The debate about targeted killings of American terrorism suspects overseas

 

This is AS IT IS!  I’m Caty Weaver¹.

On the show today … We talk about the debate in the United States about targeted killings² of American terrorism suspects overseas. The Obama administration is defending its policy after the release of a document that supports such attacks.

We also explore relations, past, present and future, between the United States and Russia. VOA’s Andre de Nesnera spoke³ about the issue with some former American officials. He answers some questions for us.

Three former United States officials recently discussed relations between America and Russia with VOA reporter André de Nesnera. Kelly Jean Kelly has Andre’s report from Washington.

During President Obama’s first administration, efforts to change America’s relations with Russia produced important results. There was a major arms control treaty to reduce the number of long-range nuclear weapons.  

In another example of cooperation, Russia voted at the United Nations for stronger restrictions⁴ on Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. That policy had long been supported by the United States and other western nations, but resisted by Russia.  

William Cohen served as defense⁵ secretary for President Clinton.  He says the international community must continue to pressure the Iranians to give up their nuclear weapons plans.  

“Otherwise we are going to continue to see the kind of instability in the region and questions about whether or not there will be any kind of military action in the future.” 

Experts say another sign of improved relations includes military cooperation.  Russia decided⁶ to let American forces move through the country as they travel in and out of Afghanistan and also provided availability to a Russian military base.    

Former United States National Security Adviser⁷ Brent Scowcroft served in the administration of two presidents. He says Russia and the United States are no longer enemies, as they were during the Cold War.

“If you look around the world, we don’t have areas of inevitable⁸ confrontation⁹ and conflict either with the Russians or with the Chinese. And we have to try to take advantage of that.”

Russia and the United States remain divided on several issues, including the crisis in Syria. The Obama Administration has called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign. But Russia has objected to a change in leadership.  

Another disagreement concerns the Obama Administration’s plan to deploy¹⁰ a missile defense in Europe. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of repressing civil society. Critics say the Obama Administration has not condemned¹¹ this strongly enough. One of those critics is John Bolton, former United States ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of George W. Bush.  

“It’s a measure of Putin’s confidence that he can basically act without fear of retaliation¹² from the United States. That has helped embolden¹³ him to crack down: crack down on political dissents¹⁴, crack down in the economic sphere, really trying to establish authority - not in a communist sort of way, but in the traditional fashion of a very, very strong central government.”

It will be interesting to see if during his second term in office, President Obama spends as much time on relations with Russia as he did during his first term. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Andre de Nesnera agreed to join us in the studio to answer some more questions.

“Hello, Andre.”

“Hi Caty.”

“So you talked to John Bolton and he said the Obama administration isn’t doing enough to affect President Putin’s crackdown on civil liberties, free expression, political dissent¹⁵. And I was wondering if you could comment on what the Obama administration is doing. What steps it is taking.”

“Now one has to remember that John Bolton is from the other side the political spectrum¹⁶ being a Republican former Ambassador to the United Nations. He has a stake, if you will, in criticizing the Obama administration.”

“But having said that, I’ve been following the Soviet¹⁷ Union and Russia for many, many years now, and when I compare the way the US is handling the whole issue of human rights, now and then, there is a difference. The big difference is that when the Soviet Union was part of the global world, at every step of the way, whether there were negotiations¹⁸ between the United States and the Soviet Union on other issues, human rights always came up. The United States always brought up human rights.”  

“And it seems that now that Russia is a democratic, or moving towards a democratic government, there is less of that. Remember, we are having a new secretary of state, John Kerry, who just took over a few days ago and he has stated that human rights will be an important part of going forward in US and Russian relations. The Russians will always say you are interfering¹⁹ in internal affairs, but the United States, I think, will be a stronger advocate for human rights.” 

“So John Kerry may change the approach?” 

“May change the approach or may suggest to the president to change the approach.” 

“Well, thank you very much.” 

“ My pleasure.” 

You are listening to AS IT IS. 

The Obama administration is defending its policy of targeted attacks on Americans overseas suspected of terrorist involvement. The defense comes after the release of a Justice Department memo²⁰. As we hear from Steve Ember, the document justifies²¹ the attacks as part of America’s war on terrorism. 

Attorney General Eric Holder²² defended the policy in a meeting with reporters earlier this week. 

“(Our) primary concern is to keep the American people safe, but to do so in a way that is consistent with our laws and consistent with our values.”

But the appearance of the document has raised concerns about the policy in Congress. Among those concerned about the administration’s justification²³ is Congressman²⁴ Jim Moran, a member of the president’s party.

“I think we have come right up to the edge of a serious threat to Americans’ civil liberties. What troubles me is that there is no judicial²⁵ review.”

Legal experts say the Justice Department memo suggests a wider definition of an imminent²⁶ terrorist threat. Jeffrey Rosen teaches law at George Washington University. 

“One of the most troubling aspects of the Obama administration’s legal analysis is its vast expansion of the idea of what kind of imminent threat can justify²⁷ a targeted assassination²⁸.” 

Concerns about targeted killings grew after a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. That attack killed two Americans whom officials said were involved in terrorist activities. 

Presidential spokesman Jay Carney says the use of drone aircraft to target American terrorism suspects is legal, ethical²⁹ and wise. He notes that Congress has approved of the war against al-Qaida. He says it is being carried out in a way consistent with the Constitution. 

I’m Steve Ember. 

And that’s AS IT IS for today.

I’m Caty Weaver. 

Tell us what you want to hear about on our new show. We want to cover the issues and ideas that matter to you, in your world, as it is.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

10 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

11 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。

12 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

14 dissents   

意见的分歧( dissent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even his dissents were widely quoted, and some prompted legislative changes. 甚至他那些异议也被广泛引用，而且有的还促成了法律上的修改。

15 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

16 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

17 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

18 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。

19 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

20 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

21 justifies   

证明…有理( justify的第三人称单数 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护）

参考例句：

• Their frequency of use both justifies and requires the memorization. 频繁的使用需要记忆，也促进了记忆。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• In my judgement the present end justifies the means. 照我的意见，只要目的正当，手段是可以不计较的。

22 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

23 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

24 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。

25 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

26 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

27 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

28 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

29 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。