Month: August 2006

The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.

The system would be much more sophisticated than simply picking out young men of Asian appearance. But it would cause outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks.

“What we don’t want to do is actually alienate the very communities who are going to help us catch terrorists,” he told BBC Newsnight on Monday.

Muhammad Abdul Bari, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, was eager to dispel a siege mentality, saying “If you treat a community as a problem community, you are not going to get support from them.”

Asked what he thought passenger profiling might provoke, he told Sky News: “It could end up in racism unfortunately.”

“If the profiling is done on the basis of race and religion, it will be wrong, it is not going to work.”

In major U.S. airports, guards armed with rifles stood at security checkpoints and passengers were met by signs warning that all liquids were now banned from carry-on luggage. In one terminal at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, security workers opened every carry-on bag and all the flights were delayed.

“It’s better alive than dead,” said Bob Chambers, whose flight from Baltimore to Detroit for business meeting was delayed more than an hour. “It’s inconvenient, but we’ll make it.”

Consider, too, the threat against the U.S. made by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on August 2nd: “Today more than ever, the Muslim peoples are disgusted and furious with the Americans. The Muslim governments, including those governments whose political statements stem from restrictions [that are placed upon them], are disgusted by the insolent and arrogant oppression and are opposed to it. The American regime can expect a resounding slap and a devastating fist-blow from the Muslim nation for its support of the Zionist crimes and criminals, after it has so brazenly violated the rights of the Muslim peoples.”

As the investigation unfolds, it may turn out that Iran has no direct connection to this specific plot. But the threat is real and growing: the forces of radical Islam — many, though not all, driven by Iran — are engaged in a winner-take-all battle to liberate Jerusalem and liquidate Israel (the “little Satan”), and to annihilate the United States (the “Great Satan”). As the war against Israel continues to heat up, we must be especially vigilant for new attacks against America, Americans, and anyone who stands with us and Israel at this time. It is also time for the President and his top advisors to begin asking how much longer the Iranian threat in particular can go unchecked.

The bad news is that Israel’s national leadership has so far managed to take every political and strategic advantage that Israel has, and turn it into an impediment. Today, assuming Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will let us win, what three weeks ago could have been a rapid victory will now be costly and slow. Regionally and internationally, the threats that Israel faces mount by the day. While all eyes are focused on Lebanon, Syria and Iran have both upped the ante. Diplomatically, Israel is a guppy swimming with the sharks. And as the dangers mount, far from learning from their mistakes, Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen Dan Halutz have gone from acting like rookies to acting like amateurs.

And so, as the IDF marches on to an uncertain but still forward marching trumpet, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel’s chief impediment to victory is its government.

As one of the lines in The Copper Scroll says, any effort by Jewish groups to build the Third Temple — or attack the Muslims sites — “could unleash the wrath of a billion Muslims against the tiny State of Israel and instantly obliterate any hope of peace.” (p. 82) Now several Islamic leaders have told Ha’aretz almost the exact same thing: “Extremist Jewish groups may damage the Al Aqsa Mosque. If this were to happen, heaven forbid, it would inflame the region.”