2007年VOA标准英语-White House Says Administration Not Ready to Sh

By Meredith Buel
Capitol Hill
22 June 2007

The Bush administration says it has no immediate¹ plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay Cuba despite demands by some members of Congress and human rights groups. As VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington, the administration says it wants to close the facility but has issues to resolve before that can happen.

Dana Perino (file photo)

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says a meeting Friday to discuss Guantanamo was canceled because "there was no need for such a meeting at this time."

Perino says media reports that the administration is nearing a decision to close the facility are wrong.

"What I can tell you is that meeting was not a decisional meeting." she said. "There was nothing imminent² coming out of that meeting and there are people who are charged with, tasked with, working on this issue everyday."

Perino reiterated³ that President Bush wants to close the detention⁴ center, but says there are several steps to be worked out, including sending some detainees back to their home countries.

The Guantanamo Bay prison has been the subject of criticism of the Bush administration, which has been under mounting pressure to close it.

Steny Hoyer

At a recent hearing on Capitol Hill before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the Guantanamo Bay prison has tarnished⁵ America's image.

"This hearing is an important step in addressing a situation that has been mishandled from the outset and which carries serious implications for our nation's reputation throughout the world," he said. "In fact, it has already had a very deleterious impact on the image and the moral standing⁶ of the United States of America."

The detention center, which serves as a military prison and interrogation camp, has been open since 2002 on what had been a quiet U.S. Navy base on the coast of Cuba.

Bush administration officials say there are about 375 members of the al-Qaida terrorist group and the Taleban currently detained there. Among those being held is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has confessed to being the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

The Bush administration argues the alleged⁷ terrorists need to be held until the end of the war on terror, without being given the same rights or access to the court system that prisoners have in the United States.

Critics, however, have accused the administration of violating basic human and legal rights.

Last year the U.S. Supreme⁸ Court struck down the Bush administration's military tribunal system for the detainees, saying the procedures in place at the time violated American and international laws.

Following the court's decision, the Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, which set up new rules for interrogating⁹ suspected terrorists and bringing them to trial.

Human Rights Watch is one of many groups urging the administration to close Guantanamo Bay.

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Guantanamo detainee peers out through the so-called "bean hole" which is used to allow food and other items into detainee cells, at Camp Delta detention center, Guantanamo Bay (file)

The group's advocacy director in Washington, Tom Malinowski, says the facility has diminished America's moral authority, alienated¹¹ its allies, encouraged its enemies and undermined the country's struggle against terrorism.

"Every last one of the prisoners in Guantanamo is a continuing problem for the United States of America. Guantanamo is a miserable¹², embarrassing and complete failure, not just in moral terms but also in national security terms. It has hurt America far more than it has hurt its enemies. The answer is not to perpetuate¹³ the failure, it is to end it."

There have been allegations of abuse at Guantanamo, and four prisoners held there have reportedly committed suicide.

Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin says some of the detainees have been in custody¹⁴ for more than five years and action needs to be taken.

"There is concern by some of us that we just don't know what to do with these people and therefore we just keep them in this indefinite status rather than confronting the issue of either trying or releasing them or sending them back to their host countries, which we should have done many years ago," he said.

A senior American diplomat¹⁵ acknowledges that the Guantanamo Bay detention center has become the focus of criticism, but says closing the facility is "easier said than done."

State Department legal adviser¹⁶ John Bellinger says about half of the original detainees have been transferred or released and about 80 of those still being held have been cleared to leave.

"The situation in Guantanamo is a source of frustration¹⁷ for this administration," he said.  "On the one hand it serves a very important purpose to hold and detain individuals who are extremely dangerous."

"On the other hand, we fully¹⁸ and acutely recognize that Guantanamo has become a lightening rod for criticism around the world and this is something of deep concern to this administration," he added.

Bellinger says many of the administration's critics that have called for Guantanamo to be shut down have not offered any credible¹⁹ alternatives for dealing²⁰ with the dangerous individuals who are detained there.

He says the administration recognizes that many people around the world view Guantanamo as inconsistent with U.S. values.

Bellinger says the administration will continue to take steps to protect Americans and the international community, while respecting the nation's commitment to the rule of law.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

3 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 interrogating   

n.询问技术v.询问( interrogate的现在分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• She was no longer interrogating but lecturing. 她已经不是在审问而是在教训人了。 来自辞典例句
• His face remained blank, interrogating, slightly helpless. 他的面部仍然没有表情，只带有询问的意思，还有点无可奈何。 来自辞典例句

10 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

11 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

13 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

14 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

15 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

16 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

17 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

18 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

19 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

20 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。