2007年VOA标准英语-US Terrorist Surveillance Program Put Under Spe

By Paula Wolfson
White House
17 January 2007

Big changes are being made in a highly controversial domestic surveillance program launched by the Bush administration after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States. VOA's Paula Wolfson has details from the White House.

 
George W. Bush
The program began as a secret weapon in the war on terror.

After the September 11 attacks, President Bush gave the intelligence community the ability to monitor communications to and from the United States involving people suspected of terrorist ties without first getting approval from a special surveillance court.

When news reports revealed the existence of the program, it quickly became the source of controversy¹. Critics said without court involvement to guard against abuses, the program amounted to a violation² of individual privacy rights, as well as the Constitutional guarantee against unreasonable³ searches and seizures⁴.

The president said these wiretaps had to be placed quickly, and there was no time to wait for court approval. Now, the Justice Department says a way has been found to handle those concerns.

In letters to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the Terrorist Surveillance Program will not be re-authorized by the president in its present form. He said there will be no more wiretaps without court warrants. Instead the special security court - formally known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court - will have the last say.

 
Tony Snow 
At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow said the secret court - made up of experienced members of the judiciary - has drafted a set of rules that will enable it to act quickly and issue the necessary orders. He said the White House is sure the new guidelines meet its concerns about national security.

"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has put together its guidelines and its rules and those have met administration concerns about speed and agility⁵ when it comes to responding to bits of intelligence where we may be able to save American lives." said Tony Snow.

Snow explained that the special court has been working on drafting the guidelines for about two years. When asked why that fact - which could have quieted the controversy - was not announced sooner, Snow cited the unique nature of this court.

"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court does not like to have its business discused in public." he said. "And only because of the public revelation of the Terrorist Surveillance Program are we announcing this at this juncture⁶."

 
Senator Patrick Leahy  (file photo)
On Capitol Hill, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee welcomed the move to put the Terrorist Surveillance Program under court jurisdiction⁷. Democrat⁸ Patrick Leahy said he has been calling for such action since the existence of the program first became known.

"The issue has never been whether to monitor suspected terrorists, but doing it legally and with proper checks and balances to prevent abuses," said Patrick Leahy. "Providing efficient but meaningful court review is a major step toward addressing those concerns."

The top Republican on the Judiciary panel, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania also addressed the issue on the Senate floor.

"At least there is a very significant first step," he said. "It is regrettable that these steps were not taken a long time ago."

Senator Specter said he still has a lot of questions about the guidelines the special court will use in considering requests for wiretaps. He will get his chance to ask those questions on Thursday when Attorney General Gonzales testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

4 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

5 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

6 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

7 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。