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Mitt Romney on Civil Liberties and Domestic Security
"Our president, for all the criticism he receives, has kept America safe these last six years, and he has done it by: One pursuing the Patriot Act, which has given us the intelligence information we needed to find out who the bad guys were and get them out before they got us, and No. 2, when al-Qaida was calling America, he made sure someone here was listening," Romney said. "And No. 3 ... when terrorists were detained, were captured, he made sure we interrogated them."
"If it means we have to go into a mosque to wiretap or a church, then that's exactly where we are gonna go, because we are going to do whatever it takes to protect the American people. And I hear from time to time people say, 'Hey, wait a sec, we have civil liberties to worry about", but don't forget... the most important civil liberty I expect from my government is my right to be kept alive."
"If it means we have to go into a mosque to wiretap or a church, then that's exactly where we are gonna go, because we are going to do whatever it takes to protect the American people. And I hear from time to time people say, 'Hey, wait a sec, we have civil liberties to worry about", but don't forget... the most important civil liberty I expect from my government is my right to be kept alive."
"I want them in Guantanamo where they don't get the access to lawyers they get when they're on our soil. I don't want them in our prisons. I want them there."
2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina May 15, 2007
"My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo."
Q: Recently Sen. McCain has come out against waterboarding as interrogation. My question for the rest of you is, considering Mr. McCain is the only with firsthand knowledge on the subject, how can those of you sharing the stage with him disagree with his position? ROMNEY: "I believe as a presidential candidate it is not wise for us to discuss precisely the methods we will use when interrogating people. I oppose torture, I would not be in favor of torture in any way, shape, or form...I did not say I am in favor of torture and I am not. I am not going to specify the specific means of what is and what is not torture so that the people we capture will know the things we are able to do and the things we are not able to do. "
"Some people have said we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is we ought to double Guantanamo. There's no question that in a setting like that, where you have the ticking bomb, that the President of the United States, not the CIA interrogator, has to make the call and enhanced interrogation techniques have to be used, not torture, but enhanced interrogation techniques yes."