New National Security Distraction: Arabic Language Students

[furrbear]

Another example of why so many Americans think the TSA are the Keystone Kops of the *cough* "Global War on Terror."

Yesterday, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nick George, a Pomona College student who was detained and aggressively interrogated by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorities, by the FBI and by Pennsylvania police when he tried to board a plane carrying Arabic language flash cards.

You heard right: Not liquids, not matches, not a bomb. Flash cards.

George, a physics major who's studying Arabic, was pulled aside for secondary screening at the Philadelphia International Airport as he tried to go through security. When he emptied his pockets, the inspector saw his flash cards and he was arrested, handcuffed, locked in a cell for hours and aggressively questioned. Because of some flash cards.

The following exchange took place between George and a TSA supervisor who questioned him:

TSA Supervisor: You know who did 9/11?
George: Osama bin Laden.
TSA Supervisor: Do you know what language he spoke?
George: Arabic.

At that point, the TSA supervisor held up George’s flash cards—which had words such as "to smile" and "funny" and on them—and said: "Do you see why these cards are suspicious?"

Ah, the smoking gun.

Here's the problem: During George's ordeal, no fewer than seven law enforcement officers took part in detaining and questioning him. The unnecessary arrest, detention and questioning of someone who, like George, poses no threat to flight safety, makes everyone less safe by diverting resources away from real threats.

George said yesterday, “As someone who travels by plane, I want TSA agents to do their job to keep flights safe. But I don’t understand how locking me up and harassing me just because I was carrying the flash cards made anybody safer. No one should be treated like a criminal for simply learning one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world.”

One of the FBI agents who questioned him put it best, we think. At the end of his ordeal, he said to George: “The police call us to evaluate whether there is a real threat. You are not a real threat.”

Comments

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

Fuck. Me. Running.

This is insane.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

And what was a contributing factor to 9/11? Not enough translators who understand Arabic! I think Mr. George should be able to go back to that airport and personally bitch-slap that TSA supervisor for being a fucking idiot - then hand him the order firing - or at least demoting - him.

In the interest of full disclosure, I may be slightly more pissed off about this because I'm an alumnus of Pomona College.

[kumazuki.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear!

[hwynym.livejournal.com]

انهم فريدم فرايز اللعنة!

(They're Freedom Fries, Damn it!)

[inbhirnis.livejournal.com]

These airport mall cops need a dressing down. Such incompetence. If they don't have the capacity to distinguish between real and imaginary threats, they're not worth the resources...

[furrbear.livejournal.com]

I think a large amount of the problem is that so many of those that literally jumped at working for the TSA were, for one reason or another, unable to be regular LEOs. Now they're able to intimidate with impunity and practice their authoritarian streaks.

[bearassed.livejournal.com]

Hmm thanks for posting this. I am in the process of being a Paralegal and will take this to school tomorrow to talk to my teacher/Lawyer about this and get their in site.

[dewittar.livejournal.com]

We are all doomed.

[kumazuki.livejournal.com]

I am truly surprised that someone who is that ignorant could actually recognize that it was Arabic. What if George had been studying Hindi, Traditional Mongolian or any language where the script is connected? God forbid that he might have a copy of the Kor'an to practice with, They probably would have shot him on the spot.
ليس كل الارهابيين يتكلمون العربية ، وكثير التحدث باللغة الإنجليزية.