VOA标准英语2008年-Top Bush Administration Officials Discuss Legal

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee says top Bush administration officials in 2002 and 2003 discussed the legality of harsh interrogation techniques used on terrorism suspects. At a hearing Thursday, Senator Carl Levin said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice provided details of the discussions to his panel. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Secretary Rice's written statements to the Senate Armed Services Committee are believed to be the first such acknowledgment that members of President Bush's Cabinet were involved in discussions over the legality of the harsh interrogation methods.
　
Senator Carl Levin (file photo)

Senator Levin, a Michigan Democrat¹, released the documents at Thursday's hearing.

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was then the National Security Advisor² to the president, responded on September 12, just a few weeks ago, that in 2002 and 2003, there were meetings at the White House where a specific CIA interrogation techniques were discussed," Levin said.

Senator Levin said the statements note that former Defense³ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Attorney General John Ashcroft were involved in the discussions.

Levin said Rice's legal adviser⁴, John Bellinger, also submitted statements to the committee. Bellinger told the panel he had expressed concern that the interrogation techniques comply with applicable U.S. law, including U.S. international obligations.

In her statement, Rice said she was told that the techniques, which included waterboarding - or simulated drowing - were deemed not to cause significant physical or psychological harm. The techniques were used to train U.S. troops to resist enemy interrogation.

But a military interrogation expert, retired⁵ Air Force Colonel Steven Kleinman, who had witnessed some of the harsh interrogations, told the committee that he called his then commander, Colonel Randy Moulton, to express concern about the methods being used.

"I told him that, in my view, those were violations⁶ of the Geneva Conventions and they were not authorized⁷, and we should not do them," Col. Kleinman said.

Kleinman said Moulton told him the techniques were approved by Pentagon lawyers.

In related action, the Senate Judiciary Committee authorized Chairman Patrick Leahy to issue subpoenas⁸ to Justice Department officials to hand over legal opinions that approved the harsh interrogation techniques. The vote was on a 10 to 9 party-line basis, with Democrats⁹ in the majority.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, was among those who voted in favor of the authorization¹⁰.

"Deep, dark mistakes - and I put that charitably - have been made, and it is this committee's obligation to see that they never happen again," Feinstein said.

Thursday's Judiciary Committee vote allows Senator Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, to issue subpoenas at any time, even if Congress is not in session. A committee spokeswoman says Leahy would consult with panel members about whether and when to issue any subpoenas.

The Bush administration maintains that waterboarding used by the CIA against three top al-Qaida detainees was legal, and that the practice was ended in 2006.

 

1 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。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 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。

4 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。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

7 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

8 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。