In the search for terrorists, ignore the “old white ladies”
By Brian Yates (09/05/05)
When it comes to transportation security; the Brits get it. We don’t. After being targeted and hit by a group of Muslim terrorists twice in July, they decided to start looking for terrorists – by closely examining the people who look like them.
Meanwhile, back home in New York City, police instituted a policy of random searches on their own subways. Officials proudly claimed they search passengers based on a formula of one out of every five to ten people, depending on foot traffic.
The New York Civil Liberties Union immediately sued the police department, calling the random searches unconstitutional and ineffective. While the constitutional aspects of random searches could be debated by scholars for nights on end, there is no doubt about their ineffectiveness.
If New York – and the screeners at our nation’s airports as well – were serious about protecting passengers from terrorists they ought to can the wasteful idea of random searches and actually institute the one policy that would have caught the London subway bombers and the 9/11 hijackers pre-attack: the preflight/ride frisking of Middle Eastern males.
Call it what you will, but statistics bear me out. The FBI’s list of the top eighteen most wanted terrorists covers Osama, Abdullah, and Ali, but skips over Tom, Dick, and Harry.
Muslim fanatics have declared war on America but liberals forbid us from searching for terrorists based on religion or ethnicity. In a 2002 speech, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta addressed the steps taken by his department since 9/11 in an effort to make our transit system safer. In a seven-page speech, Mineta spent 5 ½ pages outlining his focus on ending racial profiling.
Let me get this straight…in order to make our airlines safer post-9/11, Mineta banned the one practice that would have actually caught the hijackers.
“There are times when race and ethnicity are relevant to law enforcement,” Mineta said. “For instance, when we have information that a crime is being planned.”
What is it about the word jihad that you fail to understand, Mr. Secretary?
Nineteen young Muslim males killed over 3,000 Americans in the worst terrorist attack in our history, young Muslim males blew up portions of the London subway system, and thanks to Al Jazeera of the east, known in some circles as CNN, we are barraged with a constant stream of machine gun-waving Death to America videos from the religion of peace.
Anyone else notice a pattern here?
Frisking my grandmother and probing Al Gore might make some liberals feel warm and fuzzy, but do we want a security force that is sensitive to our feelings or do we want to catch the bad guys before they blow us up.
Across the pond an entirely different attitude is on display. Britain’s Transport Police Chief Constable Ian Johnston told the London Daily Mail after the subway bombings that “We should not waste time searching old white ladies.”
Johnston is not alone. Britain has put many of its Islamic clerics under watch and is preparing to deport any of those who are inciting hatred and violence amongst the Muslim communities. Apparently Tony Blair has realized what Norm Mineta does not: Arabs declaring holy war make race and ethnicity suddenly extremely relevant to law enforcement.
While Britain has Conservative Party member Geral Howarth, who told The Scotsman, “There can be no compromise with these people. If they don’t like our way of life…go to another country, get out.” We have Senator Russ Feingold who is currently busy sponsoring the End Racial Profiling Act.
“The urgency for legislation banning racial profiling is compounded by concerns post-September 11 that racial profiling – not good police work and following up on legitimate leads – is being used against Arab and Muslim Americans,” Feingold harangued from the floor of the Senate.
Actually, Senator, I believe those concerns being compounded since 9/11 are that Muslim fanatics are busy declaring death to America and attempting to act on that premise. While the occasional act of terrorism is executed by a Timothy McVeigh-type, the majority of attacks we face today are carried out by Middle Eastern men. Norm Mineta can focus on stopping my grandmother; I’ll focus on the people who have turned beheading kidnapped civilians into the Arab version of reality TV.
Random searches may make liberals feel good about their own sensitivity, but actually searching Middle Eastern men between the ages of 18 and 50 would make the rest of us feel a whole lot safer.
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