2006年VOA标准英语-Bush: Phone Monitoring Only Aimed at Terro

By Michael Bowman
Washington
11 May 2006

President Bush says the federal government's monitoring of telephone activity is limited to instances where authorities believe terrorists are making calls to or from the United States. Mr. Bush's comments follow a newspaper report that major U.S. telephone companies have given the National Security Agency records of customer telephone calls.

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George Bush  
  

President Bush says, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, he authorized¹ the National Security Agency to intercept² the international communications of people with known links to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, adding, "We want to know what they are saying."

But, speaking from the White House before departing on a trip to the U.S. Gulf³ Coast, Mr. Bush stressed that the program's sole aim is to prevent terrorism, and said it does not violate U.S. law.

"The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities," said President Bush. "We are not 'mining' or 'trolling' through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans. Our efforts are focused on links to al-Qaida and their known affiliates⁴."

Mr. Bush did not confirm or deny that the government has obtained domestic telephone records, nor did he comment on how those records might be used to further the battle against terrorism

Earlier, the USA Today newspaper cited anonymous⁵ sources as saying that the National Security Agency had secured records from America's largest telephone companies, none of which are state owned. The article said the federal government is not attempting to construct a database of all telephone conversations within the United States, but rather looking for calling patterns that might indicate terrorist communications.

In his remarks, President Bush said the U.S. government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval, and that members of Congress have been briefed on the program.

But several prominent Republican and Democratic legislators have expressed surprise and dismay about the corporations surrendering their records to federal authorities, and urged closer examination of the practice.
 

President Bush listens to Gen. Michael Hayden, left, speak at White House, Monday  
  
A prime defender⁶ of the government's anti-terrorism domestic surveillance program is newly designated CIA director nominee⁷ Michael Hayden, a former director of the National Security Agency. General Hayden is expected to face sharp questions about the program at his Senate confirmation⁸ hearing.

Civil rights groups have blasted the program as an infringement⁹ on Americans' liberty and right to privacy.

1 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

2 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

5 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

6 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

7 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。

8 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。

9 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯