Lindsey Graham at Center of How Bombing Suspect to be Treated

Since the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombings were identified and then, on Friday evening, apprehended, Sen. Lindsey Graham has been at the center of the subsequent legal fight regarding the surviving suspect's standing.

The White House announced on Monday that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would not be treated as an enemy combatant. Unlike his older brother Tamerlan, who was killed on Thursday evening after a firefight with law enforcement, Dzhokhar is an American citizen.

After Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested on Friday evening, Graham took to social media to urge President Obama to treat Tsarnaev as an enemy combatant. On Monday, Graham gave a speech from Washington, DC that outlined his position in more detail (see video above).

Initial reports indicate that the Tsarnaev brothers were not part of a larger terrorist, but did endorse radical Islam.

That is one of the main reasons why Graham believes that the surviving suspect be treated as an enemy combatant. The senator said the United States is at "war and the enemy is radical islam." 

That being the case, American needs to be considered a battlefield, Graham said. 

Graham explained that in these circumstances he believes it is critical to determine what the suspect knows about potential terrorists. 

Graham noted that none of the information gathered could be used in criminal proceedings and stressed the importance of understanding that the matter of the suspect's standing is one instance where the goals of national security outweigh the needs of the criminal.

Graham indicated that he feels that the case sppears to worthy of the death penalty, but it was premature to make any conclusions before the suspect is tried in federal court.

Speaking with reporters after his speech, Graham divulged that the Russians had given the U.S. information in 2011 that the older brother was considered a threat, but he wasn't tracked because his name was spelled wrong.

One reporter tied the case to the recent fight over background checks for guns and Graham answered by saying he did not believe someone on the terrorist watch list should lose his Second Amendment rights. 

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