# Finding a quote:  'Protect Freedom'

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-a-quote-protect-freedom/84627>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 30, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-a-quote-protect-freedom/84627 "2001-09-30T14:55:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![urban1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d07c76/32.png) [@urban1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-a-quote-protect-freedom/84627/1 "2001-09-30T14:55:44Z")

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I’m trying to find the source of a quote I believe I saw posted here. It is something similar to: ‘In order to protect freedom, it was necessary to destroy it.’

I’ve done a cursory Google search, with no positive results.

Any quotesmiths out there?

Thanks,

Bob.

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [September 30, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-a-quote-protect-freedom/84627/2 "2001-09-30T15:25:24Z")

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That sounds like a paraphrase of the Vietnam era statement,  
“In order to save the village, we had to destroy it.” (that was an actual quote from a colonel after a firefight around 1966).