. A veil is a thin piece of cloth that some women, particularly Muslim women, use to cover their face. A veil of secrecy is an expression that means to hide the truth about something. Iranian reports said its drone attacks on US bases in the Middle East caused much damage. But the US has denied this. It can be the fog of war or a veil of secrecy because the public doesn't know which side is telling the truth.
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作戰中的國家於軍事行動期間，不得不面對困惑與不確定性。軍事領袖有時需要根據不完整又或誤導的情報去做決定，引致誤算。這些問題被稱為the fog of war。Fog是霧，一種天然現象，就是懸浮在空氣中的一層水汽凝結物，令人難以看清前物。戰爭迷霧（fog of war）有時可以令軍事領袖難以知悉或看到，他們的導彈或炸彈可有真正摧毁了預期的敵方目標。
當美國和以色列於二月聯合攻擊伊朗時，在作戰的首天他們的侵襲便已殺死了不少伊朗高級官員，又摧毁了伊朗的許多武器。然而，一枚美國導彈亦誤中一所女子小學，造成170人喪生，當中大部分為學童。那就是戰爭迷霧（fog of war）。現在，美國與伊朗已停火，待雙方洽談和平協議。總統特朗普一再聲稱，美國已摧毁伊朗接近全數的武器，但西方媒體卻報道指，伊朗還有七成的導彈未被摧毁。
因着伊朗神秘的面紗（veil of secrecy），實在不能確定美國的襲擊到底摧毁了伊朗多少武器。Veil是一些女士，特別是伊斯蘭女人，用來蒙面的面紗。A veil of secrecy是個習語，用來指隱藏某事的真相。伊朗報告指，他們的無人機攻擊了美國在中東的基地，造成大規模的破壞。美國卻否認此說。這可能是戰爭迷霧（fog of war）又或秘密掩護（veil of secrecy），因為公眾無從知曉哪一方說的是真話。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
