VOA慢速英语20060715a

IN THE NEWS - After Court Limits Bush's Power, Future for Terrorism Suspects Depends on CongressBy Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Saturday, July 15, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

In Washington, one of the most important Supreme¹ Court decisions in years has now led to discussions in Congress. At issue is the power of the president, even at a time of war.


The Supreme Court

The decision came June twenty-ninth in a case called Hamdan versus² Rumsfeld -- Defense³ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Salim Ahmed Hamdan is a Yemeni held at the American naval⁴ base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He is charged as a former driver and bodyguard⁵ for Osama bin⁶ Laden⁷, the leader of al-Qaida.

Salim Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan after the American invasion in two thousand one. The military action followed the al-Qaida attacks that killed almost three thousand people in the United States on September eleventh. Congress, in a joint⁸ resolution, gave President Bush the power to react with all necessary and appropriate force.

The case decided⁹ by the Supreme Court involved the rights of captured terrorism suspects. The court ruled that the Bush administration could not set policy for them without approval by Congress.

President Bush says he will work with Congress to find a way forward. He said he would like for there to be a way to return people from Guantanamo to their home countries. But, he added, some of them need to be tried in our courts.

The Supreme Court voted five to three in its decision. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the majority opinion. The court found that the president's plan to hold trials before military commissions violates international law and has no basis in federal law.

In dissent¹⁰, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that denying the president the right to hold military trials would limit his ability to fight terrorism. Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito also wrote dissenting¹¹ opinions. Chief Justice John Roberts did not take part in the case.

The decision also means the president alone cannot declare that terrorism suspects lack protection under the Geneva Conventions. Those are the international agreements that govern the treatment of prisoners of war.

The administration declared the suspects illegal enemy combatants and not prisoners of war. This week, however, the Defense Department made public a July seventh memo¹² signed by Deputy Secretary Gordon England.

The memo said prisoners taken in the conflict against al-Qaida are included under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. Article Three bans violence to life and person in the treatment of prisoners.

In another development, there was news that the president has conditionally¹³ agreed to let a court rule on another program. That one involves listening to the international calls and reading the e-mails of people in the United States when suspected terrorists are involved.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written this week by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts¹⁴ and archives are at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 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。

10 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

11 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

12 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

13 conditionally   

adv. 有条件地

参考例句：

• We will provide necessary English training to the new employees conditionally. 公司将为员工提供必要的英语培训。
• China should conditionally support and participate in the coordination. 我国对此宜持有条件支持并参与的立场。

14 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句