2006年VOA标准英语-Pentagon Won't Confirm Charge of Iraq Mass

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
18 May 2006

The U.S. Defense¹ Department has refused to confirm or deny a charge by a senior member of Congress, who says an investigation² has concluded that a group of U.S. troops in Iraq killed at least 15 civilians⁴ during an incident last year. The department says the investigation of the incident is still in progress.

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The incident took place last November in the Iraqi town of Haditha. It was first reported several months later, and a preliminary military investigation in February recommended that a formal criminal investigation be launched. Officials say that probe is still underway.

According to the military, 15 Iraqi civilians died in the incident as a result of an explosion caused by an insurgent⁵ bomb, what the military calls an IED, or Improvised⁶ Explosive Device, that had also killed one of the Marines. Other reports charged that the U.S. Marines on the scene shot the civilians to retaliate⁸ for losing their comrade.

 
Rep. John Murtha  
  
On Wednesday, Representative John Murtha, said the military investigation indicates the Marines did kill the civilians and for no reason.

"There was no firefight," he said. "There was no IED that killed these innocent people. Our troops over-reacted because of the pressure on them. And they killed innocent civilians in cold blood."

Congressman⁹ Murtha also said the civilian³ death toll¹⁰ was 24, not 15 as the Marines first reported. Murtha is a former Marine⁷, a respected expert on defense issues and a strong supporter of the military. Six months ago he called for the Bush administration to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq quickly.

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to confirm or deny Murtha's claims about what the military investigations¹¹ have discovered.

 
Bryan Whitman 
  
"On the recommendation of the investigating officer, a criminal investigation was initiated," he said. "That criminal investigation is still ongoing¹². Because of that, it would be premature¹³, and in my mind irresponsible, to judge any individuals or units until the investigation is completed."

The spokesman could not say when the second investigation might be completed, but he pledged that if there was wrongdoing the people involved will be punished.

"If somebody has done something wrong, they will be held accountable for those actions," he said.

The unit that was involved in the incident has since returned to the United States. The Marines say three officers who were involved have been relieved of command duties pending¹⁴ the results of the criminal investigation.

U.S. forces are accused of abusing their firepower from time to time, and sometimes the charges are proved. But Whitman said the vast majority of U.S. troops follow the rules, even under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances.

"All of our service-members deployed¹⁵ are held to an extraordinarily¹⁶ high standard of conduct, a standard that is being met every day," he said.

Whitman says the report of the initial investigation will not be made public, at least for now, but he said further information will be made available once the criminal investigation is finished, including any possible indictments¹⁷ of military personnel.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

6 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

9 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。

10 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

11 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。

12 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。

13 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

14 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

15 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

16 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

17 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网