美国中情局长指 即使总统下令也不用水刑

AS IT IS 2016-04-12 CIA Director Says No More Waterboarding 美国中情局长指 即使总统下令也不用水刑

The CIA will not use waterboarding to get information from a detainee anymore.

Waterboarding is a method that has been described as torture. It is used to force prisoners to give information.

Usually, the detainee is held down on a board, and water is poured on a cloth covering his face. It makes a person feel like they are drowning.

John Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, says the CIA would not use waterboarding even if a future president ordered the method to be used.

“Absolutely, I would not agree to having any CIA officer carrying out waterboarding again," he said in an interview with NBC News. Part of the interviewed aired Sunday.

Brennan said he would not use the tactics “because this institution (the CIA) needs to endure,” or last.

It was part of a program the CIA used after the 2001 terror attacks.

Waterboarding was done by CIA employees to get information from terror suspects. They hoped to force suspects to reveal information about possible future attacks against the U.S.

President Barack Obama banned the techniques in 2009, calling them torture.

The U.S. Senate released a report in December 2014 criticizing the CIA’s use of the harsh techniques. They include waterboarding; mock, or fake, executions; ice baths; sexual threats; and other methods used against captured al-Qaida members and other militants².

The Senate report said the interrogations using these methods did not produce any intelligence that saved lives.

But after the report’s release, Brennan said that the interrogations had produced intelligence that helped stop attack plans and capture terrorists.

There has been much criticism of waterboarding in the U.S. Critics say the so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” are torture. 

Others defend the program, saying it was necessary for national security.  Former Vice³ President Dick Cheney served under former President George W. Bush. Cheney said they kept the country safe from more attacks. 

Jose Rodriguez ran the interrogation program for the CIA. He said information obtained through the interrogations helped capture Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Mohammed calls himself the architect of the September 11 attacks — the person who planned the attacks. He remains⁴ a detainee at the U.S. military detention⁵ center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Obama had said he would close the prison during his presidency⁶.

The U.S. government has tried to bring some detainees to trial. But legal analysts⁷ say that is made more difficult because some of the prisoners had been subjected to enhanced interrogations, including waterboarding.

Two U.S Air Force psychologists designed the CIA’s program. Now they are facing a lawsuit⁹ filed for three suspected terrorists who were detained, but never charged with crimes.

The ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union, brought the suit last October, saying the psychologists took part in torture sessions that were “unlawful and its methods barbaric.” The case is moving through the courts.

The use of waterboarding is also talked about in the current presidential race.

Last month, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump¹⁰ said he would "use every legal power" to stop terrorists, but would not order the military or others to violate the law. Earlier, he supported going "tougher than waterboarding." 

His closest challenger in the Republican race is Senator Ted⁸ Cruz. He said in February he would bring back "whatever enhanced interrogation methods" are necessary to keep the country safe.”

Words in This Story

interrogation - v. to question someone to get information

reveal - v. to make something known

harsh - adj. tough or severe

technique -n. the way of doing something using special knowledge

tactic¹ - n. a carefully planned action or policy

barbaric - adj. very cruel

interview - n. a meeting at which an individual provides information

1 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 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。

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

9 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。