2006年VOA标准英语-US Military Adding New Construction at Gua

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
17 February 2006

 
Camp Six under construction at Guantanamo Bay 
  
A report issued by the UN's Human Rights Commission on Thursday called for the closing of the U.S. military detention¹ center at Guantanamo Bay.  When asked about the report, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that while he does not agree with everything in it, he supports its main conclusions.  Mr. Annan said sooner or later there will be a need to close Guantanamo and it will be up to the U.S. government to do it "as soon as possible."  U.S. Defense² Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indicated on Friday that the facility will not be closed, and he criticized the report for relying on false claims by terrorists.  On a recent visit to the Guantanamo detention center, VOA Pentagon Correspondent Al Pessin found indications that the military has long-term plans for the facility.

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Most of Guantanamo's detainees are in open-air cells made of chain link fence with a metal roof, or simple barracks where up to 10 cooperative men are allowed to live together.  But some are in a new, modern facility that cost more than $30 million to build, and looks like it is there for the long term.

As in any maximum security facility, the outer steel door must be closed and locked before the inner steel door can be opened.

Camp Five Gate at Guantanamo Bay  
  
SERGEANT³: "Welcome to Camp Five.  Here at Camp Five we house high value detainees that have been vetted⁴ by the Interrogation Control element and approved by the Joint⁵ Task Force Commander.  This facility is actually designed based on an existing facility in Indiana."

That is the U.S. Army sergeant who is the senior non-commissioned officer at the new prison building known as Camp Five.  He declined to give his name.

SERGEANT:  "Please don't take any photographs of my control center.  My control center is state of the art.  My control clerks have a touch-screen computer monitor that controls all the doors and gates within the facility.  They also monitor all the security cameras within the camp.  This is a climate controlled environment.  This facility also meets all U.S. standards and codes."

Camp Five is a two-story building surrounded by high fences and barbed wire, with fenced exercise yards nearby.  It can house up to 100 detainees.  And perhaps more important, there is another similar building under construction right next to it that will be known as Camp Six.  The large cranes, hard-hatted construction workers and piles of building material do not look like part of any facility that is going to be abandoned anytime soon.

Secretary Rumsfeld hinted as much in an appearance Friday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

"Every once in a while someone pops up and gets some press for saying, 'Oh, let's close Guantanamo Bay.'  Well, if someone has a better idea, I'd like to hear it," said Mr. Rumsfeld.

A Typical Cell in Camp Five  
  
Secretary Rumsfeld says the men held at Guantanamo must be detained because if they were free they would return to terrorism.  He noted⁶ that 15 of the men who have been released have done so.

However, the military recently decided⁷ it can release or turn over to their home countries 127 of the 496 men held at Guantanamo, and the State Department is working on making arrangements for that.  In addition, the military has started another round of reviews designed to determine whether any more detainees can be released.  Lawyers for the detainees, and human rights activists⁸, say the review process is inadequate⁹ and unfair because no lawyers are involved and military officers make the recommendations, rather than civilian¹⁰ judges.

U.S. officials have also rejected the United Nations report because the authors never visited Guantanamo.  The U.N. investigators¹¹ decided to decline an invitation to visit the base because the military would not let them interview detainees.  In a VOA interview, the commander of the Joint Task Force that holds the detainees, Major General Jay Hood¹², explained why.

"I would have concerns about anybody visiting with the detainees who could then serve as a platform for them to espouse¹³ a vile¹⁴ jihadist rhetoric," said Mr. Hood.  "In other words, I don't think it's appropriate that we would offer them a platform by which to communicate with other terrorists around the world, provide encouragement to this sort of activity, or for that matter encourage any sort of action against U.S. forces around the world.  And there's no question in my mind that some of the men we're holding here would certainly do that if they could."

The U.S. military allows representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to have private meetings with detainees, but that organization keeps its findings confidential¹⁵.

"The International Committee of the Red Cross has access to every detainee here.  They have full access to every one of my camp facilities, all of them," he added.  "They have an opportunity to communicate, in private, with the detainees.  We have an excellent working relationship with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and I have found them very helpful in providing recommendations to us on how we can improve our operation here, how we can provide for safe, humane¹⁶ custody¹⁷ of the men we are holding."

General Hood says the Red Cross has made many recommendations that he has accepted.  He said one had to do with the specific location of something, but he stopped himself from providing details.

"I'd love to discuss this with you.  If I told you, you'd go, 'Of course, that makes perfectly¹⁸ good sense.'  But I'm afraid I'm right on the edge of communicating something that is still considered privileged," he explained.  "What I can tell you is any allegation of mistreatment or abuse are provided to us rapidly, are thoroughly¹⁹ investigated and if any action is required from those, it is taken."

 
Camp Six under construction at Guantanamo Bay
  
The controversy²⁰ over the legality of the detention of Guantanamo's detainees, and the conditions under which they live, will undoubtedly²¹ continue.  The Defense Department says it has made great strides in improving the conditions and treatment of its detainees worldwide following revelations of past abuses.  But it has also made clear that the controversy will not end its operations at Guantanamo, and that the men the U.S. military believes must remain locked behind the double steel doors, will remain there until they are no longer a threat. 

1 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。

2 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。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 vetted   

v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的过去式和过去分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• The recruits were thoroughly vetted before they were allowed into the secret service. 情报机关招募的新成员要经过严格的审查。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All staff are vetted for links with extremist groups before being employed. 所有职员录用前均须审查是否与极端分子团体有关。 来自辞典例句

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 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。

7 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。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

10 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。

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

13 espouse   

v.支持，赞成，嫁娶

参考例句：

• Today,astronomers espouse the theory that comets spawn the swarms.如今，天文学家们支持彗星产生了流星团的说法。
• Some teachers enthusiastically espouse the benefits to be gained from educational software.有些教师热烈赞同可以从教学软件中得到好处的观点。

14 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

15 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

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 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。

18 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

19 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

20 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

21 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。