Richard Reid (not a notably Islamic name, though he is Muslim) is ethnically English/West Indies. He doesn't look "Middle Eastern" unless you equate that with "swarthy". But "swarthy" doesn't exactly fit, either. I know Arabs who are of blue-eyed and fair skinned countenance such that unless you know them you'd think they were Germans, or even Celts.

Jose Padilla (not a notably Islamic name, either) is ethnically Latin American (I don't know what countries his ancestors come from). Had he not drawn attention to himself through his travels, he would have been invisible to the strict profiling that Malkin and others promote.

David Hicks (not a notably Islamic name) is Australian and also fair complected. He's in Guantanamo (via Afghanistan).

So, are 70-y/o Scandanavian grandmothers from Sheboygan a threat? Maybe not. Or maybe not yet. You may choose to decide they represent no threat. Random TSA searches at least offer the possibility of catching the rogue granny. A tight focus on "Middle Eastern males between 18-30" would absolutely miss her, with 100% inaccuracy.

I think the guys who planned 9/11 (as well as the 5/12 Riyadh bombings, the 7/7 London bombings, etc.) are pretty clever. Fiendishly clever, but certainly not stupid. They are not limited to recruting "Middle Eastern males between 18-30" (and the London guys weren't even Arab, BTW).

Yes, there is high probability that they will recruit from pools of people like themselves. But that is not 100% guaranteed.

High probability targets of screening (MEmb18-30) might even be caught, with targeted screening. That's certainly a good thing. But a system which, by design, will not catch Annie Gertrudsdotter who has a major bone to pick with a political system, is faulty--by design.

There are the Bali Bombings, the Marriot Bombin in Jakarta, the Jakarta Embassy Bombing, all by Jemaah Islamiyah. Indosnesia is not in the Middle East.

Then there is the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) out of the Phillippines. There are connections between ASG and Middle Eastern terrorist groups and Jemaah Islamiyah.

Then there are the Chechens who blew up that school in Chechnya. There is some evidence linking them to Al Qaeda as well.

In short there is plenty of evidence suggesting that there could be change in the trend.

We are fighting Al Qaida all over the world

Yep. We sure are.And it still comes down tot his: When have those actually attacking us and our freinds not fit the profile?

We are fighting Al Qaida all over the world. There has been on American who has been trained at Al Qaida camps and reportedly even met Bin Laden. There are an Al Qaida affilliates in South East Asia and the Phillippines. The idea that they could put together a group that is non-Middle Easter strikes me as a very real possibility. Focusing on just the Middle Easterners is a mistake.

And the radicalism weâ??re dealing with means that trend wonâ??t change. It hasnâ??t, in the last several thousand years, Steve.

Nope, you are wrong. Indonesians are not Middle Easterners. I can't believe I need to give you a remedial geography lesson.

And the radicalism we're dealing with means that trend won't change. It hasn't, in the last several thousand years, Steve.

I await one example from you �. one �. that runs contrary to that perception. You may argue all day long, about theory. We�re dealing in fact.

And that is the problem, because when we see this example, it will most likely be when it has bitten us on our collective asses and several thousand people are dead.

Basically you are looking backwards, looking at past patterns and then predicting them forever into the future. When the trend changes we will be caught with our pants down if we base a policy on this kind of thinking.

Broad strata can have a variety of meanings. Sure these guys are mainly of Middle Eastern decent, but as I noted, focusing on just this group can be problematic.
...
Malkin on the other hand is all about Muslims�look at the Muslims, MALE muslism, from the Middle East!! Leave grandma alone and start profiling now!

She does so, because that's where the problem lies.

I await one example from you .... one .... that runs contrary to that perception. You may argue all day long, about theory. We're dealing in fact.

I think some of the arguments youâ??re getting from other posterrs is that regardless of the origin, skin color, etc. of the terrorists, they all (converts included) tend to share names like Mohammed, Ahmed, etc., and a distinctive appearance that can be used to screen their â??potentialâ??.

The argument is not necessarily about weighing the meaning of â??broad strataâ?? but that the media, in their PC desire to be â??sensitiveâ?? to the terrorists, went out of their way to avoid the obvious connections.

I don't dispute any of this, for the most part. My comments in the OP, were about a policy that looks at Middle Eastern males only and that such a policy is subject to circumvetntion. As John Burgess notes, it is where we beg to be killed, because of such a stupid policy. So random searches still have a use, and important use. But people focus on the 70 year old lady and conclude that such a policy is stupid.

As for the Media, it was also the Law Enforcement people too. In fact, they were to ones who used the term, the Media merely repeated it.

As for the evidence that they aren't from a broad strata, I see none, at least so far. All the links to the "narrow strata" aren't very helpful of highlight that the people are different (e.g. a student of health sciences, a computer programer, unemployed, employed, etc.).

Bithead,

Broad strata can have a variety of meanings. Sure these guys are mainly of Middle Eastern decent, but as I noted, focusing on just this group can be problematic. I'm not saying don't focus on such a group, just don't become overly focused on the race/ethnicity issue that seems to pervade Malkin's writings. Doing so is not only rather distasteful, but stupid.

Think about it, your a terrorist mastermind. Your latest batch of terrorists got nabbed prior to making anything go bang. They are all of middle eastern descent. Do you:

A. Go with the same predictable pattern?
B. Go with something completely different?

Can terrorists send in a bunch of Filipino or Indonesian terrorists? What about some white muslims that have recently joined one of the more extreme sects? The palestinians have been using women in their suicide bombing missions, why not Al Qaida? Looking only at males of Middle Eastern descent as potential terror suspects is like looking for your car keys under the street light. Sure they might be there, but then again maybe not. A prudent policy would be to have better screening in general and random searches. Even if it means searching the 70 year old grandma from Cheboygan.

Malkin on the other hand is all about Muslims...look at the Muslims, MALE muslism, from the Middle East!! Leave grandma alone and start profiling now!

The Evil Social Engineering crusade you speak of is very real for the left. You seem to elaborate on it quite well in your comments. They see no diversity in a room full of white people, while they may be from different backgrounds, means, education, regions, they are all white. Adding one of every race to the group does not necessarily make them â??diverseâ?? especially if theyâ??re all from the same block, or in the same school. The left thinks it DOES make for more diversity.

I think some of the arguments youâ??re getting from other posterrs is that regardless of the origin, skin color, etc. of the terrorists, they all (converts included) tend to share names like Mohammed, Ahmed, etc., and a distinctive appearance that can be used to screen their â??potentialâ??.

Exactly so. However, you seem to go astray, here:

The argument is not necessarily about weighing the meaning of â??broad strataâ?? but that the media, in their PC desire to be â??sensitiveâ?? to the terrorists, went out of their way to avoid the obvious connections.

And so does Steve Verdon.
The fact is, this is not a broad strata, as Verdon suggests, but rather, a narrow one, that Verdon refuses for whatever reason, to identify.

Steve;

Unless, perchance, youâ??d like to defend the TSA doing cavity searches on 70 year old grandmothers in the name of security, while ignoring people like, for example, Yasim Abdi Mohamed, in the name of being â??culturally sensitiveâ??â?¦

Donâ??t be such a flaming moron Bithead, you are much smarter than this. Where did I say that is what should done?

When you refuse to identify a narrow portion of the spectrum as being problematic. Far from being "idiodic", Malkin is willing to correctly ID the specific grouping as such.

What remains, then, is why you're not, and what you would call a 'narrow spectrum'.

The Evil Social Engineering crusade you speak of is very real for the left. You seem to elaborate on it quite well in your comments. They see no diversity in a room full of white people, while they may be from different backgrounds, means, education, regions, they are all white. Adding one of every race to the group does not necessarily make them 'diverse' especially if they're all from the same block, or in the same school. The left thinks it DOES make for more diversity.

I think some of the arguments you're getting from other posterrs is that regardless of the origin, skin color, etc. of the terrorists, they all (converts included) tend to share names like Mohammed, Ahmed, etc., and a distinctive appearance that can be used to screen their 'potential'.

The argument is not necessarily about weighing the meaning of 'broad strata' but that the media, in their PC desire to be 'sensitive' to the terrorists, went out of their way to avoid the obvious connections.

The real question is why you need to have your wallet in the bedroom.

Well, my wallet is usually in my pants...which and my bedroom is where I tend to take said pants off....

I assume that further information is more than you want to know.

Are you saying that these are not Islamic terrorists or that that is not worth mentioning in the news?

Neither.

John,

I think OC referred to Obsessive-Compulsive.

Bithead,

Steve, your argument is weak, bordering on the nonexistent, and consists of little more than your typical frothing at Malikin.

No, the fact that they are all Middle Eastern does not mean that they aren't from a "broad strata". Just as White, Black and Asian are not monolithic groups that are homogenous neither are people of Middle Eastern descent.

Malkin is correct; what you call her fixation on the typical muslim male is in fact the heart of the matter.

No, it is of minor importance at best. As I've noted Al Qaida and terrorists come from a wide array of racial/ethnic backgrounds. It is even concievable that someday a terrorist for Islamic extremism will be white.

Unless, perchance, youâ??d like to defend the TSA doing cavity searches on 70 year old grandmothers in the name of security, while ignoring people like, for example, Yasim Abdi Mohamed, in the name of being â??culturally sensitiveâ??â?¦

Don't be such a flaming moron Bithead, you are much smarter than this. Where did I say that is what should done?

I want the government out of my wallet and out of my bedroom.

The real question is why you need to have your wallet in the bedroom.

. Fahim Ahmad, 21, Toronto;

2. Zakaria Amara, 20, Mississauga, Ont.;

3. Asad Ansari, 21, Mississauga;

4. Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Mississauga;

5. Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Mississauga;

6. Mohammed Dirie, 22, Kingston, Ont.;

7. Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24, Kingston;

8. Jahmaal James, 23, Toronto;

9. Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, Toronto;

10. Steven Vikash Chand alias Abdul Shakur, 25, Toronto;

11. Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, Mississauga;

12. Saad Khalid, 19, of Eclipse Avenue, Mississauga.

(What was that quote from the news conference about the individuals not reflecting on any one community?)

Steve, your argument is weak, bordering on the nonexistent, and consists of little more than your typical frothing at Malikin.

Malkin is correct; what you call her fixation on the typical muslim male is in fact the heart of the matter.

Unless, perchance, you'd like to defend the TSA doing cavity searches on 70 year old grandmothers in the name of security, while ignoring people like, for example, Yasim Abdi Mohamed, in the name of being 'culturally sensitive'...