VOA常速英语2008年-US Reveals Capture of Another Senior al-Qaida O

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
14 March 2008

The U.S. Defense¹ Department announced Friday that it has taken custody² of a senior al-Qaida official, who is now being held at the detention³ center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says the new detainee, Muhammad Rahim, was transferred from CIA custody this week. Whitman describes Rahim as a "high value detainee."

"He is a close associate of Osama bin⁴ Laden⁵, and had close ties to al-Qaida organizations throughout the Middle East," said Whitman. "He helped prepare Tora Bora as a hideout for Osama bin Laden, and he assisted al-Qaida's exodus⁶ from the area in late 2001."

Whitman says Rahim was one of bin Laden's "most trusted facilitators and procurement⁷ specialists," and charges he was involved in numerous al-Qaida operations.

"He had knowledge of or was involved in al-Qaida attacks planned against coalition⁸ forces in Afghanistan," he said. "At the time of his capture, he was providing support to anti-coalition militias⁹ and groups allied¹⁰ with al-Qaida. Prior to 2002, Rahim procured¹¹ chemicals designated for an al-Qaida plot to target U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and he worked with al-Qaida paramilitary commanders to recruit individuals that had access to U.S. military facilities."

Whitman says Rahim is an Afghan who has been a member of al-Qaida since the mid-1990s, and worked with several of the group's key leaders.

The spokesman would not provide details about Rahim's capture, where he was held before this week or whether he has provided any information to interrogators.

The South Asian news agency ANI reported in August of last year that Rahim had been captured in the Pakistani city of Lahore. A memo¹² from CIA Director Michael Hayden to agency employees Friday, obtained by VOA and other news agencies, also said Rahim was captured last summer, and added that he had been involved in "plots against U.S. and Afghan targets" since the 1980s.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says Rahim is the 16th "high value detainee" at Guantanamo. The last to arrive was Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, who was transferred there last April. He is one of the men Rahim is accused of working with.

Whitman says Rahim will have a hearing at Guantanamo to formally determine his status, as all detainees do. Human Rights groups have criticized the process, but the U.S. government hopes to begin holding military tribunals for some of the 280 Guantanamo detainees this year.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

5 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

6 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

7 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

11 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

12 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？