又中又英 | No quarter, no mercy | 褚简宁

　　It was common centuries ago for armies or pirates to show no quarter when they fought their enemies. To show no quarter means to show no mercy or compassion for enemies who have been defeated. Those who won wars in the old days showed no quarter by killing their defeated enemies. The expression "take no prisoners" has a similar meaning. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 made it illegal to show no quarter or refuse to accept the surrender of the losing side.

　　US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently told the media America will show "no quarter, no mercy" in its war with Iran. Experts quickly pointed out that the Hague Conventions make it a war crime to show no quarter. The Geneva Convention makes it a war crime to target civilians and civilian structures such as schools during a war. The International Criminal Court has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes. But unintended civilian deaths during a war are called collateral damage, not war crimes.

　　Collateral damage means the unintentional deaths or injuries of civilians and bombing of non-military targets during a war. Initial investigations show a US missile struck an Iranian school for girls, killing about 170 civilians, mostly children, on the first day of the war with Iran. Some people, including Iranian officials, have called it a war crime. Hegseth said last week that the US military has started a thorough investigation into the missile strike. I think the strike was collateral damage, but the investigation will show whether it was deliberate or collateral damage.

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　　许多世纪以前，军队或海盗打敌人的时候show no quarter是非常普遍的。To show no quarter就是指不给战败的敌方任何宽容或慈怜的待遇。在古时，打胜仗的人往往毫不留情（showed no quarter）地屠杀战俘。习语"take no prisoners"的意思相近。1899和1907年通过的海牙公约，规定不留活口（show no quarter）又或拒绝接受战败方的投降均属违法。

　　美国国防部长皮特．赫格塞思最近跟传媒说，美国在对伊朗的战争中会「不留活口、不留情面」（no quarter, no mercy）。专家们立即指出，海牙公约订明，「不留活口」（no quarter）是战争罪行。日内瓦公约则规定，在战争期间攻击平民和平民建筑例如学校，都是战争罪行。国际刑事法院指责俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔．普京和以色列总理本雅明．内塔尼亚胡犯下了战争罪行。然而，战事期间非故意或有计划地导致平民身亡则被称为collateral damage，而非战争罪行。

　　Collateral damage是附带伤害，是指战事期间非军方本意而构成平民伤亡，又或轰炸了非军事目标。初步调查显示，在美国对伊朗开战首日，一枚美国导弹击中了一间伊朗女子学校，造成170个平民死亡，当中大部分为小孩。一些人，包括伊朗官员，都声称此属战争罪行。赫格塞斯上星期说，美国军方会就这次导弹袭击展开全面的调查。我认为这次空袭属于附带伤害（collateral damage），但调查将会显示究竟那属刻意为之抑或附带伤害（collateral damage）。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻