VOA标准英语2014--US Mission to Nab Benghazi Suspect Draws Fire

 

US Mission to Nab Benghazi Suspect Draws Fire

WASHINGTON — Libyan officials have condemned¹ this week's U.S. operation that nabbed the alleged² ringleader of the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate³ in Benghazi.  As VOA's Aru Pande reports, after the 2011 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin⁴ Laden⁵ in Pakistan, the operation in Libya again raises questions of how far the United States can go to target terror suspects abroad.

The United States did not notify the Libyan government before carrying out the June 14 operation that captured Ahmed Abu Khatallah - allegedly behind the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

And it did not take long for Libyan officials to express anger at the American mission.

"The government condemns⁶ this unfortunate attack on Libyan sovereignty, without prior knowledge of the Libyan government, in a time the city of Benghazi suffers from security disruptions," said Foreign Ministry⁷ spokesman Said al Saoud in Tripoli.

The current security situation, Libyan officials say, made it difficult for Libyan law enforcement to act on their own warrant for Khatallah. They are demanding the Islamist militant's return to Libyan soil for trial.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki rejected that demand Wednesday and said the unilateral operation had been planned for some time.

“It should come as no surprise, given the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2012, that we would take the opportunity to apprehend⁸ this individual and bring him to justice.  And we have long stated that as a priority of the United States,” said Psaki.

Like the May 2011 special forces raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, American officials say Khatallah's capture was undertaken in accordance with the United States' “inherent right to self-defense.”

Daniel Serwer, a conflict management professor at Johns Hopkins University, says it’s a grey area.

“We not only nab people, we kill people in other countries.  And that may be justified⁹ on the basis of self-defense, but I don't think there is much in international law that allows it - what allows it is a lack of full sovereignty,” says Serwer.

And in this case, he says – it was Libya's limited sovereignty, with the country's inability to fully¹⁰ control its own territory or establish law and order.

“The right thing to do is to have the Libyans arrest him and extradite him.  But that's extraordinarily¹¹ difficult for the Libyans.  It's difficult because they don't have the security forces to do it, but it's also difficult politically in the current situation,” says Serwer.

Serwer says the preferred method is for the United States to work with viable¹² states it enjoys friendly ties with.  But as in Pakistan, Yemen, and now Libya - that's not always the case.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

4 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。

5 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。

6 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

9 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

12 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。