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Posted on 10/03/2001 5:56:52 AM PDT by Elkiejg

Profiling is a word that has been given notariety in the recent and hopefully soon-to-be defunct PC movement. The idea of profiling citizens leaves a bad residue in the mouths of those who believe in avoiding myriad PC taboos, because a complete profile considers such factors as race, age, religion and gender. It is common sense that certain behaviors and certain crimes are more common in certain demographic groups. Statistical evidence proves this out. Profiling is a credible scientific means of isolating and capturing perpetrators of crime. It was developed by our very own FBI, under the auspices of the Behavioral Sciences Unit. Anyone who has read the books by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker- Mindhunter and Obsession, knows that profiling has been an invaluable tool in finding and ultimately prosecuting serial killers and other violent offenders. Profiling can be a useful tool in finding and capturing terrorists and their lackeys, yet much ado is being made about its use because one of the factors used in profiling is race.

If a law enforcement agent is looking for a likely serial killer, he will look not only at the victims' race, age, gender, education, employment and general habits but will use this information to form a profile of the likely perpetrator. A white victim will most likely have been killed by a white perpetrator. A black victim will most likely have been killed by a black perpetrator. Younger men kill more often and more violently than older men. Women seldom kill at all and when they do it tends to be by passive means such as poison or in self defense. Certain crimes are more common among certain personality styles, belief systems, age groups, gender and race. Statistical evidence supports these theories, which is the reason that law enforcement agencies use them. If you're looking for a serial killer, Granny's Bingo session or Republican Women's meeting in the church basement is the wrong place to start. Caucasian and Asian women over age 35 are statistically the least likely groups to commit violent crimes.

Which leads us back to our country's war on terrorism. We have profiles of the killers- Young to middle aged men of Mediterranean or Arabic descent, not American citizens, adherents to an extreme form of Islam. While the vast majority of Arabic people living in this country are here for honest purposes a very few are not. It is neither practical nor prudent to disallow basic civil liberties to those of Arabic descent simply on the basis of race, age or religion, but those factors are factors of many. It is both practical and prudent to use those factors to narrow one's search- much as investigators who were searching for Ted Bundy weren't wasting time looking for a black man or an Asian woman. They knew the perpetrator would be a white man not only by the nature of the crimes he committed but also by statements from survivors who escaped him. We also know that the probability of any remaining agents of Al-Queda in this country is that they will be also of Arabic descent, young males, and adherents to extremist factions of Islam.

If the aim is to increase airport security or to more closely monitor haz-mat trucking, profiling is essential in narrowing the field of potential terrorists. We know our enemy is not the good-ol-boy redneck trucker or the white-bread granny in the mini-van. Searches must be consistent- everyone should be checked out before boarding an airplane and haz-mat trucks and their drivers should follow regulations. But we must conduct searches bearing in mind what our potential enemy's profile will likely be. Unfortunately this knowledge of our potential enemies could lead to incidents in which airline passengers refuse to fly with groups of Arabic men or otherwise treat these men unfairly. Their race is but one factor of many- they can be scrutinized through appropriate channels- more complete security checks for all at airports- better tracking of suspicious financial behavior- those things are being done already. More can be done to prevent infiltration by potential terrorists such as higher scrutiny of guests in this country- where are they coming from and why? Should a visitor's country of origin trigger a more exhaustive search- for example we typically don't see Canadians or British try to dive-bomb our buildings or hold rallies where American flags are burned and everyone shouts "Death to America" but we do see this type of behavior coming from Arabic countries.

The argument that Timothy Mc Veigh's bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City didn't provoke an outlash against white males, therefore we can't profile terrorists using race as a factor, doesn't hold water. Logistically the assumption that all white males are potential crazed white supremacist bombers would be difficult because there are a large number of white males in this country, most of whom are clearly not white supremacists. The Skinhead movements and other "White Supremacy" movements ARE highly visible and are scrutinized by the FBI. Their activities, like the activities of potential foreign terrorists are monitored, and race and age, along with other demographic factors determine who is monitored and to what degree. The theories behind the Oklahoma City bombing indicate that Mc Veigh may not have been acting alone, and may even have had aid from insiders within the Clinton administration. There is NO evidence that the events of Black Tuesday can be traced to a domestic source, unless one counts the apathy of the Clinton administration, their dismal failures in foreign policy, and their lack of response to the bombing of the USS Cole and the destruction of our embassy in Nairobi.

Unlike the actions of Mc Veigh, who was not harbored nor assisted by any Christian organization, the atrocities of Black Tuesday were sanctioned by not only Bin-Laden and Al-Queda but also by the Taliban and other adherents to their twisted version of Islam. We know our enemies hate America, we know they hide in the shadows, we know they subscribe to a perverted version of a legitimate faith. Profiling is not a call to denial of civil liberties or the introduction of a police state but a call to common sense. If we know something about those who would perpetrate such harm- even if it isn't PC- we must use that information, not to witch-hunt but to make informed decisions upon who to investigate further.

President Bush is correct in that Muslims (of the faith of Mohammed) are NOT our enemies. We need to accord all citizens respect and cannot afford to deny essential rights and freedoms to all members of a specific group because we are afraid of a few. We have hopefully learned that from the internment camp disaster of WWII. Most Americans of Japanese descent of that time were loyal citizens- many fought and died bravely in the European Theatre- as US servicemen. What profiling can offer is an effective, scientifically proven tool to help find the "bad guys" while protecting the "good guys"- of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. To hell with PC and its twisted doctrines- being afraid to" offend", in this instance, is really being afraid to protect and defend- whose rights are violated then?

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