Question: Do civil libertarians really want criminals and terrorists to go free?
Answer: Why would we? Civil libertarians suffer just as much as anyone else from crime and terrorism. But we also recognize that the American experiment is based on the idea that it is worth the risk of perhaps having more crime, of perhaps having more terrorism, in order to have a free, open society. Benjamin Franklin summed up the feelings of his fellow patriots when he wrote: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Besides, without civil liberties we face an entirely different set of threats--threats which can potentially become more ominous, and ultimately more destructive, than the darkest schemes of criminals and terrorists. And history has told us that countries that don't respect civil liberties don't generally end up more free of crime and terrorism anyway; if anything, the problems of crime and terrorism become worse due to oppression, corruption, and other contributing factors.
