VOA标准英语2009年-US Lawmakers Consider Probe of Bush Security Po

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has proposed establishing an independent commission to investigate Bush administration policies dealing¹ with such controversial issues as detainees and wiretapping, as well as decisions that led to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But lawmakers and legal experts are divided over whether the proposal is a good idea.
　
Sen. Patrick Leahy, listens to testimony² on Capitol Hill in Washington, during the committee's hearing on a "Truth Commission", 04 Mar³ 2009

Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat⁴, says the independent, nonpartisan commission that he is proposing would investigate the treatment of detainees at the U.S. detention⁶ center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It would also probe the flawed intelligence used to justify⁷ the war in Iraq and the warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens.

The commission would be modeled after the one that investigated the apartheid regime in South Africa. It would have subpoena⁸ power but would not bring criminal charges.

Leahy chaired a hearing on the matter Wednesday.

"We shouldn't be afraid to look at what we've done or hold ourselves accountable, as we do other nations when they make mistakes," he said. "We have to understand that national security means protecting our country by advancing our laws and values, and not by discarding them."

There has been mixed reaction to the commission proposal.

Democratic President Barack Obama has said he would consider the idea of a commission to probe the policies of his Republican predecessor⁹, but said he is "more interested in looking forward than in looking back".

Republican lawmakers say the commission proposal amounts to nothing more than partisan⁵ politics.

"We have a Department of Justice which is fully¹⁰ capable of doing an investigation," said Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, says Congress has done its share of examining Bush policies.

"We've already had over 150 oversight¹¹ hearings on these subjects, we've logged more than 320 hours of witness testimony in unclassified settings, transcribed¹² more than 3,200 pages of witness testimony and printed more than 17,000 pages of unclassified publicly-available reports," he said.

Even some Democrats¹³ question the need for a commission. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says her panel is doing its own inquiry¹⁴ into Bush's national security policies.

A panel of experts who testified at Wednesday's hearing also were divided on the issue.

Frederick Schwarz served as chief counsel on the Senate Committee on Intelligence Activity from 1975 to 1976.

"The bottom line is we owe it to ourselves and to our country to learn the facts about our government's counterterrorism policies," he said. "We know that abuses may have occurred, and the perception of these abuses has undermined our standing¹⁵ in the world and our fight for the hearts and minds of those who could be persuaded to do us harm. We must not flinch¹⁶ from learning the truth."

But Jeremy Rabkin, a law professor at George Mason University, says there is no reason for the United States to have the kind of truth commissions that were set up in South Africa and Chile.

"In those countries, they had to have these commissions because they couldn't have prosecutions¹⁸, and they couldn't have prosecutions because their countries were so deeply divided and they had made promises in order to secure a peaceful transition," said Rabkin.

"Peace was really in doubt in those countries, so they had to back off of prosecution¹⁷ and say, we'll have a truth commission instead. We are not in that situation. If people think we should have prosecutions, well then there can be prosecutions," he added.

Still, there appears to be public support for an independent commission to handle such an inquiry. A USA Today-Gallup poll last month found that 62 percent of Americans favor the idea.

Senator Leahy's proposal is similar to legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman¹⁹ John Conyers of Michigan. The bill calls for creation of a bipartisan commission to probe the Bush administration's activities on detainees, warrantless surveillance and other issues.

1 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。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

4 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。

5 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

6 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。

7 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

8 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。

9 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

10 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。

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 transcribed   

（用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的过去式和过去分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音）

参考例句：

• He transcribed two paragraphs from the book into his notebook. 他把书中的两段抄在笔记本上。
• Every telephone conversation will be recorded and transcribed. 所有电话交谈都将被录音并作全文转写。

13 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》

14 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

15 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。

16 flinch   

v.畏缩，退缩

参考例句：

• She won't flinch from speaking her mind.她不会讳言自己的想法。
• We will never flinch from difficulties.我们面对困难决不退缩。

17 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

18 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

19 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。