VOA慢速英语2013 IN THE NEWS - The Debate Over Targeted Killings

IN THE NEWS - The Debate Over Targeted Killings²

新闻报道 - 无人机定点清除美国涉恐公民引发争议

From VOA Learning English, this is IN THE NEWS in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

This week, NBC News reported on a document written by the Department of Justice on the policy of targeted killings of American terrorism suspects. The document is a "white paper" titled “Lawfulness of a Lethal⁴ Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen Who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa’ida or An Associated Force. ”

本周，美国全国广播公司新闻频道对美国司法部撰写的定点清除美国恐怖主义嫌疑人的政策文件做了报道。该文件是一份题为《针对身为基地组织或相关组织行动高层的美国公民直接作出致命行动的合法性》的“白皮书”。

In the memo⁵, the Justice Department says using deadly force in a foreign country against a United States citizen would be lawful³ if three conditions are met. The first condition is that an informed, high-level official of the United States government has found that the targeted person presents an "imminent⁶ threat of violent attack against the United States."

在这份备忘录中，美国司法部声称，如果满足三个条件，那么在国外对美国公民使用致命武器就是合法的。第一个条件是，有情报根据的美国政府高级官员认为这位目标人物存在攻击美国的迫在眉睫的威胁。

The second condition is that capturing the targeted person is not possible, and that the United States continues to monitor the possibility of capture. The third condition is that the operation would not violate the laws of war.

第二个条件是，抓捕这位目标人物不可行，而且美国继续监控抓捕可能性。第三个条件是，该行动不违反战争法。

The paper details the reasons and conditions that a targeted killing¹ of a United States citizen overseas would be lawful under American and international law. The department also provides its reasons why these targeted killings would not violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.

文中详细列明了根据美国法律和国际法律，定点清除海外美国公民合法的理由和条件。司法部还提供了这类定点清除不会侵犯美国公民宪法权利的理由。

Some unmanned drone air strikes have targeted American citizens linked to al-Qaida, including Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. They were killed in a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. Neither man had been charged with crimes in the United States.

一些无人机空袭已经将和基地组织有关的美国公民作为目标，其中包括安瓦尔·奥拉基（Anwar al-Awlaki）和萨米尔·汗（Samir Khan）。2011年9月，这俩人在也门的一次无人机空袭中丧生。他们在美国都未受到犯罪指控。

The paper has resulted in criticism from lawmakers and human rights groups. Critics say it could be used to increase the president’s power to use deadly force against suspected terrorists. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon says he fears President Obama could be acting⁷ as judge, jury and executioner. 

该文件受到了国会议员和人权组织的批评。批评者说，它会被用于提升总统使用致命武器打击恐怖嫌疑人的权力。俄勒冈州民主党参议员罗恩·维登（Ron Wyden）表示，他担心奥巴马总统会独揽法官、陪审团和刽子手于一身。

"It is the idea of giving any president unfettered power to kill an American without checks and balances that is so troubling. Every American has the right to know when their government believes it is allowed to kill them."

“这会给予任何总统不受约束的权力，在没有制衡的情况下杀害美国人，这一点让人如此不安。每个美国人在政府认为可以杀死自己时都有知情权。”

On Wednesday the Obama administration told the Justice Department to share classified documents on the issue with the intelligence committees in Congress. A group of senators sent President Obama a request to receive the documents. 

周三，奥巴马政府命令司法部将这个问题上的机密文件与国会情报委员会共享。一大帮参议员向奥巴马要求得到该文件。

Countries where U.S. drone attacks have occurred 

The shorter, unclassified white paper was released just before President Obama’s nominee⁸ to lead the Central Intelligence Agency faced a confirmation⁹ hearing. John Brennan is currently the president’s counterterrorism adviser¹⁰. He has been an active supporter of permitting drone strikes against American citizens suspected of terrorist activities.

这份简短的非机密白皮书是在奥巴马就中情局负责人的提名面临任命听证会之前发布的。约翰·布伦南（John Brennan）是现任总统反恐顾问。他一直是允许无人机打击美国涉嫌恐怖活动公民的积极支持者。 

Mr. Brennan defended the policy during his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said the strikes were done only when no other method could work to protect the safety of Americans. He also said the government would rather capture terrorists in order to gather intelligence from them.

布伦南先生周四在参议院情报委员会的任命听证会上对该政策进行了辩护。他表示，无人机袭击的前提是没有其它办法能够保护美国人的安全。他还表示，美国政府宁愿抓捕恐怖分子以从他们那里收集情报。

"I never believe it is better to kill a terrorist than to detain him. We want to detain as many terrorists as possible so we can elicit¹¹ intelligence from them in an appropriate manner and disrupt terrorist attacks."

他说，“我从不认为杀了恐怖分子要比拘捕他更好。我们希望尽可能多地拘捕恐怖分子，这样我们就能以适当方式从他们嘴里探出情报，破坏掉恐怖袭击。”

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

4 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

5 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？

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。