In Defense of the Constitution

News & Analysis
018/06  May 13, 2006

     CAIR:  Concerned Over Islamic Terrorists' Rights Violation?

     The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is upset that the US government is taking common-sense precautions to protect the homeland from further attacks by radical Muslims intent on terrorizing the populace.

     The Mercury News carried an article about the program, first reported in USA Today, which apparently details how the government is collecting the phone numbers of every call placed in the United States.

     The article, titled “SILICON VALLEY LEADERS OUTRAGED BY IDEA OF CALLS BEING EXAMINED” is long on outrage, short on facts. 

     Yes, the US government is collecting phone numbers.  Terrorists, like all other common criminals, must communicate to be effective.  The government is obviously interested in finding unusual or interesting patterns in phone call records that may indicate terrorist activity.

     Presumably, the government does this because they would like to prevent the next 9-11.  However, to listen to CAIR, one would think the government is involved in some kind of anti-Islamic witch hunt.

     From the article:

     Let’s be clear, the government is taking action in an attempt to pre-empt Islamic terrorist attacks and CAIR labels this action as “…grasping at straws…”?

     The Washington Times carried an article on 12 May; “Al Qaeda Linked to London Plot”.  According to the article, it seems that British security officials lacked resources to stop the Islamic terrorist attacks of 7 July of last year. 

     It can be seen from this article that “data mining” of phone call records is playing a major part in British officials’ reconstruction of the attacks.  It appears that British officials have the infrastructure to record all phone calls, but do not have the resources to investigate them in a timely fashion, i.e., before Islamic terrorist bombs or attacks are made on the population.

     The British investigation clearly shows the part data mining plays in an investigation of this type. 

     Clearly, US officials are learning from the British mistakes (as are the British, we are sure) and are taking pro-active steps to prevent a similar attack in the US by using the very method that could have prevented the London attacks.

     CAIR, once again, is bemoaning the fact that the US government is using a proven technique in an attempt to prevent Islamic terrorists from attacking the United States…again.

     Just whose “civil rights” is CAIR protecting, and why is CAIR so concerned about the civil rights of Muslim terrorists ...?

Andrew Whitehead
Director
Anti-CAIR (ACAIR)
ajwhitehead@anti-cair-net.org
www.anti-cair-net.org

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