U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Friday evening that the Obama administration should detain Boston suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev as an "enemy combatant," less than two hours after he was caught and arrested by police.
"Now that the suspect is in custody, the last thing we should want is for him to remain silent," the two Senators said in the statement. "It is absolutely vital the suspect be questioned for intelligence gathering purposes. We need to know about any possible future attacks which could take additional American lives. The least of our worries is a criminal trial which will likely be held years from now."
"Under the Law of War we can hold this suspect as a potential enemy combatant not entitled to Miranda warnings or the appointment of counsel. Our goal at this critical juncture should be to gather intelligence and protect our nation from further attacks."
"We remain under threat from radical Islam and we hope the Obama Administration will seriously consider the enemy combatant option."
A person designated as an enemy combatant may be detained for the duration of a conflict. But potentially holding Tsarnaev — an American citizen on American soil — as an enemy combatant would set a huge precedent.
In a statement at the White House late Friday, Obama strongly suggested that his administration would not do so, cautioning against a rush to judgment.
"It is important that we do this right. That is why we have investigations. We relentlessly gather facts. That is why we have courts," Obama said.
Earlier in the day, Graham suggested that if the suspect was captured, the Obama administration should treat him as an enemy combatant:
This post has been updated.
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