2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Wants Military Commissions to Try Terror S

By Scott Stearns
White House
09 September 2006 

		President Bush (file photo)

President Bush wants Congress to approve military commissions to try suspected terrorist leaders in U.S. custody¹. The president and opposition² Democrats³ are both addressing national security ahead of Monday's fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

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As Americans prepare to mark that anniversary, President Bush says they remember the brutality⁴ of the enemies who struck, and the nation's resolve to defeat them.

So, the president is asking Congress to approve military commissions to put suspected terrorists on trial.

"As soon as Congress acts to authorize⁵ these military commissions, we will prosecute⁶ these men, and send a clear message to those who kill Americans: 'No matter how long it takes, we will find you and bring you to justice,'" he said.

Among those the president wants tried before the commissions are 14 suspects previously⁷ held in secret by the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Bush publicly acknowledged that previously-classified program this past week, saying those suspects are now being held at the U.S. Naval⁸ base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"This program has been invaluable⁹ to the security of America and its allies, and helped us identify and capture men, who, our intelligence community believes, were key architects of the September the 11th attacks," he said.

Without the knowledge gained from secret CIA interrogations, President Bush says, U.S. intelligence officials believe al-Qaida terrorists would have succeeded in launching another attack inside the United States.

The president used his weekly radio address to recap a series of speeches he has given about terrorism ahead of the September 11th anniversary. Some opposition Democrats say Mr. Bush is politicizing the issue in hopes of helping¹⁰ Republicans in Congressional elections in November.

While public opinion polls show a majority of Americans support the president's handling of the fight against terrorism, they are far less supportive of the war in Iraq, which some Democrats say is a distraction¹¹ from fighting terrorism.

In the Democratic radio address, Ohio Congressman¹² Sherrod Brown criticized the president and Republican leaders in Congress for what he called inaction and delay in failing to better protect America's borders and nuclear facilities.

Brown says it is time to refocus on destroying al-Qaida by stopping what he calls the president's open-ended commitment in Iraq.

"While Iraq was not part of the war on terror before we invaded, it's now a training ground for terrorists and a recruiting tool for the leaders of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations," he said. "Our military readiness has plummeted¹³ to levels not seen since Vietnam, diverted resources from the war on terror and made America less safe."

President Bush says Iraq is the central front in the fight against terrorism. If U.S. troops do not defeat terrorists there, he says, Americans will be forced to fight them at home.

The president and Mrs. Bush will mark the September 11th anniversary by visiting each of the sites where Americans died - the World Trade Center in New York, a field in Pennsylvania where a hijacked¹⁴ jetliner crashed, and the Pentagon outside Washington.

President Bush will then address the nation from the White House in what officials say will not be a political speech, but will instead reflect on what September 11th has meant to the country and its fight against terrorism.

1 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

5 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

6 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

13 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。