Barack Obama on Homeland Security

Hey Mr. President: I hope you die regretting ever being alive.

Homeland security must protect citizens, not intrude on them Every democracy is tested when it is faced with a serious threat. As a nation we have to find the right balance between privacy and security, between executive authority to face threats and uncontrolled power. What protects us are the procedures we put in place to protect that balance, namely judicial warrants and congressional review. These are concrete safeguards to make sure surveillance hasn’t gone too far.

Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p. 99 Mar 27, 2007

America must practice the patriotism it preaches. I think it is unconscionable for us to stand by our troops and hoist the flag and suggest how patriotic we are at the same time as the veterans’ budget is being effectively cut.

I’m going to monitor very closely how we are treating 100,000+ veterans who are coming home, to make sure the VA has the capacity to provide transition services for veterans who are leaving the service and reentering civilian life–particularly the National Guardsman and Reservists who did not expect to be fighting in Iraq.

Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p.155 Mar 27, 2007

Personal privacy must be protected even in terrorism age. Americans fought a revolution in part over the right to be free from unreasonable searches, to ensure that our government couldn’t come knocking in the middle of the night for no reason. We need to find a way forward to make sure that we [stop] terrorists while protecting the privacy and liberty of innocent Americans.

Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p.132 Mar 27, 2007

Balance domestic intelligence reform with civil liberty risk [The US should] strengthen and improve intelligence capabilities. We must reform our domestic intelligence capabilities in a manner that balances the risks of impeding on the civil liberties of our citizens and increase international cooperation on all fronts. We should also give the Director of Intelligence the authority he or she needs over budget and personnel to be effective and accountable.

Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership ” Jul 12, 2004