Interrogation at sea skirts Obama pledge
Graham says fear of using Gitmo subverts 'what's best for the country'
The Obama administration, which refuses to send terrorism suspects to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, on Wednesday defended its decision to interrogate a detainee for two months aboard a U.S. Navy ship, outside the reach of American law.
"He was detained lawfully, under the law of war, aboard a Navy ship until his transfer to the U.S. for prosecution," presidential spokesman Jay Carney said.
But a leading critic of the administration's handling of detainees, Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said the episode demonstrates the problems with Mr. Obama's aversion to holding suspects at the center in Cuba.
"They are so afraid to use Gitmo that they are basically making decisions around not having to use Gitmo, rather than what's best for the country," Mr. Graham said in an interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Times. "What's best for the nation is to treat these foreign fighters as enemy combatants."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/6/lindsey-graham-obama-interrogation-terror-suspect/
Graham says fear of using Gitmo subverts 'what's best for the country'
The Obama administration, which refuses to send terrorism suspects to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, on Wednesday defended its decision to interrogate a detainee for two months aboard a U.S. Navy ship, outside the reach of American law.
"He was detained lawfully, under the law of war, aboard a Navy ship until his transfer to the U.S. for prosecution," presidential spokesman Jay Carney said.
But a leading critic of the administration's handling of detainees, Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said the episode demonstrates the problems with Mr. Obama's aversion to holding suspects at the center in Cuba.
"They are so afraid to use Gitmo that they are basically making decisions around not having to use Gitmo, rather than what's best for the country," Mr. Graham said in an interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Times. "What's best for the nation is to treat these foreign fighters as enemy combatants."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/6/lindsey-graham-obama-interrogation-terror-suspect/