Arabic Flash Cards Threaten US Security
February 20th, 2010 § 2 Comments
Nick George, a young physics student at Pomona College, was reportedly interrogated, handcuffed and held in a cell for 4 hours after trying to pass through US customs with Arabic flash cards! George’s flash cards included words like “graduate” and “funny.” He states that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official at the metal detector in the airport was intrigued when George answered that he thought that Osama Bin Laden was behind the 9/11 attacks. This was met with a ”Do you know what language Osama Bin Laden spoke?” Shortly after George was handcuffed and imprisoned while TSA officials poured over his flash cards looking for clues that could link George to international terrorism.
George was shocked that he was being treated like a criminal for trying to learn another language, but his laughter over the ridiculousness of the TSA’s reasoning turned to frustration as the hours passed by in his cell. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Ben Wizner notes that:
The idea that someone can be arrested…simply for studying a foreign language is illegal and its unconstitutional…And this is important because passing through airport checkpoints is probably the most common encounter that Americans have with law enforcement in this country. And Americans need to know and the TSA needs to know, we do not give up our constitutional rights when we choose to fly by plane. TSA has a very, very important job, and that is to keep air security secure, but when they use their precious resources to target people like George, they’re not only not making us safe, they’re making us less safe cause they’re not doing their real and important work.
The ACLU is suing the TSA on George’s behalf.
What question was asked of George?
How completely disengenouous! I happen to be from Claremont and went to Pomona. The fool in question was acting obnoxiously and got the attention of security BEFORE they noticed any flash cards; and the cards contained words like “bomb” and “explosive”, he also carried a Jordanian student ID card, and a passport that showed he had visited Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sudan.
So they questioned him and then let him go with no charges at all. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?