Graham: Use ‘Lethal Force’ on American al-Qaida Operative Adam Gadahn

By Meredith Shiner
Posted August 19, 2013 at 1:39pm

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced Monday that Adam Gadahn — an American-born 

— an American-born al-Qaida operative — should be treated as an enemy combatant and should killed or captured by U.S. forces, if necessary.

al-Qaida

Gadahn, an American-born spokesman for the terrorist network, said in a recent 40-minute video that Muslims should band together to attack U.S. diplomats around the world, according to CNN. That clearly set Graham off.

“Adam Gadahn is an American citizen who has aligned himself with Al Qaeda. He should be considered an enemy combatant not a common criminal. And even though he is an American citizen, he should be subject to being killed or captured by our military and intelligence forces. The use of lethal force against Gadahn is appropriate and should be utilized without hesitation,” Graham said in a statement. “Or if captured, Gadahn should not be read his Miranda rights, but held as an enemy combatant under the Law of War for intelligence gathering purposes. As a senior Al-Qaeda operative his deeds and actions put our nation at risk.”

Graham’s statements Monday are consistent with years’ worth of positions on this issue. The South Carolina Republican has long maintained that reading Miranda rights to terrorists is “counterproductive” and

that reading Miranda rights to terrorists is “counterproductive” and more recently he called for the Boston bombing suspect — who is a naturalized citizen — to be detained without being read his rights.

Earlier Monday, Graham sent out the following series of tweets in response to the recent reports about Gadahn.