VOA标准英语2009-US Lawmakers Consider Guantanamo to be Both Pris

U.S. President Barack Obama's decisions to continue using military commissions to try terrorism detainees and to set a deadline for the closure of the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has earned praise and criticism on the Sunday television talk shows, sometimes from unexpected corners.
　
Soldiers in a Humvee patrol the perimeter¹ of the Camp Delta² detention³ compound, at Guantanamo Bay's US Naval⁴ Base, in Cuba, 06 Jun 2008

Lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties welcomed Mr. Obama's announcement that detainees would be tried by military-run courts, with some new legal protections in place for the prisoners.

The praise from both sides of the aisle⁵ comes as critics of Mr. Obama's announcement accuse him of breaking away from campaign promises of reform. Rights groups and some lawmakers, including Mr. Obama, lambasted the tribunals used during the Bush administration, saying they undermined the legal process.

Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia appeared to back away from his previous comments criticizing military tribunals when he appeared on Sunday's ABC Television program This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He explains why he now supports the tribunals.

"We need commissions like this because there are issues of evidence that you cannot take care of inside the regular American court system - classified information that might have an impact on how we collect intelligence and those sorts of things, and there are facilities built in Guantanamo right now that are able to do that," said Senator Webb.

It is impossible to talk about ways to try the roughly 240 detainees who remain at Guantanamo without discussing where they will go once the prison closes.

The situation is giving lawmakers pause. Some who want to see the facility closed, including Webb, question whether Mr. Obama's stated deadline to shut the prison by January is too hasty.

That is a sentiment echoed by Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, who appeared on the Fox Network television program Fox News Sunday.

"I think we ought to leave Guantanamo open," said Senator McConnell. "It's a $200-million, state-of-the-art facility. No one has ever escaped from there. It has courtrooms for the military commissions trials which the president has now - correctly in my view - decided⁶ maybe that's a good way to try these terrorists afterall."

Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona underscored that prisoners would be granted additional rights once the military tribunals begin operating again. Those changes, among others, include granting defendants⁷ greater choice in selecting counsel and barring statements obtained through harsh interrogation techniques.

Kyl said these reforms might appease⁸ critics of the previous tribunal system, but he suggested the changes could undermine the courts' efficiency. He addressed the amendments⁹ on the TV program This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

"This would liberalize it to some extent," said Senator Kyl. "We'll have to wait and see if it liberalizes it so much they don't work anymore."

But, even with the changes, the American Civil Liberties Union wants prisoners to be tried in criminal, not military, courts. Here is the group's executive director, Anthony Romero, from the CBS Television program Face the Nation.

"We have the capacity," said Anthony Romero. "We have the prisons that can hold them. We have the finest system of justice in the world. Let's use it. Let's not make a new one up."

It has not yet been announced which detainees might be tried in civilian¹⁰ courts and which will face the tribunals. Rights groups fear some may not be put on trial at all but still be held indefinitely.

President Obama will ask for a 120-day delay in nine pending¹¹ cases while adjustments are made to the tribunal system.

1 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

2 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

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 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

5 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

9 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

10 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。

11 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。