US Lawmakers Criticize Bush Administration Over Intelligence on Syria

美议员批评政府推迟披露叙核情报

　



U.S. legislators of both political parties are criticizing the Bush administration for only recently disclosing intelligence it possessed about an alleged secret Syrian nuclear reactor that Israel bombed last year.

　

美国民主、共和两党国会议员批评布什政府直到最近才披露他们所掌握的有关被指称的叙利亚秘密核反应堆的情报。这个核反应堆去年遭到以色列的轰炸。

Last week, senior U.S. intelligence officials revealed that they have long believed that the facility targeted by Israel was a Syrian reactor designed to produce plutonium that had been constructed with the assistance of North Korea. The revelation took many in Washington and beyond by surprise, and is causing deep concern among Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

　

美国高级情报官员上星期披露，他们一直相信，以色列去年击中的设施是叙利亚的一个核反应堆。这个核反应堆在北韩的帮助下修建，用来生产钚。这个消息让不仅华盛顿的很多人大为震惊，并引发国会共和与民主两党成员的担忧。

A key ally of President Bush on Capitol Hill, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Peter Hoekstra, says last week's briefing by U.S. intelligence officials left him with more questions than answers. Hoekstra voiced his concerns about the Syrian facility on CNN's Late Edition program.

　

布什总统在国会的主要盟友、众议院情报委员会共和党资深议员彼得.胡克斯特拉说，美国高级情报官员上星期的简报，非但没提供答案，反而让他产生更多的疑问。在美国有线新闻网的“最新消息”节目中，胡克斯特拉表示了他对叙利亚核设施的担忧。

"How close was this to being operational? Who funded this for Syria? How close was the North Korean-Syrian cooperation? And where else might North Korea have been involved in proliferation," he asked.

　

胡克斯特拉说：“这个设施是否接近运营？谁为叙利亚提供资金？叙利亚和北韩的合作密切到什么程度？北韩还可能卷入了另外哪些核扩散活动？”

Hoekstra said, had the Bush administration revealed what it knew about the Syrian facility sooner, his committee and other entities could have probed the matter and possibly arrived at answers before now.

　

胡克斯特拉说，如果布什政府更早披露他们所掌握的有关叙利亚核设施的消息，众议院情报委员会和其他机构可能已经调查这起事件，现在有可能已找到了答案。

Hoekstra's words were echoed by a Democratic member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Dianne Feinstein said, not only should the Bush administration have been more forthcoming about the intelligence it possessed on the Syrian facility, the intelligence should have been presented to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

　

胡克斯特拉的话得到了参议院情报特别委员会的民主党籍参议员黛安娜.范斯坦的认同。范斯坦说，布什政府不但应该更加及时披露他们所掌握的有关叙利亚设施的情报，而且应该把情报提交给国际原子能机构。

"I think it should have gone immediately to the IAEA," she said. "That is why the IAEA is there [to investigate]. And by not sharing information immediately, what we do is destroy their verification potential as an independent outside agency."

　

范斯坦说：“我认为，美国当时应立即把这个情报告诉国际原子能机构。国际原子能机构就是为调查这种事情而存在的。由于没有立即和国际原子能机构分享这一情报，美国的做法是破坏国际原子能机构作为一个独立的外界机构进行核实的可能性。”

Feinstein added that she was puzzled by the timing of the Bush administration's release of intelligence on Syria, coming seven months after Israel bombed the suspected nuclear facility.

　

范斯坦议员还说，她对布什政府公布叙利亚情报的时机感到迷惑不解。布什政府是在以色列轰炸叙利亚嫌疑的核设施七个月后才公布这一情报的。

In briefings with the news media, U.S. intelligence officials said the delay in disclosure was motivated by a desire to prevent confrontation and conflict in the Middle East. They said they feared Syria would feel greater pressure to retaliate against Israel for the bombing if U.S. intelligence about the facility had been made public.

　

美国情报部门官员在对新闻媒体的吹风会上说，推迟公布这一消息的动机，是防止在中东地区出现对抗和冲突。他们说，他们担心，如果美国把他们掌握的这一设施的情报公开，会更加迫使叙利亚对以色列的轰炸进行报复。

Syria has steadfastly denied U.S. allegations about the purpose of the facility.

　

叙利亚坚决否认美国对该设施用途的指称。

U.S. intelligence has come under greater scrutiny at home and abroad with many questioning the reliability and accuracy of the information America gathers on its adversaries since the lead-up to the 2003 the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

　

自从美国以其掌握的情报作为在2003年领导进攻伊拉克的理由以来，很多人对美国所收集的敌方情报的可信性和准确性提出质疑。因此，美国的情报在国内外受到了更严格的审查。

At the time, the Bush administration alleged Iraq was actively pursuing weapons of mass destruction. To date, little if any proof has come to light in Iraq that supports the administration's contention, which served as a primary justification for ousting Saddam Hussein.

　

2003年，布什政府指称伊拉克在积极寻求发展大规模杀伤性武器，并以此作为推翻萨达姆.侯赛因的主要理由。然而到目前为止，在伊拉克几乎无法找到任何证据支持布什当局的这一说法。