When his 8-year old son was picked out of an airport line for a secondary screening, talk radio host was understanably exercised at the silliness that results from such random system. Then he heard 9-11 Commissioner John Lehman engage in a line of questioning that he described in this essay, Listen to Lehman: The press attention is on the wrong commissioners. (Michael Smerconish, April 15, 2004, National Review) Richard Ben-Veniste and Bob Kerrey received the lion's share of media attention paid to last week's 9/11 Commission hearing with Condoleezza Rice, thanks to their generally intemperate questioning style. But while Ben-Veniste and Kerrey played to the cameras, it was their colleague, John Lehman, who was breaking new ground with the national-security adviser, but few noticed.This all led him to the conclusion that: "Logic dictates that airport security take a longer, harder look at individuals who have ethnic, religious, nationality, and appearance factors in common with the Islamic extremist Middle Eastern men who have initiated war against us." Unlike most of the rest of us, his postion in public has afforded Mr. Smerconish the opportunity to have that opinion heard, on air, in print, and ultimately before a Senate committee, all of which experiences are detailed here. Whether a full-length book is required to further the awfully limited argument -- that airlines and the TSA should be allowed to profile young men of Arab descent -- seems somewhat dubious, even if his point is near inarguable. Though the text is brief and brisk, a certain repetitiveness is inevitable and the reader may have trouble maintaining the same sense of indignation by page 190 that he felt on page 1. Still, there's certainly no harm in someone keeping the feds feet to the fire until the rules are changed and security concentrated on more likely risks than little kids and grandmothers. My one quarrel with the book is that even on this limited point Mr. Smerconish's focus is too narrow. He claims that were he a member of the profiled group he'd not object, given the legitimate national security concerns; however, he does not suggest, as the evidence suggests he should, that the profiling be expanded to include his own cohort. He mentions John Walker Lindh, Robert Reid (the Shoe Bomber), Timothy McVeigh, and others in passing, but is overly dismissive of their example. Indeed, at one point he discusses a purported al Qaeda cell that John Ashcroft warned the nation about and which included 6 Arab men and one American--the former Adam Pearlman. He argues that this breakdown shows that the main threat comes from Arabs, but it just as obviously indicates that a broader scrutiny, of all young white men, is justified. In fact, while it would presumably be fairly easy to pick out the young Arab men once you start looking for them, imagine the level of sifting you'd require to pick out the one American? Are all of us white men--say between the ages of 15 and 50--going to tolerate the kind of investigation and intrusion that it would require to find an Adam Pearlman? It seems unlikely. Now, to his credit, though it doesn't appear in the book, Mr. Smerconish has elsewhere endorsed such security measures as a national I.D. card, which would affect everyone. The book would have been improved by broadening the discussion at least a little bit to include such other reforms. As is, it is readable and sensible, but rather parochial. (Reviewed:) Grade: (B-) Tweet Websites:-AUTHOR SITE: Michael Smerconish -RADIO SITE: Michael Smerconish (1210AM, The Big Talker) -ARCHIVES: Michael Smerconish (Philly.com) -ESSAY: Listen to Lehman: The press attention is on the wrong commissioners. (Michael Smerconish, April 15, 2004, National Review) Richard Ben-Veniste and Bob Kerrey received the lion's share of media attention paid to last week's 9/11 Commission hearing with Condoleezza Rice, thanks to their generally intemperate questioning style. But while Ben-Veniste and Kerrey played to the cameras, it was their colleague, John Lehman, who was breaking new ground with the national-security adviser, but few noticed. -ESSAY: HE LOOKED TERROR IN THE EYE - AND BLINKED (Michael Smerconish, Feb. 24, 2005, Philadelphia Daily News) -ESSAY: Cat Stevens Islam: Not long ago airlines would have been fined for doing to Yusuf Islam what the U.S. government just did to him. Has Morning Broken? (Michael Smerconish, 9/27/2004, American Spectator) -INTERVIEW: Michael Smerconish (Philly Talk Radio May 15, 2002) -PROFILE: The Big Talker (Philly Mag, October 2001) -REVIEW: of Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11 By Michael A. Smerconish, Esq. (Daniel J. Flynn , Townhall) -REVIEW: of Flying Blind (Daniel Pipes, Human Events) Book-related and General Links: -REVIEW: of Flying Blind: How Political Correctness Continues to Compromise Airline Safety Post 9/11 By Michael A. Smerconish, Esq. (Daniel J. Flynn , Townhall) -REVIEW: of Flying Blind (Daniel Pipes, Human Events) -ESSAY: Flying Blind Against Islamic Terrorism (Accuracy in Media, January 5, 2005) |
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