MEGYN KENDALL, FOX HOST: If he is telling the truth, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was planning a truly devastating series of attacks when he was arrested back in 2003. According to him, he was plotting to destroy the Empire State Building, the New York Stock Exchange and the Panama Canal. He also says he was trying to kill presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as Pope John Paul II. But can these claims be believed? Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina joins us now live from Capitol Hill. Hello, Senator. Thanks for being with us. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good morning. KENDALL: OK. So here's the first question: Can these claims be believed? GRAHAM: I think we can believe the claim about 9/11. I can assure you that happened, and everybody in America knows it happened and the families know it happened. He listed a long list of terror enterprises that go back over a decade. Yes, I think we can believe that he considers us the enemy, that he considers anyone who disagrees with him religiously the enemy. I think we would be stupid not to believe that we're at war with these people. He is not a criminal; he's a warrior who's committed criminal acts. He should be treated as an enemy combatant, someone who's at war with the United States. And if we don't believe Al Qaida and their agenda, we do so at our own peril. It's time to wake up and realize that we are in a global war. They've been at war with us a lot longer than we've been at war with them, and we need to get with it and win this war. And he's in the right place -- a military prison. He should never be in a federal court or a federal civilian prison. He needs to be in a military court and a military prison. KENDALL: Senator, do you see this -- I mean, if you actually believe that he was planning on committing all of these atrocities, I mean, is this, is this -- what kind of a testament is this to the efforts of U.S. intelligence and anti-terror forces? GRAHAM: The only thing that one would question -- is he trying to embellish his role in Islamic jihadist history. I do believe that the details he's provided us will be corroborated. What it tells us -- that he has been at war with us and the Al Qaida network has been at war with us for a decade. And what did they say will happen next? They want to win in Iraq, drive us not just out of Iraq, but the Mideast; topple every moderate government in the Mideast. Set up a religious theocracy cruel in nature in Baghdad in the Iraq region and eventually destroy Israel. So this should be a wake-up call. We should understand that the intelligence agents who have captured this man, the military members who are detaining him, are doing us a great service; that we need the ability to interrogate in an effective manner people like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. And they ought to be in a military prison, not a civilian prison. KENDALL: Right. And on that score -- I mean, obviously, these admissions were made in the context of him defending his label of being an enemy combatant, and now the next step is a trial. What now for him? What do you expect is going to happen to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed now? GRAHAM: I think that based on the record that there will be a solid case that he is an enemy combatant, not a common criminal, but somebody who's at war with the United States, who has planed attacks against the United States in a military fashion with a military objective, who operates out of uniform; that the definition of enemy combatant used at Guantanamo Bay fits him to a tee. And the next thing awaiting him would be a war crimes trial, because the activity that he has confessed to is illegal activity under the law of armed conflict. I've been a military lawyer for 20-something years. We're at war, and the body of law we should apply to these people is the law of armed conflict, not domestic criminal law. So I expect him to be tried. KENDALL: It's pretty amazing that somebody like that in the United States of America gets even those rights, right, Senator? Thanks so much for being with us this morning. GRAHAM: Thank you.

Wes Hickman (202) 224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) yesterday voted against the 9/11 Commission bill because of Senate Democrats insistence on adding a provision allowing workers for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to unionize. The unionization proposal was not included in the 9/11 Commission Report. The vote in the Senate was 60-38. The legislation will now go to conference with the House of Representatives. "This provision is the Democrats political payback for union support during the last election," said Graham. "It is an irresponsible position to take when it comes to our national security." Graham noted that after the United Kingdom air bombing plot was stopped, TSA changed the nature of employees' work and even the location of their work to respond to these emergencies. They also implemented new operating procedures within hours to deal with the new threat. "President Bush has threatened a presidential veto, a position which I strongly support," said Graham. "Flexibility is a key component in helping protect and secure Americans when they travel. The unionization proposal will not help make America safer." ######

Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON-  U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint today announced nearly $975,000 in competitive scientific research grants for Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.

Clemson
Clemson University will receive $375,000 for a project entitled “Inverted Colloidal Crystal Membranes.”

USC Research Foundation
USC Research Foundation will receive $400,000 for a project entitled “CAREER: Quantifying the Importance of Friction in the Rheology and Structure of Dense Colloidal Dispersions,” and $199,431 for “Developing an Engineering Environment for Fostering Effective Critical Thinking Through Measurements.”
 
All of the grants were awarded by the National Science Foundation.

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Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint today announced more than $790,000 in grants to fire departments in Beaufort, Blacksburg, Daufuskie Island, Gaffney, Greenwood, Jenkinsville, and Union.

“Firefighters and emergency service personnel dedicate themselves to protecting the health and safety of South Carolinians,” said Graham.  “These grants will help our local fire departments by providing them the means to obtain the best equipment and training available.”

“South Carolina's firefighters risk their lives to protect our families each day and I'm proud they have been awarded these competitive grants,” said Senator DeMint.

The grants were awarded in one of two program areas:

Operations and Firefighter Safety Program: The funds may be used for training, wellness, and fitness programs; the purchase of firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment; and modifications to fire stations and facilities.

Firefighting Vehicle Acquisition Program: The funds may be used for the purchase of firefighting vehicles including pumpers, brush trucks, tankers, rescue vehicles, ambulances, quints, aerials, foam units, and fireboats.

The grants awarded include:

Beaufort
Beaufort Fire Department will receive a $72,637 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Blacksburg
Blacksburg Fire Department will receive a $105,963 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Daufuskie Island
Daufuskie Island Fire District will receive a $42,180 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Gaffney
Gaffney Fire Department will receive an $85,271 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Grassy Pond Volunteer Fire Department will receive a $66,415 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Greenwood
Northwest Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department will receive a $62,114 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Jenkinsville
Jenkinsville Monticello Horeb Volunteer Fire Department will receive a $213,864 Vehicle Acquisition Grant.

Union
Cross Keys Volunteer Fire Department will receive a $37,193 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

Winnsboro
Fairfield Community Volunteer Fire Department will receive a $106,146 Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant.

The Assistance to Firefighters grant program awards one-year grants directly to local fire departments, enhancing their ability to respond to fire and fire-related hazards in the community.  The program supports departments by providing them the tools and resources necessary to protect the health and safety of the public and their firefighting personnel. 

Grantees share in the cost of the funded project at a percentage based on the population of their respective jurisdiction.  Grantees that serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or fewer residents are required to provide a non-Federal cost-share of 10 percent while grantees that serve jurisdictions of over 50,000 provide a 30 percent cost-share.  The match must be in cash without the use of in-kind contributions.   In addition, the maximum amount of federal funds that an applicant can be awarded is $750,000 during any fiscal year.

The grants are made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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