An active-duty member of the US Air Force named Aaron Bushnell sets himself on fire in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on February 25, 2024. (Source: huanqiu.com)
当地时间2月25日，美国军人阿伦·布什内尔在位于华盛顿的以色列驻美国大使馆前自焚（来源：环球网）
The new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has claimed the lives of over 30,000 people and left more than 70,000 individuals wounded. On February 25, local time, Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the US Air Force, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in the US to protest against the extensive Palestinian civilian casualties caused by Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip. This incident has sparked outcry and widespread concerns from the international community.
新一轮巴以冲突持续至今已造成超3万人死亡、7万多人受伤。当地时间2月25日，美国空军现役军人阿伦·布什内尔在以色列驻美大使馆前自焚，抗议以色列在加沙地带的军事行动导致大量巴勒斯坦平民伤亡。这一事件引发国际社会震动和舆论广泛关注。
Chinese military commentator, Professor Jin Yi'nan remarked that Aaron Bushnell was protesting not only the massacre activities of the Israeli government and military in Palestine, but more importantly, the direct involvement of the US soldiers in the slaughter actions in the Gaza Strip.
军事评论员金一南认为，他抗议的不仅仅是以色列政府、以色列军队在巴勒斯坦的“屠杀”，更重要的是抗议美军士兵在加沙地带直接参与了“杀戮”行为。
A friend of Bushnell disclosed that he once learnt from Bushnell, who was a cyber defense operations specialist of the US Air Force, that "the US military has been directly involved in genocide against Palestinians". For this reason, as a US military serviceman, Bushnell felt extremely disappointed and refused to be complicit with such forces, so he finally burned himself to death.
据布什内尔的一个朋友爆料，布什内尔作为美国空军的一名网络防御作战专家，曾对他说：“美军直接参与了针对巴勒斯坦人的种族屠杀。”所以作为美军的一员，布什内尔感到极度失望，他不愿与这些人为伍，所以最终选择了这样一条决绝的道路。
The next day after the incident, Pentagon spokesman Patrick S. Ryder responded at a press conference that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is monitoring the situation about Aaron Bushnell's self-immolation. The spokesman for the US Department of Defense also casually described it as a "tragic incident."
事发次日，美国五角大楼发言人赖德在记者会上回应称美国防长奥斯汀正关注阿伦·布什内尔自焚的相关情况。美国国防部发言人对此也只是轻描淡写地说，这是一起“悲剧性事件”。
Professor Jin believed that the US military is at great disadvantage against this event. The Israeli military is still continuing its operations in the Gaza Strip, and even US Vice President recently accused the Israeli government of the humanitarian disasters in the Gaza Strip. Bushnell's radical protest against the US military's involvement in killing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip at such a sensitive moment has rendered the US military in the dock, prompting it to downplay this incident.
对此，金一南分析，这个事件对美国军方不利。现在以色列军队在加沙地带的作战行动还在进行，连美国副总统近日都指责以色列政府在加沙地带制造人道主义灾难。在这样一个敏感时刻，布什内尔用极端方式抗议美军参与在加沙地带屠杀巴勒斯坦人的行动，令美国军方非常被动，所以他们要努力淡化这一点。
Besides, Bushnell does not come from a peripheral class in US society. If he were a person of color or had a previous record of mental illness, the mainstream class of the country would undoubtedly sensationalize this incident. However, Bushnell is a white man with an untarnished background. In the aftermath of his self-immolation, the US military tried to minimize the impact of his pursuit of the martyrdom spirit, for which he sacrificed his life. Some US media also tried in vain and failed to shape public opinion by asserting that Bushnell showed inclination towards religious extremism.
其次，布什内尔在美国社会中不属于边缘型人物。如果布什内尔是个有色人种，或者说布什内尔有精神病前科，那么美国主流社会肯定会以此大做文章。但布什内尔不仅是白人，而且背景干净。自焚事件发生后，美国军方试图把布什内尔为了理想愿意献出生命的“殉道精神”所产生的影响降到最低。美国有的媒体也试图引导舆论，说布什内尔具有宗教极端主义的倾向，但效果不佳，后来只能放弃了。
After the self-immolation incident, the mainstream media in the US intentionally understated the relevant crucial information in the headline, and many reports purposefully replaced Bushnell's explicit protest against the genocide targeting Palestinians with a fallacy of an objection to the Palestinian-Israeli war.
自焚事件发生后，美国主流媒体刻意在标题上弱化有效信息，不少报道还故意把布什内尔明确抗议“对巴勒斯坦的种族灭绝”的信息，偷换概念为他是在抗议“巴以战争”。
Professor Jin Yi'nan commented that the US media, government and military are all playing it down. Since the self-immolation incident took place, many regions in the US have seen memorial activities for Bushnell, which denotes a widespread recognition of his ideas and also exposes the acute contradictions in the US society. Our perception of the significance of this event may be limited for the time being, but its immense impacts will become more discernible over time.
金一南分析称，美国媒体和美国政府、军方是一样的，都在装糊涂。自焚事件发生后，美国很多地方都举行了对布什内尔的悼念活动，这说明美国内部有很多人认同布什内尔的想法，这也暴露出美国社会矛盾的尖锐。目前我们可能对这个事件的意义认识还是不够的，但随着时间推移，就能慢慢看出这个事件所带来的巨大影响。
Editor's note: Originally published on cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
