VOA常速英语2007年-CIA Briefs Congress on Destruction of Interroga

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
11 December 2007

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, General Michael Hayden, briefed members of Congress Tuesday about the CIA's decision to destroy videotapes of terror suspect interrogations. His appearance on Capitol Hill comes as a former CIA officer says interrogators had used the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding, which he believes amounts to torture. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

CIA Director Michael Hayden met with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss his agency's destruction of videotapes detailing harsh interrogations of two terrorism suspects.

General Hayden spoke¹ to reporters ahead of the closed-door meeting, as demonstrators protested nearby.

"I am very delighted to come down and lay out the facts as we know them, and we will be very happy to let the facts take us where they will," said General Hayden.

Hayden, who is to brief the House Intelligence Committee Wednesday, told CIA employees last week that the agency had videotaped the interrogations of the terror suspects in 2002, and destroyed the tapes three years later.

Congressional critics argue the CIA destroyed the tapes to hide evidence of illegal torture, but the agency says it did so to protect interrogators from possible retaliation². Critics also question whether the tapes' destruction was illegal, noting that a judge had ordered them preserved as possible evidence in a lawsuit³ brought by terrorism suspects held at the U.S. detention⁴ facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat⁵, says his panel will conduct a thorough investigation⁶.

"There are a lot of questions to be answered: the question of the destruction of the tapes, who authorized⁷ them, how come we did not know about them, all kinds of things are going to be the subject of an inquiry," said Senator Rockefeller.

Speaking after General Hayden's briefing, Intelligence Committee vice⁸ chairman, Republican Senator Christopher Bond of Missouri, said he heard nothing to convince him that the tapes were destroyed to hide evidence of torture.

"Nothing I have heard indicates there was anything illegal, unlawful or in violation¹⁰ of treaty or law in the interrogation methods used," said Senator Bond.

The Justice Department and the CIA's inspector¹¹ general are conducting their own investigations¹² into the matter.

Speaking at a news conference earlier in the day, Attorney General Michael Mukasey would not elaborate on the Justice Department probe.

"We will find out what the facts are, and if there is a law to be applied¹³, it will be applied," said Michael Mukasey.

At the White House, spokeswoman Dana Perino refused comment on the destruction of the tapes, but reiterated¹⁴ that the CIA's interrogation program is lawful⁹.

"They are measures that have been tough and limited," said Dana Perino. "They are safe and have been very effective in helping¹⁵ prevent terrorist attacks on this country. The entire program has been legal."

A former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, told reporters in a series of interviews that the agency had used the interrogation technique known as waterboarding on a senior al-Qaida member, Abu Zubaydah, and that it yielded valuable information. He said Zubaydah began to talk 35 seconds after the waterboarding began.

But in an interview with NBC's Today program, Kiriakou said he believes waterboarding, which simulates drowning, amounts to torture.

"I think, yes, torture," said John Kiriakou. "I'm not saying it was not necessary at the time, and I will let the lawyers decide if it was legal or not."

Kiriakou said he now believes waterboarding should no longer be used.

News reports say the CIA stopped using the technique in 2003. Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says Congress should pass legislation outlawing¹⁶ the practice.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 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。

7 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。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 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。

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

12 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 outlawing   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• An amendment outlawing sale of intoxicating liquors(1920)was repealed in 1933. 规定售卖酒类为非法的一个宪法修正案（一九二○年）在一九三三年被废止。