Imad Hamad's Detroit News column on the FBI, plane surveillance and CVE

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Imad Hamad, American Human Rights Council executive director, has written an excellent opinion column for the Detroit News on the issues of the use of FBI surveillance planes and the use of counseling by the FBI for those young Muslims suspected of radicalization and of being high risk for  involvement in terror activity. The column read in part:

There is no doubt that the U.S. faces a real terror threat. And surveillance, when it comports with the law and the democratic traditions of the nation, is a legitimate and necessary law enforcement tool. The FBI planes are not solely an Arab or Dearborn issue, and portraying them as such is inaccurate and perhaps irresponsible as well.

Most importantly for the Arab and Muslim American community, the news of the FBI planes over parts of Metro Detroit came when the Wall Street Journal published on Aug. 5 a report about FBI efforts to counter violent extremism.

The article quoted Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad, who was contacted by a family concerned about their son possibly joining the terror group Islamic State. The Dearborn police helped the family obtain psychiatric help for the troubled teen. The usage of the intervention model of counseling for troubled teens who sympathize with terrorist organizations or indicate interest in joining them is a very important development that was overshadowed by the FBI plane over Dearborn saga. It is a laudable development that did not get the attention it deserves.

 

The article can be accessed at http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2015/08/14/imad-hamad-fbi-breaks-trust/31646579/

 

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