Islamic Community in U.S. Can Aid Terror Fight

DURING THE Sept. 21 telethon, "America: A Tribute to Heroes," broadcast across 31 networks to more than 150 countries, Muhammad Ali expressed sentiments that exemplify the way Americans feel.

In his plea for empathy toward Muslims, he said: "I am a Muslim, and I am against killing and violence, and all Muslims are against it . . . If I had a chance, I'd do something about it."

As we try to deal with the recent horror and the realization of our vulnerabilities in this country to unthinkable acts of terrorism, each of us has the burning desire to help. Americans have assisted in almost every conceivable way, from kindergarten children making patriotic ribbons to our mega-corporations donating millions of dollars to the widows, orphans and rescue workers of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Intelligence and law-enforcement officials have cited the current severe shortage of individuals with particular linguistic skills as a serious threat to our national-security efforts. Arab Americans and those of Central Asian and Middle Eastern background now have the chance to help significantly in that area. Recent estimates of the total number of Muslims in the United States range from 7 million to 10 million. This could be a crucial talent pool for success in efforts to counter terrorism.

We are at war against terrorism, and it is clear that we are in this for the long haul. Our efforts will not stop when the current strikes in Afghanistan are complete. That said, the campaign must be a balanced, sustained one that reaches out in every direction. It will demand all the brainpower and talent we can muster in such areas as diplomacy, finance, intelligence, computer warfare and homeland security.

Good intelligence will be the deciding key to success in any of our efforts. Without it, we will never get to the center of gravity of the terrorists, which is critical if we are going to be effective. The collection of intelligence depends heavily on language interpretation, whether the information is gathered from a human source or a technical system. Having a clear understanding of the information comes into play in virtually every point of the intelligence cycle - from collection to exploitation to analysis and production. We need the ability to verify its accuracy and have it explained in clear and unambiguous terms. In fact, the intelligence we are gathering from the operations in the regions of Afghanistan has only increased our need for linguists.

As we globally peel back the onion of terrorist cells and look at the paper and electronic trails left behind throughout the stock markets, financial institutions and cyberspace, the importance of our grasp of the languages involved cannot be overstated.

There have been reports indicating that millions of pages of documents and countless hours of intercepted conversations are not translated in the intelligence community every year. Videotapes, manuals and notebooks on bomb-making were in the custody of the FBI in advance of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. These included phone conversations involving a Palestinian in federal prison as he instructed in Arabic another terrorist on how to build a bomb. No law-enforcement authorities involved at the time spoke Arabic, and these conversations were not understood until after the bombing.

Our focus right now is in Afghanistan and surrounding areas. The ethno-linguistic groups in these areas pose a complex challenge to our intelligence efforts. There are more than a dozen ethnic groups in the region, speaking in different strains of Farsi, Pashtu, Dari, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek and Russian.

We are obviously doubling our efforts of intelligence-gathering from the human side of the equation. We need to fill the void that exists in the intelligence communities with their lack of linguists who understand the languages and cultures of these countries.

The FBI has put out a call for recruits who speak Arabic and other Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Asian languages, to aid in our efforts to counter terrorism. Many have answered that call and more are needed.

It shouldn't stop there. As the newly established cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security is empowered, regional expertise will continue to be in high demand. Non-governmental organizations and security contractors will also be in search of these rare talents.

It is understandable that Islamic and Arab Americans might feel isolated, and even frightened, at this time. There already have been shameful instances of ethnic violence.

But it behooves all Americans to realize that every American is in this fight. President George W. Bush has said that he will bring the full brunt of our capabilities to bear on terrorists. The U.S. Islamic community, and Arab Americans in particular, should understand that they can offer special strategic assets in the critical skills and talents now needed to help restore peace and security not just at home but throughout the world.

 

By Rear Adm. (Ret.) Stephen H. Baker, USN CDI Senior Fellow sbaker@cdi.org

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First appeared in Newsday Oct. 17, 2001.

Copyright © 2001, Newsday, Inc.

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