HOW WACKED OUT IS THIS? - AT 10:04 P.M. ET:  The Washington Post has one of those stories that could not have been written without the ghostly influence of the 1960s.  Apparently, there is great frustration because the pursuit of real domestic terrorists is interfering with "outreach" operations by the FBI, designed to cuddle up to the Muslim community.  Oh the anguish.  Oh the decisions.  What will happen to the church of multiculturalism?

At a retirement party last week for the head of the FBI's Washington field office, Muslim and Arab leaders presented the guest of honor with a crystal plaque.

It thanked Joseph Persichini Jr. for reaching out to the local Muslim and Arab communities. Yet even as the tribute on Capitol Hill went on, his agents had a different mission. They were flying to Pakistan to interrogate five Washington area Muslim men arrested in a terrorism probe. The outcome of that investigation threatens to undermine the very relationships their boss tried to foster.

No disrespect meant to the reporter, who does a fine job, but is this serious?  Is there any question about which is more important - protecting the American people or playing nice-nice with people who ask to be "understood"?  Apparently there is.

As U.S. officials consider whether to file criminal charges against the men and how aggressively to prosecute any potential case, some Muslim leaders are calling for leniency, saying the tough approach often used by the Bush administration would alienate a community whose relationship with law enforcement is uneasy.

Huh?  The tough approach is directed only at those who seek to harm us.  Innocent Muslims have nothing to worry about, and a prosecution should not interfere with reasonable outreach to them.   Every community must understand that criminal activity must be prosecuted.

But the law enforcement imperative could clash with President Obama's desire to improve relations with Muslims abroad and in the United States. When asked about the arrests in Pakistan, Obama praised "the extraordinary contributions of the Muslim-American community."

Where's the contradiction?  There are criminal elements within most subgroups.  Why is this one special?

Members of the Muslim community came forward with information about the chaps now in Pakistan, and they should be praised.  But cooperation is only one factor:

Current and former law enforcement officials said the families' actions will not affect the FBI's intensifying investigation. "When you come upon information that the law may have been violated, the way you receive that information does not change your obligation to respond to it accordingly," said Michael A. Mason, who preceded Persichini as head of the FBI's D.C. field office.

Well said.

The case is unfolding against a backdrop of increased tension nationally between the FBI and the Muslim community. A coalition of two dozen Muslim groups in March suspended most contacts with the FBI over what it called inappropriate infiltration of mosques.

But the mosques were infiltrated for a reason.  The Muslim community must understand why, and take action against those whose actions are seen as a danger.

Nawar Shora, legal director for the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee -- who, with a representative from a Muslim group presented the award to Persichini -- said the Arab and Muslim communities will accept any charges against the men arrested in Pakistan as long as they are treated fairly.

Yet he indicated that tensions could flare, depending how the government approaches a case. "If the FBI and the prosecutors say these were five Muslims and they were trying to commit jihad, and they throw out all of these incendiary religious terms, that's different," Shora said.

Oh please.  This country has been, since the 9-11 attacks, remarkably tolerant toward Muslims, and correctly so.  Our response to the Muslim community, in light of the attacks, is a model for other nations.  But I think the leaders do protest too much.  They seem to be asking for a special position, special consideration, and that we don't do. 

I have no doubt that some in the Muslim community have wounded feelings, and we must always be clear in separating the guilty from the innocent.  But more work within their own communities is in order.  Recently, the FBI broke off contact with CAIR, the Council of American-Islamic Relations, out of concern over some of their activities and advocacy.  The FBI was correct.  It's the practices and the advocacy that need to be changed.  The FBI is not a babysitting agency.

December 19, 2009