美国国家安全局否认美国在欧洲从事间谍活动

         美国国家安全局否认美国在欧洲从事间谍活动 　　

        WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. National Security Agency Director General Keith Alexander on Tuesday told lawmakers that the recent media reports about the agency's spying on European allies are "completely false."

　　Top U.S. intelligence officials testified before the U.S. Congress, the first of its kind following recent media disclosures about U.S. spying on European allies, including millions of citizens in France and Spain and Germany Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel.

　　"The assertions by reporters in France, Spain, Italy that NSA collected tens of millions of phone calls are completely false," said Alexander at a House Intelligence Committee hearing.

　　The NSA chief said such data in question came from foreign intelligence agencies and was usually gathered outside Europe.

　　"This is not information that we collected on European citizens, " he said, adding that the European media has misinterpreted the classified documents leaked by former U.S. defense² contractor³ Edward Snowden.

　　Instead, the information represented information that the U.S. and its NATO allies have collected "in defense of our countries," he said.

　　Speaking at the same hearing, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the NSA and the U.S. intelligence community do not spy indiscriminately on citizens of any country.

　　"We do not spy on anyone except for valid⁴ foreign intelligence purposes," he added.

　　The top intelligence official also warned Congress not to overreact to the media disclosures and thus undermine counterterrorism programs.

　　"We must remain mindful of the potential impact of over- correcting the authorization⁵ of the intelligence community," he said.

　　American allies in Europe have been in an uproar⁶ over the media reports that U.S. intelligence agencies have monitored the communications of Merkel and tens of millions of phone calls in France and Spain.

　　U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, one of the defenders⁷ of the U.S. intelligence surveillance programs, announced that the panel will initiate⁸ "a major review" into all U.S. intelligence programs.

1 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

4 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

5 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

6 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

7 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。