【英语语言学习】情报搜集与情报泄露

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

 

This week, a U.S. military judge ruled in the case of Army Private Bradley Manning. The soldier was found guilty of espionage¹ for providing secrets to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The court also found him guilty of several other charges. The punishment for these crimes could add up to more than 100 years in prison. The Oklahoma native was found not guilty of aiding the enemy. That charge could have resulted in a life prison sentence.

 

Manning had admitted to what is called the largest leak of secret U.S. documents in history. The documents included secret diplomatic messages and military reports about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

The case was tried at Fort Meade, Maryland, close to the grounds of the National Security Agency. That is where intelligence contractor² Edward Snowden once worked. He recently leaked secret documents on government efforts to collect information about American citizens.

 

On Wednesday, members of Congress met with intelligence and law enforcement officials. The officials said the U.S. government’s information gathering³ does not violate the privacy of citizens. And they said these activities help to identify and defeat terrorist threats.

 

The officials spoke⁴ after the Obama administration released documents that described the government’s telephone data collection programs.

 

Patrick Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

 

“The patience of the American people is beginning to wear thin. But what has to be of more concern in a democracy is, the trust of the American people is wearing thin.”

 

On Wednesday, the administration released what once were secret documents about the government’s collection of telephone records. Deputy Attorney General James Cole spoke to the Senate committee.

 

“These are telephone records maintained by the phone companies. They include the number the call was dialed from, the number the call was dialed to, the date and time of the call and the length of the call. The records do not include the names or other personal identifying information. They do not include cell site or other location information, and they do not include the content of any phone calls.”

 

The government must have special court approval to get names or addresses linked to phone numbers. It also needs a court order to listen to phone calls.

 

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse questioned the lack of voluntary public disclosure by the government.

 

“We have a lot of good information out there that helps the American public understand these programs. But it all came out late. It all came out in response to a leaker [Edward Snowden]. There was no organized plan for how we rationally declassify⁵ this, so that the American people can participate in the debate.”

 

The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that supports individual rights, has criticized the government for collecting so much information. The group says this will change the way people act and prevent them from enjoying their freedoms under the U.S. Constitution.

 

The top lawyer for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Robert Litt, told lawmakers he disagrees.

 

“Collection of this kind of telephone metadata from the telephone companies is not a violation⁶ of anyone’s constitutional rights.”

 

Mr. Litt told the Senate committee that public disclosure of the programs has damaged the government’s ability to protect the nation.

 

And that’s In the News from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

1 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

2 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 declassify   

v.撤销保密

参考例句：

• These reports were only declassified last year.这些报告去年才被撤销了密级。
• Does the president have the power to declassify information?总统有权利解密相关信息吗？

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。