2007年VOA标准英语-Dead Taleban Leader Was Guantanamo Detainee

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
25 July 2007

The Taleban leader who killed himself to avoid capture by Pakistani security forces Tuesday was released from the U.S. detention¹ center at Guantanamo Bay three years ago.  Pentagon officials say they do their best not to release detainees who will return to terrorism, but this Taleban operative was not the only one to do so.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

bodyguard2 stand guard near Chagmalai in South Waziristan along the Afghan border (2004 file photo)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070728/1050070.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, talks to the media as his bodyguard stand guard near Chagmalai in South Waziristan along the Afghan border (2004 file photo)

The Pentagon says Abdullah Mehsud is one of about 30 former detainees who have returned to terrorism after being released from Guantanamo.  In all, 420 detainees have been released over the years, and 80 more have been approved for release, once arrangements can be made with host countries.  There are currently about 360 detainees at the facility.

Mehsud was a Taleban fighter in the 1990s, and he lost a leg in a land mine explosion shortly before the Taleban took Kabul in 1996.  In 2001, during fighting against the Northern Alliance, he was taken prisoner.  He was transferred to U.S. custody³ after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, and he was sent to the Guantanamo detention center shortly after it was established.

During 25 months there, he managed to conceal⁴ his identity and convinced his interrogators he was an innocent man caught up in the fighting.  He was released in March of 2004.  Just a few months later, Mehsud masterminded the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in Pakistan's tribal⁵ areas.  One of them was killed during a rescue attempt.  Since then, he is reported to have become a leader of Taleban cells in the rugged⁶ mountains of western Pakistan.

On Tuesday, according to Pakistani officials, when a team of their intelligence agents surrounded the house where Mehsud was hiding in Baluchistan Province, the prominent Taleban fighter killed himself with a hand grenade.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says it is not easy to determine who to hold at Guantanamo and who to release.

"We have to make judgments⁷ and decisions about who to continue to detain and who to release.  And it's not a perfect system," Whitman said.

That system has been widely criticized by human rights groups, which say the Guantanamo detainees should either be tried or released.  But the Defense⁸ Department says much of the evidence against the detainees is classified, making public trials impossible.  Instead, it has an annual review process to determine, in secret proceedings⁹ held by military officers, whether each detainee is still a threat to U.S. security.

"It is a rigorous process.  And while it is a rigorous process, it's not a perfect process," Whitman said. "And we know we have released individuals that have returned to the battlefield."

Mehsud was released before the current review process was established.

In addition, the Bush administration is trying to hold military tribunals for some of the detainees, which could result in formal sentences.  At least parts of the process are open to the public.  But the plan has run into a series of legal challenges.  And Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that, because of the nature of the evidence, there are some detainees at Guantanamo who cannot be released or tried.  It is not clear what will happen to those men in the long term.

1 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。

2 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

3 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。

4 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

8 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。

9 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼