VOA常速英语2008年-Americans Held In Iraq Appeal to US Supreme Cou

By Jim Malone
Washington
25 March 2008

The cases of two Americans held by the military in Iraq went before the U.S. Supreme¹ Court Tuesday. The two men argue that they should have access to American courts to block their transfer into the control of the Iraqi government. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

Chief Justice John Roberts and some of the other Supreme Court justices were skeptical² of a lawyer's contention³ that the two men in question should have access to U.S. courts.

The two men asking for U.S. intervention⁴ are Mohammad Munaf and Shawqi Omar. Munaf holds American and Iraqi citizenship⁵ and was allegedly involved in the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in 2005.

Omar also holds Jordanian citizenship and allegedly assisted a terrorist network in Iraq.

Both men say they are innocent and are being held by the U.S. military in Iraq. Their lawyer says they should have access to U.S. courts since they are in the custody⁶ of the U.S. military.

But the Bush administration argues that the United States is part of an international coalition⁷ in Iraq. A lawyer for the government argued that the two men are actually being held by a multinational⁸ force, and therefore should not be given access to U.S. courts.

The Supreme Court will issue a ruling in the case before the end of June.

On another matter, the high court has decided⁹ that President Bush exceeded his authority when he directed the state of Texas to comply with a ruling by the International Court of Justice, also known as the world court.

The world court ruled in 2004 that the United States should review the case of Jose Medellin and 50 other Mexicans awaiting execution in the United States. Medellin was sentenced to death in 1994 in Texas for the rape¹⁰ and murder of two teenage girls.

The international court demanded a review of the case after Texas officials acknowledged that Medellin was not allowed to talk to officials from the Mexican consulate¹¹ in violation¹² of the 1963 Vienna Convention.

By a six to three vote, the high court said President Bush did not have the authority to force individual states to abide¹³ by international court rulings.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the president was disappointed with the court decision and that the administration is now reviewing it to see how it might impact international relations.

"The court recognized that there is an international obligation to comply with treaties, but that the President of the United States does not have the legal authority to compel a state to take that action. While we urged a different result, we respect the court's decision and will abide by it," she said.

Lawyers for the Bush administration argued that the president must have the authority to compel the individual states to live up to international treaty obligations.

1 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。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

6 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。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

11 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

12 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。

13 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。