VOA标准英语2010年-US Policy Appears to Single Out Arab,

Critics say new airport rules could be discriminatory

Mohamed Elshinnawi | Washington, DC 18 February 2010

"There are a whole lot of things that could be done without sacrificing people's privacy, without - however inadvertently - sending a message that we appear to be targeting Muslim countries."

Civil liberties advocates are joining Arab and Muslim American groups in expressing concern over the government's recent decision to single out travelers from more than a dozen mostly Middle Eastern countries for increased scrutiny¹.

Critics of the policy argue it could lead to practices that are both discriminatory and ineffective.

The Obama administration announced in January that citizens of 14 predominantly Islamic nations who fly to the United States must undergo enhanced screening at airports, including full-body pat-downs or body scanners.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano outlined the new measures at a White House news conference.

"Every individual flying to the United States from anywhere in the world who has an itinerary² or passport from nations that are state sponsors of terrorism, or countries of interest, is required to go through enhanced screening," said Napolitano. "In addition, the majority of all other passengers on U.S.-bound international flights will go through random³ threat-based enhanced screening."

All citizens from the targeted countries must receive a pat-down and an extra check of their carry-on bags before boarding U.S.-bound planes.

The enhanced security measures were introduced after the arrest of a Nigerian man who allegedly tried to set off an explosive device on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas day. Under the new rules, all citizens of Nigeria, Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen must receive a pat-down and an extra check of their carry-on bags before boarding planes bound for the United States.

Citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria - nations the U.S State Department considers 'state sponsors of terrorism' - face the same requirement.

Dennis Parker, director of Racial Justice Programs at the American Civil Liberties Union, thinks the new airport security rules are bad policy. He says there is no way to predict the national origin of a terrorist and that many terrorists have come from countries not on the list.

Parker believes policies such as racial profiling and invasive body scanning for all travelers not only violate American rights and values, but also divert valuable resources and attention from countering the real threats posed by Al Qaida.

"Al Qaida has proven to be very successful at adapting to the measures that we take and there is no reason to believe that they would not do that here," said Parker. "There are, in fact, measures that can be taken that look more at the individual threats that would be more effective and the Christmas bomber⁴ is a good example of that. There was a vast amount of information that he was a threat that was not taken into consideration." 

Parker urges the Obama Administration to reconsider the new airport security policy. "There are a whole lot of things that could be done without sacrificing people's privacy, without - however inadvertently - sending a message that we appear to be targeting Muslim countries," he said. "And simply to say that 'because many of the terrorists have been Muslims, you should examine all Muslims' is going to result in a waste of resources and I think a negative effect on the view that Muslims throughout the world may have [of] the U.S."

Some believe the policy is at odds⁵ with President Obama's stated goal of forging improved relations with the Muslim world, based on mutual⁶ interest and respect.

 

Arab American Institute President Jim Zogby believes the U.S. risks alienating⁷ Arab and Muslim American communities that could prove essential to protecting the nation from the terrorist threat.

"I am afraid that it would have negative impact because in our polling what we find is one of the issues that stands out is the treatment people get when they come to America, and the fear they have of negative American treatment of immigrants, so this is an issue to pay attention to," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.   

Zogby also warns that sweeping⁸, reactive policies which include profiling based on national origin, ethnicity, religion or race also risk alienating Arab and Muslim American communities that could prove essential to protecting the United States from the terrorist threat.
 
The Transportation Safety Administration denies that the new regulations amount to racial profiling. TSA spokesman Greg Soule declined to be interviewed for this report, but said in a written statement: "TSA does not profile. As is always the case, TSA security measures are based on threat, not ethnic⁹ or religious background."  The agency statement goes on to note that the new directive also mandates¹⁰ threat-based and random screening for the majority of passengers on U.S. bound international flights.

Still, the ACLU's Dennis Parker recommends that the United States adopt the practices used at Israeli airports. El Al airlines, one of the world's safest carriers, has spent many years developing screening methods based on passengers' behavior, rather than looks, dress, or country of origin.
 

1 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

2 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

3 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

4 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

6 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

7 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。