2007年VOA标准英语-Debate Continues on Holding Terror Suspects at

By Meredith Buel
Washington
07 May 2007

The U.S. Congress is debating legislation to change the way alleged¹ terrorists, known as unlawful enemy combatants, are allowed to use America's legal system while they are being detained by the Defense² Department at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Bush administration argues the United States can hold enemy combatants until the end of the war on terror, while others say the detainees should not be in custody³ for lengthy⁴ periods without criminal charges or complete access to the U.S. legal system. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details in this background report from Washington.

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US guard at the military-run Camp Delta prison in Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base

Last year the U.S. Supreme⁷ Court struck down the Bush administration's military tribunal system for terrorism suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay. The court ruled that the system in place at the time violated American and international laws.

Following the court's decision, the U.S. Congress passed the Military Commissions Act, which set up new rules for interrogating⁸ suspected terrorists and bringing them to trial.

Defense Department attorney Daniel Dell'Orto says the system ensures alien enemy combatants will be treated fairly, while providing for the national security of the United States.

"The United States is in a state of armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taleban and their supporters," said Daniel Dell'Orto. "During this conflict, persons have been captured by the United States and its allies, and some of those persons have been detained as enemy combatants. The United States is entitled to hold these enemy combatant detainees until the end of hostilities⁹. The principal purpose of this detention¹⁰ is to prevent the persons from returning to the battlefield, as some have done upon their release."

A military tribunal reviews the cases of the detainees at Guantanamo to determine whether each person meets the criteria¹¹ to be designated as an enemy combatant, generally defined as anyone who was part of or supported Taleban or al-Qaida forces.

An annual review is conducted to determine the need to continue the detention of anyone designated as an enemy combatant.

Much of the controversy¹² about the Military Commissions Act involves the elimination¹³ of what are known as habeas corpus rights for the detainees.

Habeas corpus is the name of a legal action that allows those in American custody to go to a civilian¹⁴ court and challenge their detention. It has historically been an important tool for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary action by the state.

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy says the enemy combatants should have the right to challenge their detention.

"We have removed a vital check our legal system provides against the government arbitrarily detaining people for life without charge," said Patrick Leahy. "It is wrong. It is unconstitutional, and I would say clearly it is un-American."

Jeffrey Smith is the former General Counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency. He has now left the government and as part of a private law practice represents the families of Kuwaiti citizens held at Guantanamo.

Smith says the detainees at the base should have access to the U.S. court system.

"Law matters, especially in time of war," said Jeffrey Smith. "It matters because we are a democracy and because we respect the rule of law. It matters because the law of war governs how we fight. It governs how we treat those whom we capture, and perhaps most importantly, it governs how we expect our fellow citizens to be treated when they are captured."

The detention camp at Guantanamo Bay has been the focus of international criticism and President Bush has said he would like to close it down if he could discover a way to keep terrorists in custody elsewhere.

President Bush says the military commissions will provide a fair trial in which the accused are presumed innocent, have access to a lawyer and can hear all evidence against them.

Defense Department attorney Daniel Dell'Orto says the United States has captured, screened and released about 10,000 individuals since 2001, and only a small percentage of those captured have been transferred to Guantanamo.

Dell'Orto says the Military Commissions Act provides unlawful enemy combatants with a system that goes beyond what is required by the Geneva Conventions and, he says, is unprecedented¹⁵ in the history of war.

"Detention of enemy combatants in wartime is not criminal punishment and therefore does not require that the individual be charged or tried in a court of law," he said. "It is a matter of security and military necessity that has long been recognized as legitimate¹⁶ under international law."

The Defense Department says about 385 prisoners are being held at Guantanamo, and 80 others are awaiting transfer or release to another country, if those nations are willing to take them.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 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。

3 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。

4 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 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。

7 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。

8 interrogating   

n.询问技术v.询问( interrogate的现在分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• She was no longer interrogating but lecturing. 她已经不是在审问而是在教训人了。 来自辞典例句
• His face remained blank, interrogating, slightly helpless. 他的面部仍然没有表情，只带有询问的意思，还有点无可奈何。 来自辞典例句

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

10 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。

11 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

12 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

13 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

16 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。