2006年VOA标准英语-US Government Seeks Way Forward for Guantanamo

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
29 June 2006

In the wake of Thursday's Supreme¹ Court ruling, U.S. officials are working to find a new way to determine the future of the approximately 450 men held at the Guantanamo Bay detention² facility. The Court ruled that the government's procedure for trying detainees in special Military Commissions is not valid³.

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The Supreme Court's decision says the commissions are not valid because they do not follow procedures specifically authorized⁴ by the congress. That leaves open the possibility that the congress could pass a law establishing a new procedure for trying the detainees.
 

President Bush  
  
Speaking shortly after the ruling was handed down, President Bush indicated that was his preliminary understanding.

"As I understand it, now please don't hold me to this, that there is a way forward with military tribunals, in working with the United States Congress," said President Bush. "As I understand it, certain senators have already been out expressing their desire to address what the Supreme Court found. And we will work with the congress. I want to find a way forward."

Republican Senator John Warner is among those who have said they want the congress to develop a law that would create a legal process for the detainees. 

John Warner (file photo)   
  
"We'll look at other means to provide them justice under our laws and international law," said John Warner. "We might look to the federal system and other means by which to provide that."

The chairman of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter, says he already has legislation ready to provide the legal framework for the Guantanamo military commissions to resume, and he will begin the process of enacting⁵ that law next month.

Human rights groups and some detainee lawyers say the only proper way to try the cases is in the regular U.S. courts. But the administration and some members of congress have rejected that approach, saying the crimes are too serious and some of the evidence must be kept secret to protect intelligence sources.

Legal experts say that is one of the key issues because an existing law provides Geneva Convention protections to people brought before U.S. military courts. Law Professor Philip Heymann at Harvard University says it may be politically difficult for members of congress to change that.

"Nobody's in a big hurry to vote that, yes, you can execute someone without telling them on what basis you found them guilty," said Philip Heymann. "You put senators and congressmen in the position of choosing publicly between very offensive things."

Professor Heymann also says Thursday's Supreme Court decision could call into question other steps the administration is taking that it says are authorized by the congressional vote that approved the invasion of Afghanistan. He says in addition to the military tribunals, some could argue that the administration's tapping of international phone calls and monitoring of international financial transactions are also not authorized.

The Defense⁶ Department established the Military Commissions as a way to deal with the cases of the allegedly most dangerous detainees. So far, 10 men have had cases against them filed with the tribunals, with four more designated for indictment⁷. All of those cases are now apparently⁸ invalid⁹. A senior administration official estimated Thursday that eventually between 40 and 80 detainees could be indicted¹⁰.

Officials have said they expect that most of the Guantanamo detainees will be released without having any charges filed, and indeed hundreds have already been released. In addition, about one hundred more have been approved for release and are awaiting the outcome of negotiations¹¹ with their home countries, or other countries, to ensure they have a safe place to go.

But until those detainees can be released, along with any others that may be freed by an ongoing¹² review process, and until decisions are made on how to proceed with the allegedly most dangerous detainees, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says the Guantanamo detention center must remain open.

"Guantanamo serves as an important detention and intelligence facility," said Bryan Whitman. "These are dangerous people. Many of them have vowed¹³ to go back to the battlefield if they were released. And it serves as a place where we're able to learn about terrorist networks, their operations, their activities. It enables us to thwart¹⁴ future attacks."

Officials say even four years after some of the detainees were captured, they continue to provide useful intelligence.

Human rights groups and others have criticized the very existence of the Guantanamo detention center, and claim detainees have been abused there. They hailed Thursday's ruling as a victory.

But officials noted¹⁵ Thursday that the Supreme Court decision does not affect the president's authority to detain enemy combatants for the duration of the war on terrorism, nor does it question the legality of the detention center at Guantanamo.

Officials also say the detainees are held in humane¹⁶ conditions. Still, to protest their continued detention, about a dozen prisoners rioted last month, and three committed suicide earlier this month.

The detainees' cases are reviewed annually¹⁷ to determine whether it is safe to release them. That review process is expected to continue, while the tribunals for those who have been charged with specific crimes will not, at least for now.

One result will likely be more legal limbo¹⁸ for some detainees while they wait for the U.S. government to devise a new way to put them on trial that the Supreme Court can accept.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 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。

3 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

4 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

5 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

6 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。

7 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

10 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

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 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

15 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。

16 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

17 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

18 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。