2007年VOA标准英语-US Questioned 'Procedures and Timing' of Saddam

By David Gollust
Washington
03 January 2007

Bush administration officials said Wednesday the United States raised concerns about the procedures and timing¹ of the Saddam Hussein execution last Saturday. But they insisted also that justice was done in the case of the former Iraqi leader. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

 
Video still from al-Iraqiya television shows ousted² Iraq president Saddam Hussein moments before being hanged in Baghdad, 30 Dec 2006
Officials here openly concede that the matter would have been handled differently had the United States been in charge of the process.

But they say the execution, marred³ by taunting⁴ of the former Iraqi leader in his final moments, was under full control of Iraqi officials and that the videotaped misconduct should not obscure the crimes of Saddam Hussein or the fairness of his trial.

A cell-phone video showed the former Iraqi leader being jeered⁵ on the gallows⁶ by witnesses to the execution, and it touched off protests by Iraqi Sunnis and complaints from governments and human rights groups.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States had raised concerns about the timing of the execution, which came just before the beginning of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, and also over whether procedures the Iraqis had set for carrying out the sentence had been followed in full.

McCormack said Iraqi authorities took the U.S. concerns into consideration, but ultimately made their own judgments⁷ about when and how to proceed.

He said those disturbed by the leaked video should not lose sight of the overall fairness of the process that had brought Saddam Hussein to the gallows.

"There was a very solid criminal procedure in which the defendant⁸, in this case Saddam Hussein, had access to evidence, he had the right to his own counsel, and it was a trial that met the standards of international justice," said McCormack. "So none of what happened should in any way detract from that fact. And also the Iraqi government themselves have raised some questions about the way in which the final moments unfolded. Clearly, they were not pleased with the way things unfolded. They launched an investigation⁹ into it, as they should."

A senior official here said U.S. authorities in Iraq, who had served as Saddam Hussein's jailers until just before the execution, had questions about whether the death warrant for the former leader had been properly signed by the Iraqi government's top leadership.

He said they were told that under the Iraqi interpretation¹⁰, all the legal requirements had been fulfilled and that accordingly Saddam Hussein, convicted of crimes against humanity for a mass murder of Shiite men and boys in the 1980s, was handed over for execution.

 
General William Caldwell speaks during a press conference in heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, 3 Jan 2007
Earlier, the U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Major General William Caldwell said the United States would have handled the matter differently but that the staging of the execution was entirely¹¹ the responsibility of Iraqis.

He said the United States had nothing to do with the facility where the execution took place, and that U.S. personnel were neither present nor involved in searching any of the Iraqis who attended.

1 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

4 taunting   

嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• She wagged a finger under his nose in a taunting gesture. 她当着他的面嘲弄地摇晃着手指。
• His taunting inclination subdued for a moment by the old man's grief and wildness. 老人的悲伤和狂乱使他那嘲弄的意图暂时收敛起来。

5 jeered   

v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police were jeered at by the waiting crowd. 警察受到在等待的人群的嘲弄。
• The crowd jeered when the boxer was knocked down. 当那个拳击手被打倒时，人们开始嘲笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

8 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。