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AMP Report - Oct. 6, 2004 American Muslims and Arabs wary of new FBI interviews SAN FRANCISCO, OCT. 6, 2004: FBI agents in Northern California and across the nation have started a campaign to visit mosques and question Muslims who might have information related to a possible pre-election terrorist attack. The new investigation -- the latest in a series of campaigns since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- has prompted sharp protests from American Civil Liberties Union and several Muslim organizations. Shirin Sinnar, president of the San Francisco Association of Muslim Lawyers, told a press conference that she fears the Bush administration is trying to "sow fear in the Muslim community and chill Muslim political expression.'' Sinnar showed pamphlets and wallet-sized cards in English, Arabic and Urdu, that are being distributed at mosques, markets and elsewhere in the Muslim community. The cards tell people they have a right to have an attorney present before talking to the FBI, and they list a phone number for free legal assistance. Nancy Hormachea, vice president of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in San Francisco, accused the FBI of "targeting and demonizing Muslims," Arabs and other minority groups. American Muslim Voice Director for Northern California, Khalid Saeed, said that the American Muslims and Arabs feel intimidated by the new campaign which is the fifth incidence of an explicit FBI dragnet against these communities. He went on to say that previously the FBI launched four separate rounds of questioning, which routinely involved interrogating interviewees with questions about their religious practices and political beliefs which are not related to terrorism. The FBI plans to deliberately tail people based on their religion or ethnic origin during a month that is both religiously and politically crucial, said Dalia Hashad, the American Civil Liberty Union's Arab, Muslim and South Asian Advocate. "Instead of bolstering security, the FBI's new drive is going to stop Muslims and Arabs from attending mosques during the month of Ramadan, and participating in the upcoming election," she added. Special Agent LaRae Quy, spokeswoman for the FBI regional office in San Francisco, defending decision to visit mosques said: "We're trying to learn about the Muslim community and understand how a terrorist could move or hide in that community, or find out who in that community might be funding terrorists,'' she said. Election warning causes anxiety By Kevin Johnson WASHINGTON — The U.S. government's warnings that terrorists want to disrupt the Nov. 2 elections have created confusion, anxiety and skepticism among state and local election officials. One Indiana county has moved some polling places from schools, Minnesota precinct judges have been urged to watch for suicide bombers, and some officials are questioning whether voters are being alarmed needlessly. Since April, election officials across the nation have debated how to respond to the Bush administration's warnings that al-Qaeda wanted to launch "large scale" attacks to disrupt the presidential campaign. The administration has said it is concerned about an attack similar to the bombings in Madrid in March that killed 191 people and widely were credited with leading Spanish voters to oust the ruling party from power. But because the warnings have been vague and have not identified specific plots or targets, the reactions have varied among officials who oversee the USA's 193,000 polling places: In Tippecanoe County, Ind., chief election official Linda Phillips says she will move an undisclosed number of the county's 81 polling places out of elementary schools to "less vulnerable" sites. She acknowledges that Lafayette, Ind., "may not appear on any terrorist's road map," but she says that "it occurred to me that terrorists could get a double hit if they wanted to strike the election by taking out a school." Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer sent fliers to precinct judges that urged them to watch for suspicious people at the polls who could be suicide bombers. Kiffmeyer, who says "our priorities are to protect life and secure the ballot box," says officials have discussed moving polling places out of schools. In Massachusetts and in many other jurisdictions, election officials have been meeting with law enforcement agencies to plan responses to a catastrophic attack. Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin says that state law requires one law enforcement officer to be assigned to each of the state's 2,000 polling places. But like election officials elsewhere, he says there is no plan to increase the number of armed guards or other security personnel at precincts. Meanwhile, some Democratic election officials are questioning whether there is a political angle to the Bush administration's repeated terrorism warnings. Rebecca Vigil-Giron, a Democrat who is New Mexico's top election official, says she wonders whether the warnings amount to a veiled Republican effort to suppress voter turnout. Historically, heavy turnout in U.S. elections has favored Democrats…. Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, a Republican, says he was "flabbergasted" at the reaction last month when he sent letters to local election clerks urging them to develop plans to respond to "an immediate and present danger." Some local officials accused Rokita of trying to intimidate voters”…. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-10-06-election-warning_x.htm FBI to get help on election day plots By Kevin Johnson WASHINGTON — Attorney General John Ashcroft quietly has issued a sweeping directive that authorizes the FBI to use hundreds of law enforcement agents from other federal agencies to help investigate any terrorist plots that target the Nov. 2 elections. The directive — the first of its kind since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — allows the FBI to tap agents from the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of a nationwide effort by FBI-led counterterrorism units to seek out and stop any plots against the elections. U.S. law enforcement officials continue to say that beyond intelligence reports indicating that al-Qaeda wants to disrupt the elections, they have no specific information about an existing plot, method or target of a potential attack. The directive was issued without fanfare at a time when the Bush administration is being accused by Democrats and civil-rights activists of using terrorism alerts to discourage people from voting. But it offers insight into the government's ongoing concern about an attack similar to the deadly train bombings in Madrid last March, just before the Spanish elections…. FBI and Homeland Security authorities have acknowledged that the government has deployed an undisclosed number of agents across the country to improve security during the presidential campaign and through the inauguration in January. Ashcroft's directive, which was to remain in effect for 60 days, allows FBI field supervisors unusually broad authority to use personnel from other agencies to conduct interviews, assist in any surveillance of potential terrorism suspects and help in other anti-terror duties. It's not clear whether the FBI has used this special authority. But agents have begun meeting with Muslim leaders across the country to try to gather intelligence — a move that some Muslims have criticized, saying it puts them in a position of being forced to reveal their political views or talk about their neighbors. Agents have begun surveillance on an undisclosed number of people whom the FBI views as potential terrorism suspects. Agents also are asking owners of rental storage units whether they have noticed any customers moving suspicious materials into and out of the facilities. The frenzy of law enforcement activity is similar to what took place before the national political conventions and the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, where authorities were concerned that al-Qaeda might attempt an attack. But the persistent warnings about terrorism also have drawn skepticism from some Democratic election officials and civil-rights advocates who have accused the Republican White House of creating a climate of fear that, among other things, could suppress voter turnout. Heavy voter turnout historically has favored Democrats in U.S. elections. Some local officials in Indiana accused Secretary of State Todd Rokita, a Republican, of trying to intimidate voters after he asked election clerks to develop responses to "an immediate and present danger." Engy Abdelkader, civil-rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says that Arab-Americans and other minorities could choose to stay away from the polls if they believe that federal agents will be questioning people there. "This could have a very politically chilling effect on our community," Abdelkader says..… http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-10-07-fbi-help_x.htm |