IN THE NEWS - Spying Limits in U.S. Eased to Fight Terror

IN THE NEWS - June 1, 2002: Spying Limits in U.S. Eased to Fight Terror

By Avi Arditti
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS.

The Justice Department has approved new powers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation¹ to spy inside the
United States.

On Thursday, Attorney General John Ashcroft eased restrictions² on the F-B-I in an effort to prevent terrorist
attacks. The restrictions began in the nineteen-seventies, in reaction to demands for reforms of the agency.

Agents now will have more freedom to gather information from the Internet and
libraries to search for possible terrorists. They will have more power to collect
information on religious and political organizations. The new guidelines will permit
agents to go anywhere the public can go, including religious centers.

Civil rights groups say the changes threaten privacy and free speech rights. The
American Civil Liberties Union says the rewritten guidelines will do little to make
Americans safer, but will make them less free. Muslim groups also expressed
concern.

On Wednesday, F-B-I Director Robert Mueller announced a reorganization of the agency. Mister Mueller said
the first duty of the F-B-I will be to protect the United States from terrorist attack. The F-B-I is hiring more
agents. It also is to work more closely with the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mister Mueller agreed this week that the F-B-I might have had enough information
to lead agents to those involved in the September eleventh terrorist attacks. The
hijacked³ planes crashed into New York City, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

Next week, Congress will begin hearings. There has been criticism that officials
missed warning signs. Last July, an F-B-I agent in Phoenix⁴, Arizona, had urged
headquarters to investigate some Middle Eastern men training at American flight
schools. Agent Kenneth Williams said the men might be linked to Osama bin⁵ Laden⁶.

The F-B-I has also been criticized about the case of the only person charged in the
attacks of September eleventh. Zacarias Moussaoui has been in jail since August. A flight school in Minnesota
had become suspicious of him and called the F-B-I. Officials arrested the French citizen on immigration charges.

Recently, the F-B-I director got a letter from Coleen Rowley. She is a lawyer and F-B-I agent in Minnesota. She
says bureau officials had blocked efforts to further investigate Mister Moussaoui. Officials now believe he was
training to be the twentieth hijacker⁷.

The attacks killed more than three-thousand people, most of them at the World Trade Center. New York City
held a ceremony Thursday at the huge hole known as ground zero to mark the clearing of the ruins.

A truck carried away the last big piece of steel. An emergency vehicle carried an American flag to honor the
victims whose remains⁸ have not been found. Then, as a crowd of thousands watched, firefighters, police officers
and clean-up workers silently marched out in a long line.

This VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS was written by Avi Arditti. This is Steve Ember.

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1 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。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

4 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

5 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。

6 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。

7 hijacker   

n.拦路抢劫者

参考例句：

• We needed a credibIe hijacker who knew the pIane. 也需要一个懂飞机的让人相信的劫机犯。
• I've never heard of a hijacker Ietting passengers deboard before. 以前也从没听说过有劫机犯让乘客离开。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。