VOA标准英语2009年-Guantanamo Debate Intensifies

The U.S. Congress may be on holiday recess¹ this week, but the debate over the Obama administration's plans to close the Guantanamo detention² center continues. The topic dominated the Sunday news interview programs broadcast each week on major American television networks.
　
A detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba being escorted by two U.S. soldiers (file photo)

There are many opinions in Washington about the Guantanamo prison and how to deal with terror detainees.

But there is one point on which all sides agree: it is a complex issue, and one not easily resolved.

The nation's top military officer, Admiral Michael Mullen, supports closing the prison and says various options are being explored. He told ABC's This Week program that the Pentagon is working hard to meet President Obama's one-year deadline to close Guantanamo.

"There are some really bad people there and so figuring out how we are going to keep them where they need to be, keep them off the battlefield as well as close Gitmo [Guantanamo] itself, is a real challenge," said Admiral Mullen.

Last week, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in voting to deny funds to shut down Guantanamo until the administration comes up with a detailed³ plan for handling the remaining detainees.

Of particular concern is one category: detainees considered a severe threat, who for one reason or another cannot be prosecuted⁴.
　
In this photo, reviewed by US military, the exercise yard at Guantanamo's Camp 4 detention facility is pictured before dawn, 14 May 2009

The president has suggested some could be held at American high-security prisons. Republicans - like Senator John Kyl of Arizona - reject that idea. Kyl appeared on the Fox News Sunday program.

"I do not know why it is better to have someone in a so-called "super-max" facility in, say Colorado, than it is to keep them in Guantanamo - a state of the art facility that we built not too long ago for the explicit⁵ purpose of holding these people," said Senator Kyl.

His Senate colleague, Dick Durbin of Illinois expressed a different view on NBC's Meet the Press.

"We have successfully tried terrorists in the United States," said Senator Durbin. As I sit here today, we have 347 convicted terrorists secure in our incarceration⁶ facilities. We know that they can be tried and held safely."

Former secretary of state Colin Powell, speaking on the CBS program Face the Nation, said setting up the Guantanamo prison was one of several steps taken after the September 11attacks to keep America safe.

He noted⁷ the Bush administration also wanted to shut down the facility, but was unable to come up with answers for all the legal questions involved.

"President Bush was not able to close Guantanamo on his watch and President Obama came in saying he would close Guantanamo and he has run into some of those same sorts of problems," said Colin Powell.

Powell said President Obama made a mistake by going to Capitol Hill for money to close Guantanamo without a detailed plan of action. But he predicted that in time, the debate will settle down, and lawmakers will get the specifics they want from the president.

1 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

2 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。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

5 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

6 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。