Studying Arabic is a National Security Threat

I previously posted a piece about my cyberspace Arabic studies, as well as one on "flying-while-Arab", so when I came upon this article, I knew I had to share it. Thank goodness I never pulled out my "Arabic for Dummies" book at an aiport.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10042/1035098-84.stm

TSA sued for detention over Arabic flashcards
Thursday, February 11, 2010
By Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post




WASHINGTON -- A student at Southern California's Pomona College filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that he was abusively interrogated, handcuffed and detained for five hours at Philadelphia International Airport in August because he carried a set of English-Arabic flashcards as part of his college language studies.

Nicholas George, 22, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and its Pennsylvania chapter, charged that three Transportation Security Administration officers, two Philadelphia police officers and two FBI agents violated his constitutional rights to free speech and freedom from unreasonable seizure.

"I want TSA agents to do their job to keep flights safe. ... I don't understand how locking me up and harassing me just because I was carrying the flashcards made anybody safer," Mr. George said in statement released by the ACLU. "No one should be treated like a criminal for simply learning one of the most widely spoken languages in the world."

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said she could not comment on pending litigation. FBI and Justice Department representatives in Washington, where most of the federal government was closed because of a severe winter storm, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia police, who also were dealing with the storm, had no immediate comment.

According to the suit, Mr. George, 22, a college senior from Pennsylvania's Montgomery County, majoring in physics and Middle Eastern studies, was returning to school when TSA screeners randomly selected him for extra screening. When Mr. George emptied his pockets, he took out the flashcards.

Authorities detained him in the screening area for 30 minutes before he was questioned by a TSA supervisor, the suit states.

At one point, the supervisor asked him if he knew who committed the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to the suit. Mr. George answered, "Osama bin Laden." The supervisor asked, "Do you know what language he spoke?" Mr. George replied, "Arabic." The supervisor held up the flashcards and said, "Do you see why these cards are suspicious?"

Mr. George said he was handcuffed and held for almost five hours, during which time he was questioned by two FBI agents, who asked if Mr. George was "Islamic" or a member of a "communist group," the suit said.

One agent concluded that Mr. George was "not a real threat," the suit states.

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10042/1035098-84.stm#ixzz0fQqza3J6
And this is where to type the full blog post.