VOA标准英语2015--Relatives Baffled as US Guardsmen, Cousin Charged in IS Plot

Relatives Baffled as US Guardsmen, Cousin Charged in IS Plot

JOLEIT, ILLINOIS—

To his sister Manchinique Bates, Hasan Edmonds and his cousin, Jonas Edmonds, were quiet introverts¹.

“They stick to themselves," she said. "They’re funny.  As we would say they are kind of weird².”

But a Department of Justice investigation³ tells another story.

Bringing charges against the two men Thursday, the federal probe says the pair wanted to support the Islamic State militant⁴ group and plotted a terrorist attack on a U.S. military installation in northern Illinois with the intention of killing⁵ dozens.

“It’s shocking that somebody that is within our own ranks would allegedly plan such deeds,” said llinois National Guard Public Affairs Director Lieutenant⁶ Colonel Brad Leighton.

Hasan Edmonds, 22, was a soldier assigned to “Golf” Company of the 634th Brigade Support Battalion⁷. The unit is stationed at the Illinois National Guard Armory⁸ in Joliet, Illinois.

“The 634th is a logistics unit, it’s a brigade support battalion, so they are in the business of transporting and supplying and enabling the forces, combat forces, and that’s the sort of training the unit did,” Leighton said.

Hasan most recently trained with the unit several weeks ago.

The Department of Justice says Hasan planned to provide his cousin Jonas, 29, with a military uniform that would help him gain access to a military installation, where Edmonds would carry out an armed attack.

Leighton says federal officials alerted the National Guard several weeks ago, but waited to act while undercover officers continued their investigation.

“We took very discreet⁹ but concrete steps to ensure that our soldiers and their families were protected,” he said.

Both Hasan and Jonas made an initial appearance in federal court in Chicago, where Leighton says Hasan’s case will proceed, despite his enlistment¹⁰ in the National Guard.

“Because he’s a traditional guard soldier, he is not subject to UCMJ (Uniformed Code of Military Justice) — he would not be unless he was on active duty," he said. "He was not. So this will be tried in the federal court system and we will take permanent action based on the result of that trial.”

In the suburban¹¹ Chicago neighborhood where Hasan lived, his sister tries to make sense of the news. She denies the charges against her brother and cousin.

“I honestly do not feel as if my brother, who is in the U.S. military, but yet leaving the country to join ISIS, that’s ludicrous,” Bates said. “I feel this is some sort of prejudice. Because they choose to worship as Muslims does not make them terrorists to the United States.”

Both men are charged with conspiring¹² to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. If convicted they could face up to 15 years in prison.

1 introverts   

性格内向的人( introvert的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Extroverts tend to lack self-discipline while introverts lack courage. 性格外向的人缺乏自我约束力，而性格内向的人则缺乏勇气。
• I an introvert and introverts get drawn in. 我是个内向的人而且内向是天生的。

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 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。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

7 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

8 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

9 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

10 enlistment   

n.应征入伍，获得，取得

参考例句：

• Illness as a disqualification for enlistment in the army. 疾病是取消参军入伍资格的一个原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One obstacle to the enlistment of able professors was that they had to take holy orders. 征聘有才能的教授的障碍是他们必须成为牧师。 来自辞典例句

11 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

12 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。