The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says his panel will investigate Bush administration detainee interrogation policies if congressional support is lacking for an independent inquiry into the matter. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy's comments came in reaction to a Senate report released Wednesday that concludes that military and intelligence officials under the Bush administration were being trained in the use harsh interrogation techniques months before they were legally authorized to use them.
美国参议院司法委员会主席、民主党参议员莱希说，如果国会不支持对布什政府时期审讯政策进行独立调查，司法委员会将进行调查。莱希是在参议院一个委员会星期三披露相关审讯政策的报告后发表上述评论的。报告说，布什政府的军事和情报官员在得到法律授权使用这些严厉的审讯政策之前，就已经开始接受相关的培训。
The report by the Senate Armed Services Committee finds that intelligence and military officials began preparing to conduct extreme interrogation techniques on al-Qaida and Taliban detainees in early 2002, months before the Justice Department approved the use of such practices.
参议院军事委员会的报告指出，情报和军方官员早在2002年初，也就是在得到司法部批准前几个月，就开始准备对基地组织和塔利班在押人员使用极端的审讯技术。
The report was completed last November but has been under Pentagon review for declassification.
报告是去年11月完成的，但是一直被五角大楼审议，以确定是否对外公布。
Critics say many of the harsh interrogation practices, including water-boarding or simulated drowning, amount to torture.
批评人士指出，许多严厉的审讯手段，包括被称为“水刑”的模拟溺毙等等同于酷刑。
Committee chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, says the report shows that senior civilian officials sought out information on, were aware of training in, and authorized the use of abusive interrogation techniques. He says those officials bear significant responsibility for creating the legal and operational framework for the abuses of detainees.
军事委员会主席、来自密西根州的民主党议员莱文说，报告显示，布什政府高级文职官员曾被咨询过相关意见，也了解这项培训，并授权使用虐待性审讯技术。他说，这些官员应当为建立这种虐待在押人员的法律以及操作框架承担重大责任。
At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman says Defense Department inquiries offer a different conclusion.
五角大楼发言人惠特曼说，国防部的调查得出不同的结论。
"In those internal investigations, we have not found any policies of the department that ever permitted or condoned abusive treatment of detainees," said Bryan Whitman. "Our policy has been one of treating detainees humanely."
“在内部调查中，我们没有发现国防部有任何政策允许或是宽恕虐待在押人员。我们的政策一直是要人道对待在押人员。”
Whitman says his department takes any allegation of abuse seriously.
惠特曼说，国防部对任何有关虐待的指称都会严格查处。
"All credible allegations of abuse have been thoroughly investigated and individuals found to be acting outside of our proscribed policies, they have been held accountable for their actions," he said.
“所有可信的有关虐待的指称都会被彻底调查，不按公布的政策行事的个人也被查处，那些人为他们的行为承担责任。”
But critics argue that lower-level officials were held responsible for policies crafted by senior Bush administration officials, whom they say should also be held accountable.
但是，批评人士指出，低层官员在为布什政府高层官员制定的政策承担罪责。他们说，这些高官也应该承担责任。
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reiterated his call for a nonpartisan commission to look into the use of extreme interrogation techniques. Leahy says if there is not enough congressional support for such a panel, he will hold his own hearings.
参议院司法委员会主席、来自佛蒙特州的参议员莱希重申了他的呼吁。他建议成立两党联合调查委员会对使用极端审讯技术展开调查。莱希说，如果成立这样一个小组在国会得不到足够的支持，他自己会安排听证。
"Sometimes the best way to move forward is to find out the truth, find out what happened, and we do that to make sure it never happens again," said Senator Leahy.
他说：“有时候，前进的最好办法就是找到真相，找出到底发生了什么，然后我们将采取行动，确保同样的事永远不会再发生。”
President Barack Obama Tuesday opened the door for potential prosecution of those who drafted the legal decisions that allowed for the harsh interrogations.
奥巴马总统星期二为可能起诉那些制定法律决定，允许进行严厉审讯技术的官员打开了方便之门。
Republicans strongly oppose the idea. Senator John Ensign is a Nevada Republican:
共和党议员们强烈反对这样的想法，来自内华达州的共和党参议员恩赛因说：
"To look at prosecuting some in the Bush administration sends chills through the intelligence community," said Senator Ensign.
“看到布什政府一些官员被起诉，会让情报界不寒而栗。”
Two Republican senators, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who calls himself an Independent Democrat, sent a letter to President Obama urging him not to prosecute officials who offered legal advice on detainee interrogations. They say pursuing such prosecutions would have serious negative effects on the candor with which officials in any administration provide their best advice.
两名共和党参议员，亚利桑那州的麦凯恩和南卡罗来纳州的格雷厄姆以及自称是独立民主党人的康涅狄克州参议员利伯曼联名致函奥巴马总统，敦促他不要起诉那些为审讯在押人员提供法律建议的官员。他们说，这样的起诉将会对政府官员的坦率直言造成负面影响，而他们正是凭借这样的坦率才能提供最好的建议。 |