2006年VOA标准英语-US Says All Military Detainees Under Geneva Con

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
11 July 2006

 
Guantanamo detainees (file photo) 
  
The Bush administration for the first time has acknowledged that all detainees held by the U.S. military are subject to the protections under the Geneva Conventions.  The Pentagon detailed¹ the policy in a memo² made public on the day the Senate opened hearings on how such detainees should be tried.

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The memo, signed by Deputy Defense³ Secretary Gordon England, says detainees held in U.S. military custody⁴ worldwide are covered by Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions, which ensures their humane⁵ treatment.

The memo is dated July 7, just more than a week after the U.S. Supreme⁶ Court struck down the military tribunal system set up by President Bush to try foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval⁷ base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, because, among other reasons, it had not been authorized⁸ by Congress.

England notes in the memo that the high court ruled the military tribunals are not consistent with Common Article Three.

But he adds that it is his understanding that aside from the military commission procedures, Defense Department policies and directives are in compliance⁹ with Article Three.  He recalled President Bush's prior declaration that the U.S. Armed Forces shall continue to treat detainees humanely¹⁰.

Similar comments were made by Daniel Dell'Orto, the Pentagon's principal deputy general counsel, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

"We believe the treatment of all detainees are receiving under DOD [Department of Defense] control, under DOD custody, are being treated in a manner that meets the common Article Three standard, or exceeds it," Dell'Orto says.

The Judiciary Committee is considering legislation in response to the Supreme Court ruling, specifically how to create a legal system for detainees held in U.S. military custody.

Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, is chairman of the committee:

"We are not going to leave it to the Department of Defense or give the Department of Defense a blank check.  We are going to establish the standards and the policy," senator Specter says.

The acting¹¹ assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, Steve Bradbury, urged the committee to keep some Defense Department policies intact.

"The military commissions that the Secretary of Defense set up do provide a right to counsel, a right in fact to both a government counsel provided by the military, a trained government defense counsel and a right to private counsel of the detainee's choice, subject to certain conditions, and we would see no reason to change that in any legislation," Bradbury says.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, says the chamber¹² is not expected to take up legislation addressing the legal rights of detainees until after the August recess¹³.

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the Bush administration had argued that detainees held in the war on terror are not subject to all the protections of the Geneva Conventions.

The United States has come under international criticism over its treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and elsewhere - including allegations of torture, denied by U.S. officials, and reports of forced interrogations. 
 
 

1 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

2 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？

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 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

10 humanely   

adv.仁慈地；人道地；富人情地；慈悲地

参考例句：

• Is the primary persona being treated humanely by the product? 该产品对待首要人物角色时是否有人情味？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In any event, China's interest in treating criminals more humanely has limits. 无论如何，中国对更人道地对待罪犯的兴趣有限。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

13 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。