VOA标准英语2013--Official: Federal Agencies Didn't Share Information Before Boston Bombings

 

Official: Federal Agencies Didn't Share Information Before Boston Bombings

The bombings spread panic among runners and their supporters.  But first responders reacted quickly, saving many lives.

At this first Congressional hearing, Republican Representative Michael McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, said victims and their families deserve to know how the bombings happened and how security can be improved.   

One of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died after a shootout with police.  His brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was captured and has been charged.

"While we don’t know if this attack was foreign-directed, we certainly know it was foreign-inspired. Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s trip to the Chechen region, the radical² videos proclaiming the Caliphate that he posted when he returned, and the type of bombs he and his younger brother used, all signal an al Qaida-inspired terrorist attack," said McCaul.

McCaul said he fears intelligence failures allowed the bombers³ to succeed. And he asked Boston Police Commissioner⁴ Ed Davis if Federal agencies had shared warnings from Russia about Tamerlan Tsaranev with officials in Massachusetts.

"They tell me they received no word on that individual prior to the bombing," Davis said.

Republican Congressman⁵ Peter King said the Obama administration needs to clearly state that the Boston attack was inspired by Islamic extremists.

"I have not heard one administration official, including the Attorney General and the President, use the term 'Islamist.'  As Chairman McCaul said, how are we going to know the enemy if we do not identify the enemy?," King said.

Former Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman, an advocate of tightened⁶ security, said the Tsarnaev brothers were clearly inspired by Islamic extremism.

"Osama bin¹ Laden⁷ is dead, and the remaining leadership of al-Qaida is on the run. But the ideology⁸ of violent Islamic extremism is rapidly spreading," he said.

Some Democratic lawmakers cautioned that that the investigations⁹ are ongoing¹⁰ and that the Boston bombings should not be politicized.  Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.

"This is not a place to raise a partisan¹¹ divide between Congress and the administration.  This is a place to stand against this never happening again," she said.

Several lawmakers from both parties agreed that the Boston tragedy should unite Americans to prevent attacks in the future. 

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

7 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

8 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

9 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。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。