Feb 03 2010

Graham on Christmas Day Bomber Interrogation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement on reports the Christmas Day Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is now cooperating with the FBI. 

Graham said: 

“I am glad it now appears that Abdulmutallab is cooperating with federal authorities.  However, for the Obama Administration to suggest the practice of providing an enemy combatant with a lawyer upon capture leads to more effective interrogations is ridiculous.  It also ignores the fact that Abdulmutallab’s family was flown from Nigeria to the United States to meet with and encourage him to cooperate.  I dare say it would be unwise to count on future enemy combatants to have sympathetic family members who provide information to our government before an enemy combatant carries out their mission or after they are apprehended.  

“The whole process of criminalizing the war is misguided.  There is a reason why we have never given unlawful enemy combatants legal counsel at the time of capture.  The impact of that decision is that it makes our nation less safe.  It was a mistake to read him Miranda rights after he was apprehended and to suggest otherwise is just political spin.”

 

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