Gov. Mike Huckabee says London events show value of surveillance

CONCORD, N.H. --Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday the recent arrests in London show the critical importance of surveillance and intelligence gathering in the fight against terror.

British officials arrested 24 people earlier in the day, after uncovering evidence of a plan to blow up 10 aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in carryon luggage.

"It should give some pause to the president's most vocal critics who have said this is unnecessary, to engage in surveillance and to try to really do a thorough job of intelligence gathering. Because clearly, intelligence gathering is exactly what gave the authorities the opportunity to apprehend these people before they were able to carry out their intentions," he said in a phone interview.

Huckabee, a Republican considering a possible run for the presidency, will be in the state through Sunday, speaking at a variety of events.

Domestic surveillance may make some people nervous, he said. "On the other hand, on a day like today, you're kind of glad someone is catching this stuff," he said.

Thursday, Huckabee was on his way to perform with his band "Capitol Offense," at a campaign event for Executive Councilor Ray Wieczorek.

Huckabee, who has played bass guitar since age 11, said he doesn't get much practice time these days but he's played classic rock tunes with this band for about 10 years.

The group has opened for Willie Nelson, the Charlie Daniels Band, Grand Funk Railroad among others, as well as played for two presidential inaugural parties, he said. "We've had a lot of fun."

Huckabee said one of his themes over the next few days will be the problem of political gridlock in Washington, D.C.

"The challenge for the country, at least its government, is that people expect them to get things done," he said.