America: Land of the free? - Not if you're a Muslim.

A recent Cornell University survey found that almost half of all Americans believe that the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. This bigoted, racist attitude is quite simply appalling. It essentially favors racial profiling; yet a recent report by Amnesty International presents strong evidence indicating that racial profiling does not work. Amnesty's report was based on six national public hearings and more than a year of intensive research. The report provides overwhelming evidence indicating that racial profiling is not only ineffective but actually impedes the process of finding the real criminals, encourages hate, and undermines national unity. Just as racial profiling has failed in the "war on drugs," it is likewise doomed to fail in the "war on terror." Proponents of racial profiling might argue that the 9/11 hijackers were all Muslims, and so Muslims are more likely to initiate further terror attacks against Americans and should be scrutinized accordingly. Some call this "hunting where the ducks are." Using that logic, however, why did we not crack down on white, European-American men after Timothy McVeigh blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995? Racial profiling gives terrorists a formula for greater success. It tips off criminal networks about who needs to be recruited in order to be more effective. This is illustrated by the U.S. government's experience in World War II when, despite the massive internments of Japanese Americans and visitors, none of the people convicted of spying for Japan were of Japanese or Asian ancestry. Moreover, the arrests of John Walker Lindh (a white, middle-class male), Jose Padilla (an Hispanic gang member), and Richard Reid (a British citizen of West Indian ancestry) suggest that Al-Qaeda has already been successful in recruiting a diverse group of sympathizers who by their nature could not be identified through racial profiling. [more]