VOA标准英语2009年-Justice Department Probe of CIA Interrogat

By Jela de Franceschi
Washington
22 September 2009

The U.S. Justice Department's decision to launch a criminal probe of the CIA's interrogation methods has caused a stir in Washington. Most Democrats¹ back the investigation², while most Republicans oppose it. The American public is evenly divided.

CIA interrogations of terror suspects during the Bush administration included harsh techniques, like simulated drowning, that many have called torture. But the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder³ to open a criminal investigation has been criticized by many Republicans.

 
Former Vice⁴ President Dick Cheney  in Washington (File)
The most prominent critic is former Vice President Dick Cheney. He said on Fox News TV that Holder has gone too far.

"I think it is an outrageous⁵ political act that will do great damage, long-term, to our capacity to be able to have people to take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions, without having to worry about what the next administration is going to say," Cheney said.

President Obama, unlike many Democrats, has said he would rather look forward than back. He has also said that interrogators who followed Bush-era guidelines should not be prosecuted⁷.

"I have no interest in spending all of our time re-litigating the policies of the last eight years," Mr. Obama said.

Holder launched the investigation in late August. He was prompted by a newly declassified⁸ report written by the agency's internal watchdog in 2004.

 
The technique is harsh, even when simulated. Some say it is torture, others [say it is] necessary in the war on terror. It is called waterboarding and it feels like drowning
The report said CIA interrogations included, besides simulated drowning, threats of choking and shooting.

A US interrogator⁶ told detainee Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that his children would be killed if there were new attacks on the U.S. Mohammed is the self proclaimed mastermind of the September 11 attacks and is now awaiting trial at the Guantanamo Bay detention⁹ center.

The former vice president says the CIA interrogations produced useful information. Those interrogations were involved in the arrest of nearly all the al-Qaida members that we were able to bring to justice.

Benjamin Wittes at the Brookings Institution studies legal issues surrounding detention practices.

"The consequences of not having gotten as much information as you could from the detainees -- if that had led to attacks in which large number of people had to die - that would be horrible as well," Wittes said.

Tom Malinowski served on the National Security Council in the Clinton Administration and is at Human Rights Watch now. 

He says enhanced interrogations do not work because detainees will say anything to stop the pain. He says the U.S. is hurt by these interrogations.

"They made it easier for al Qaida to sustain itself by recruiting more angry young men to its ranks," he noted¹⁰. "If the goal is diminishing the number of people out there who want to be at war with the United States, the United States has to live up to its own values and fight this war in a smart way."

Malinowski says senior Bush administration officials who decided¹¹ that enhanced interrogations were legal should also be investigated.  It is unclear if the investigation will lead to trials.

 

1 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》

2 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。

3 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

6 interrogator   

n.讯问者；审问者；质问者；询问器

参考例句：

• No,I was not mad, but my interrogator was furious. 不，我没疯，只是质问我的人怒不可遏。 来自互联网
• Miss Fan lacked such an interrogator with whom she could whisper intimately. 范小姐就缺少这样一个切切私语的盘问者。 来自互联网

7 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》。

8 declassified   

adj.解密的v.对（机密文件等）销密( declassify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thousands of classified documents have now been declassified. 数以千计的保密文件现在被解密了。
• The software used for Siemens S7-300 encryption logic block declassified. 此软件用于对西门子S7-300加密逻辑块解密。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。