VOA常速英语2008年-CIA Director Confirms Use of Waterboarding on T

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
05 February 2008

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency has confirmed that his agency used the extreme interrogation technique known as waterboarding on three terrorism suspects nearly five years ago. In testimony¹ to the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday, Michael Hayden urged lawmakers not to place restrictions² on the interrogation methods available to U.S. intelligence agencies, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Director Hayden's testimony was the most detailed³ description to date of the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques.

"In the life of the CIA detention⁴ program, we have held fewer than 100 people," he said. "Fewer than a third of those people have had any techniques, enhanced techniques, used against them in the CIA program."

He confirmed that among those enhanced techniques used was waterboarding - which induces the feeling of imminent⁵ drowning, and which critics say amounts to torture.

"Waterboarding has been used on only three detainees," he said.

He said those three detainees are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - one of the architects of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, Abu Zubaydah - who is believed to have been a top al-Qaida strategist, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri - who is believed to have played a key role in the bombing of the USS Cole. All three are being held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hayden said waterboarding was used against the three detainees nearly five years ago because of circumstances at the time, including the belief that additional attacks against the United States were imminent.

Hayden defended the CIA's use of extreme interrogation techniques as lawful⁶, and urged lawmakers not to impose restrictions on such methods.

Congress is considering legislation that would restrict the CIA to using only the interrogation techniques authorized⁷ by the U.S. Army's field manual, which does not include waterboarding.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 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

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 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。

5 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。

6 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

7 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。