Sen. Graham: US will prevail over terrorist ‘bastards’

The United States will prevail over terrorist groups, in part because its enemies are “bastards,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Tuesday.

“I think we can win this war within our days, and we must,” Graham said. “We have a lot going for us that our enemy doesn’t,” he said on Fox News. We’re actually good people, and they’re bastards.”

{mosads}He was speaking hours after Senate Democrats released a report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation practices that found that the agency tortured prisoners and that the harsh tactics were rarely effective.

Graham said Tuesday he understood why individuals might have turned to the controversial tactics.

“The techniques employed after 9/11 were in response to the fear of another attack. So the people who are out there defending nation — who had just been hit hard, and we thought another one was coming our way — and when you roll up these guys, you’re very anxious to get out of them whatever you can to prevent the next attack,” he said. “I understand why people did this.”

Graham said that, while the intelligence community needed more “latitude” in interrogation than troops in the field, waterboarding was not a permissible tactic. The report found that instances of waterboarding were likely more widespread than previously believed.

Republicans have largely slammed the report as partisan. Members of the intelligence community have said the findings will endanger Americans abroad by inciting extremism.

In a statement on Tuesday, Graham said the timing of the report’s release was political. He said, “our enemies will seize upon this report at a critical time.”

“Simply put, this is not the time to release the report,” he added.