VOA标准英语2008年-New Evidence Sparks US Review of its Claims on

After receiving new evidence in recent days, the U.S. military is launching a higher level investigation¹ of its air strike in Afghanistan two weeks ago, in which dozens of people were killed. The initial U.S. investigation said the strike had killed at least 30 militants² and between five and seven civilians⁴. That disputed reports by Afghan and U.N. investigators⁶, who said more then 90 civilians had been killed, many of them children. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
　
A boy carries his belongings⁷ next to the rubble⁸ of his home which was destroyed in a US airstrike in the village of Azizabad in Shindand district of Herat province, Afghanistan, 23 Aug 2008

The official statement from the coalition⁹ command in Afghanistan said the investigating officer based his conclusions on statements from 30 people, including air crews and U.S. and Afghan ground forces. The statement, issued a week ago, said troops had also collected weapons, explosives and various types of information at the scene in the village of Azizabad, had video and photographs of the attack site, and had looked at burial grounds and gotten reports from local clinics and hospitals.

But the statement also says U.S. and Afghan authorities were kept out of the village the day after the attack, and the investigator⁵ was not given access to any information collected by "other organizations," an apparent reference to the U.N. and Afghan government investigations¹⁰.

But Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman says the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, has now been presented with additional evidence.
　
Pentagon spokesman Brian Whitman (file photo)

"There was some additional evidence, there was some imagery that came to his attention, that gave him reason to want to take a look at the investigation that we have done on this," said Bryan Whitman.

Whitman would not be specific, but reports from Kabul say U.N. officials showed General McKiernan a video shot with a mobile phone showing dozens of bodies in Azizabad, many of which appeared to be civilians rather than fighters.

"While we attempt to do very thorough and comprehensive investigations, we also try to do them in an expeditious¹¹ fashion, particularly in this case because it had a lot of interest, and there were some conflicting reports," he said. "And then the investigating officer made some determinations. But in light of, over the weekend, General McKiernan receiving some new evidence, some imagery evidence, he made the decision, based on this new evidence, that he wanted a review of the initial investigation."

The military says a combined U.S. and Afghan force entered Azizabad on August 22 and took heavy fire from militants in the village. The initial investigation found the troops were "justified¹²" and acted within "existing rules of engagement" in returning fire and calling in the air strike that resulted in the dispute over casualties. The investigator concluded that a Taliban commander known as Mullah Sadiq was among those killed.

The U.S. military regularly takes longer than other organizations to investigate incidents involving allegations of civilian³ casualties, saying it is more concerned about its reports being accurate than fast. Whitman says General McKiernan wants to find out why in this case, after a 10-day investigation, the U.S. military may have gotten it wrong.

"There is some evidence that suggests that the evidence that the United States military used in the conduct of its investigation may not have been complete," said Whitman. "But we will see."

U.S. Central Command, which has authority over all U.S. military activity in the Middle East and Central Asia, is expected to dispatch a general from its headquarters in Florida to handle the new investigation. Whitman says "nothing has resulted" from a U.S. offer to conduct a joint¹³ investigation with Afghan officials.

 

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

8 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

9 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。

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 expeditious   

adj.迅速的，敏捷的

参考例句：

• They are almost as expeditious and effectual as Aladdin's lamp.他们几乎像如意神灯那么迅速有效。
• It is more convenien,expeditious and economical than telephone or telegram.它比电话或电报更方便、迅速和经济。

12 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。