人权组织呼吁美国公布无人机攻击细节

AS IT IS 2016-06-06 Release Details About Drone Strikes, Groups Say 人权组织呼吁美国公布无人机攻击细节

Rights groups are calling on the United States to release details about its secretive drone attacks around the world.

A recent U.S. drone strike in Pakistan led to the calls for more transparency. The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban was killed in that attack.

In the past, U.S. drone aircraft have hit terrorist targets in Yemen and Somalia.

Rita Siemion is with the group Human Rights First. She says the U.S. government should establish clear policies and provide real numbers on all its drone attacks.

“And, ‘Just trust us. We have high standards. We are doing the best that we can,’ really isn’t enough.”

The administration of President Barack Obama has promised to provide this kind of information in a report soon.

The report is expected to list the number of combatants and civilians² killed in U.S. drone strikes since 2009. It will not have information from active battle areas like Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

President Obama’s spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters in March the report represents a big step forward for transparency.

“We wouldn't even acknowledge publicly that these things were taking place. So the fact that we’re now in a position on a regular, routinized basis to publish the results and to quantify the totals about the impact of these operations -- I do think represents substantial progress in the direction of transparency.”

But Human Rights First and other critics of the drone policy believe it is not enough to just list the number of deaths and injuries. They say administration officials should also explain how they collected the data and how they define terms used in the report.

John Hannah worked as an adviser³ to two U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He says the drone program is not the best way to deal with terrorists.

“The Obama administration has almost completely foregone an effort to capture and detain and get intelligence from these terrorists. Instead, it has universally decided⁴ it’s going to be the judge, jury and executioner.”

Hannah does believe drone strikes can be effective in some areas. He noted⁵ countries such as Yemen and Pakistan, where the governments have not aggressively fought terrorists.

Hannah also said drone attacks do reduce the number of civilian¹ casualties compared to conventional military conflict. The answer, he said, is to create safeguards for accountability, while balancing national security, transparency, and the rule of law.

“Ensure that we are doing everything possible to find the right balance that ensures American security, and yet at the same time, ensures that we are not crossing that line into becoming a lawless nation.”

Words in This Story

drone – n. unmanned aircraft or ship guided by remote control

transparency – n. the state of being transparent⁶

combatant – n. person or nation engaged in fighting during war

quantify – v. calculate the quantity of something

data – n. facts or information

forgo⁷ – v. to give up

conventional – adj. used and accepted by most people

accountable – adj. required to explain actions or decisions

ensure – v. make certain that something will happen

1 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。

2 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。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。