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intelligence

Page history last edited by Mike 12 years, 4 months ago

Governor Mitt Romney and Intelligence

In addition to his work on the Olympics, he has served on the federal Homeland Security Advisory Council, chairing its working group on intelligence and information sharing.

 

  • "When it comes to protecting our citizens, there is no place for political correctness. We should be doing more in terms of intelligence and counterterrorism in the state to protect ourselves from terrorists. We spend a lot of our resources thinking about response, but response can't protect us. We have to be able to prevent attacks."
  • “It is physically impossible to protect all targets that a terrorist might attack. The biggest lesson we learned from the September 11th tragedies is that intelligence sharing between our local, state, and federal law enforcement officials is absolutely necessary to the security of our nation and the citizens of the Commonwealth.”
  • "There were far more intelligence teams safeguarding the Olympics than there are in Massachusetts for a year."
  • “A key part of our homeland security efforts rests on the state’s ability to collect and analyze information on potential threats,” said Romney. “By putting more money into intelligencegathering, we’ll give the State Police the tools they need to be more effective.”
  • "The threat of modern terrorism poses new challenges for law enforcement across Massachusetts and around the nation," said Romney. "These new homeland security funds will allow Bay State communities to work as a coordinated force to collect, analyze and distribute critical terrorism related intelligence and act when necessary."

 

Additional Information

 

2007

  • 01-23-07; Excerpts from Governor Mitt Romney's Remarks at the Seventh Annual Herzliya Conference

 

2006

  • 09-05-2006; ROMNEY DENOUNCES KHATAMI VISIT TO HARVARD, Declines to provide escort, or offer state support for trip

 

  • During Khatami’s presidency, Iran refused to hand over the Iranian intelligence officials who were responsible for the attack on the Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. military personnel.
  • ``Well, I think it shows a complete lack of understanding of the kind of enemy that we're facing. This is not a small group of whackos in the hills that all we have to do is go find one person and it suddenly goes away. This is, instead, a movement. It's a jihadist movement. It's an extreme wing of Islam. It includes people, hundreds of thousands, potentially millions of people throughout the world that are intent on bringing down America, bringing down civilization as we know it. It's going to be a long-time fight against these people. And that's why the president has called it a war. Iraq is one front in that war. And there will be other fronts in this war, I'm sure. But the idea that somehow if we just go home and sit back quietly that it'll all go away is just pollyannish and not realistic. After all, what did we do to deserve 9/11? They attacked us also on the USS Cole, they attacked our embassies and we sat back and negotiated."
    • Governor Mitt Romney, August 11, 2006 on MSNBC
  • Proposing that we negotiate with terrorist regimes like Syria and Iran — without a rigorous analysis of how our incentives could ever be aligned — is just counter-productive. I have no quarrel with talking, especially if it yields valuable intelligence and insight about an adversary. But that’s a far cry from actually negotiating with Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, has nuclear ambitions, and has been clear in its intention to wipe our ally Israel off the map. And Syria is systematically undermining the sovereignty of Lebanon and funding and arming terrorists. Any suggestion that we might trade something for their help or forbearance is out of the question. When considering a negotiation, one must ask what kind of leverage we have, and recognize that there are situations where we have more to lose than gain by negotiating.
    • Governor Mitt Romney, 12-14-2006 A Primary Factor, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in an exclusive pre-Christmas 2006 interview, An NRO Q&A
  • "During Khatami’s presidency, Iran refused to hand over the Iranian intelligence officials who were responsible for the attack on the Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. military personnel."
    • 09-05-2006; ROMNEY DENOUNCES KHATAMI VISIT TO HARVARD, Declines to provide escort, or offer state support for trip

 

2005

  • 05-11-2005, ROMNEY UNVEILS COMMONWEALTH'S ANTI-TERROR FUSION CENTER
  • 05-24-2005, ROMNEY FILES 'MASSACHUSETTS GI BILL,' PUSHES FOR BETTER SOLDIER BENEFITS
  • 08-26-2005, ROMNEY EXTENDS SUPPORT TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ON MILITARY DUTY
  • 09-07-2005; Homeland Security: Status of Federal, State, and Local Efforts 
  • 11-11-2005, ROMNEY SIGNS LEGISLATION EXPANDING MILITARY BENEFITS

 

    • “Soldiers willingly sacrifice to protect and defend our freedoms. We can do our part by honoring their hard work, commitment and sacrifice by passing the Massachusetts GI Bill.”
      • Governor Mitt Romney, 05-24-2005 Press Release 
    • "How many individuals are coming to our state and going to (academic) institutions who have come from terrorist-sponsored states? Do we know where they are? Are we tracking them? How about people who are in settings--mosques, for instance--that may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror. Are we monitoring that? Are we wiretapping? Are we following what's going on?"
      • Governor Mitt Romney, September 2005 Heritage Foundation Address 
    • "From the day that the colonists in Massachusetts took up their arms to secure their liberty to the present day, Americans have had to fight to protect the freedom that makes our country great," said Romney. "The men and women who have volunteered and who are now serving our country in the global war on terror deserve our support."
      • Governor Mitt Romney, 08-26-2005 Press Release 
    • “Our men and women in uniform carry on a brave and noble tradition of service to their state and country. They sacrifice much through their service, and I’m pleased that through this package of benefits our state has properly recognized all that military families do to keep us safe.”
      • Governor Mitt Romney, 08-26-2005 Press Release 
    • "The president is right to point to an international jihadist movement aimed at the collapse of the United States. He has gone after that threat in the right way and with great energy and vigor, and I applaud the fact that he has taken it on very seriously and has not considered it just a criminal action but instead a war action, which requires a military . . . response."
      • Governor Mitt Romney, Interview with James Taranto (December 2005) 

     

    2004

    • 01-29-2004; ROMNEY’S BUDGET PUMPS UP ANTI-TERRORISM FUNDING
    • 03-09-2004, ROMNEY ANNOUNCES $45 MILLION TO FIGHT TERRORISM
    • 10-20-2004, ROMNEY UNVEILS FIRST-IN-THE-NATION TAMPER-RESISTANT LICENSE
    • 05-04-2004, ROMNEY LAUNCHES ANTI-TERROR INITIATIVE ON RAIL LINES
    • 05-24-2004; Grading Progress on Homeland Security: Before and After 9/11 

     

      • “We want to reinforce the message that an informed, vigilant public is the best defense against terrorism. The bottom line is, if you see something, say something. By working as partners, we can win the war on terror and help create a safer, more secure Commonwealth.”
      • “In Massachusetts, a license to drive shouldn’t become a license to steal or commit mayhem.”
      • “When it comes to homeland security, our new driver’s license is only as good as the issuance process beneath it. That’s why we are actively developing ideas and technology to thwart the potential of terrorist activity.”
        • Governor Mitt Romney, 10-20-2004 Press Release 

       

      2003

      • 05-15-2003; INVESTING IN HOMELAND SECURITY: CHALLENGES FACING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 
      • 06-17-2003; “First Responders: How States, Localities and the Federal Government Can Strengthen Their Partnership to Make America Safer” 
      • 11-28-2003, ROMNEY LENDS A HAND TO STATE EMPLOYEES ON MILITARY DUTY
      • 11-14-2003, ROMNEY PROCLAIMS SUPPORT OF THE GUARD AND RESERVE WEEK

       

      • “Through their service, National Guard and Reservists play an important role in our efforts to advance democracy, peace and freedom across our nation and around the world. This week, we ask employers to recognize their sacrifice and commitment.”
      • "I support our troops overseas and recognize that families across Massachusetts are making sacrifices by having their loved ones away defending our nation. We don’t want them to also worry about paying their bills. This will help ease that burden for state employees."

       

      ROMNEY: Well, I don't think we did an adequate job explaining to the American people all the reasons for entering Iraq. There were obviously intelligence failures. I think the prison abuse scandal is something which has been unfortunate.

       

      I think also that we haven't had sufficient troops following the period of major conflict, and so those are not new or novel observations. I think the president would agree there's a benefit that comes with hindsight.

       

      And yet I supported the president at the time that he entered into Iraq and believed that he had the kind of information he needed to have to make that decision.

       

      “It is physically impossible to protect all targets that a terrorist might attack,” said Romney. “The biggest lesson we learned from the September 11th tragedies is that intelligence sharing between our local, state, and federal law enforcement officials is absolutely necessary to the security of our nation and the citizens of the Commonwealth.”

       

      The fusion center was first proposed by Romney in 2003, and is based on lessons learned from successful infiltration of terrorist organizations in the United Kingdom and Israel. Its core mission will be to facilitate critical and timely information sharing from the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to municipal police, fire and emergency response agencies. Massachusetts will be the only functioning fusion center in New England; currently New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Iowa, Arizona, and California have fully operational centers.

       

      [Grading Progress on Homeland Security: Before and After 9/11]

      Terror

      Terrorism

      National Security

       

       

      MATTHEWS: Well, there‘s the tough stuff, because, as you know, you‘ve got to make decisions regarding civil liberties and national security which often come in conflict. How do we really do a great job of surveillance if we have people who are very concerned in this country about the Fourth Amendment and other guarantees of our freedom?

       

      ROMNEY: Well, of course, we have to respect our Constitutional guarantees of freedom, recognize that the most important civil right we have is the right to life. And we need to make sure that our citizens are protected and don‘t lose their lives by virtue of not having done an effective job to survey those who would attack us.

       

      Fortunately, in Great Britain, they have a very tough Patriot Act equivalent which allows them to do the kind of surveillance that identifies this plot before five or 10 aircraft end up killing all on board.

       

      That‘s the most important thing that we have to do is to protect our citizens, and we can do it within a constitutional framework that we‘ve come to know and love. But intelligence work and counterterrorism has once again been proven as the only effective way to protect the homeland.


       

       

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