Friedman relies on a lean staff of 20 in Austin. Several of his staff members have military-intelligence backgrounds. He sees the firm’s outsider status as the key to its success. Straitford’s briefs don’t sound like the usual Washington back-and-forthing, whereby agencies avoid dramatic declarations on the chance they might be wrong.Straitford, says Friedman, takes pride in its independent voice.

　　参考译文

　　弗里德曼依靠的是在奥斯汀市为数不多20名员工。其中几位员工有军事情报工作背景。他把公司的局外人地位视为成功的关键。斯特福德的简报听起来不像华盛顿当局那样常常反复其词，政府机构借此避免发表引人注目的声明，以免出错。弗里德曼说，斯特福德以其的独立的声音为傲。