Mitt Romney
Town Hall Meeting
Londonderry, NH 12/17/07
TRANSCRIPT:
AUDIENCE MEMBER: My name is Ray McGovern, I spent 27 years as a CIA analyst. I want to pick up on your comments having to do with Iran. President Bush has now conceded that Iran has stopped its specifically nuclear-related program four years ago. Israeli officials dispute that and disparage the U.S. intelligence upon which it is based. One Israeli official said this morning Israel is not going to let U.S. policy be based on a failed assumption. How do you feel about Israeli officials trying to dictate what U.S. policy should be?
MITT ROMNEY: I don't know if they are trying to dictate what our policy should be, should we dictate what Israeli policy should be. They're entitled to do what they think is right for them as we are for ourselves. I must admit as I read the national intelligence estimate, what struck me was have 16 different intelligence agencies who are saying that Iran continues to develop the material they need, the fuel they need to develop a nuclear weapon. They will have sufficient fuel to develop-have a nuclear weapon by 2009 or 2010. That's pretty soon. Number two they're developing, continuing the ballistic missile technology they would need to launch such a weapon a significant distance. What they said they have high confidence that Iran has stopped doing -- and by the way simultaneously at the time that we invaded Iraq -- they stopped actually building the casement if you will that the bomb would go in. And that's relevant of course but it is also relevant this is a nation that could have a bomb with a matter of two, three or four years. And for that reason I support fully an effort to tighten dramatically the sanctions on Iran. I was at the [inaudible] conference earlier this year in Israel, spoke to people there and said we have to tie sanctions on Iran in such a way they are dissuaded from pursuing a nuclear path. And that means much tougher economic sanctions, tougher diplomatic sanctions -- I would indict Ahmadinejad under the Genocide Convention. And by the way when the former leader of Iran, Khatami, was coming to Massachusetts to speak at Harvard University, that inexplicably I was asked that we provide a state police detail to lead him into the University and I said no way. Absolutely no way are we going to give that kind of a dignitary's welcome to somebody that has been pursuing nuclear technology and so I'd tighten those- I'd tighten those sanctions. I would also market to Iranian people, who I believe less than the extent they can I understand they've shut down cafes in Iran over the weekend, these are nonetheless people who are Internet savvy, there's 75,000 bloggers in Iran. I'd let them understand the perilous course that a nation follows in trying to develop nuclear technology. Right now they have a currency. Their currency note has a nuclear symbol on it. They celebrate nuclear day. They're all very proud to be a nuclear nation. They don't understand becoming a nuclear nation is a source of peril -- not just a source of pride. Because of their fissile material every finds its way into the hands of some group or nation that uses it, they expect the world will not just use it, but also the party that supplied the fissile material. And so it is not a wise thing to put yourself with the circle of suspects when it comes to nuclear material. And so I believe this is an effort to carry out in a much more aggressive way and we have to convince not only our friends in Europe but also our friends in Asia and some of the others that are a little more reluctant than others like Russia and China to join with us and place sanctions on Iran to make sure they are dissuaded from the course which they have launched upon. Because whenever you have a nation that sits on a lake of oil, basically free energy, and they start developing nuclear technology, you know its not just for power.
LABEL: MR NH 12-17 (JC#33) ABC -- ClipA
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