Massachusetts Governor Suggests Wiretapping Mosques

September 15, 2005

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/09/15/wiretap_mosques_romney_suggests?mode=PF

On September 15, 2005 The Boston Globe reported, "Governor Mitt Romney raised the prospect of wiretapping mosques and conducting surveillance of foreign students in Massachusetts, as he issued a broad call yesterday for the federal government to devote far more money and attention to domestic intelligence gathering.

In remarks that caused alarm among civil libertarians and advocates for immigrants rights, Romney said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation that the United States needs to radically rethink how it guards itself against terrorism.

'How many individuals are coming to our state and going to those institutions who have come from terrorist-sponsored states?' he said, referring to foreign students who attend universities in Massachusetts. 'Do we know where they are? Are we tracking them?.. It is virtually impossible to have a homeland security system based upon the principles only of protecting key assets and response,' he told an audience of about 100. 'The key to a multilayered strategy begins with effective prevention, and, for me, prevention begins with intelligence and counterterror activity.'"