Revoke TSA Anti-Muslim Rules
Dear President Barack Hossein Obama,
We the undersigned are horribly alarmed that after decades of living in the United States, attending American universities, working as doctors, professors, taxi drivers, engineers, businessmen, accountants, nurses, teachers, scientists, etc., responsibly paying our income taxes, now are included by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) among the four arbitrarily selected nationalities that are considered high on the ladder of national security suspects. Such a line-up of certain nationalities - Iranians, Syrians, Cubans and Sudanese is politically motivated, while it is unjust, unwise and harmful to the interests of Iranians, Americans and other nationalities included in the category of national security targets. Adoption of the TSA's ethnic profiling is a strong signal that the U.S. has failed to convince Muslims living in the United States of the justice and true intentions of its "war on terrorism".
The U.S. Administration and the American people are well aware that the Iranians living in Iran and abroad have not been among the groups involved in terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, arms and body parts trading and ponzi schemes. Iran, like other countries in the region, has in fact been a victim of terrorism inside its borders by the U.S.-armed and financed Jundallah terrorists in Sistan-Baluchistan Province and PJAK, a branch of the terrorist group Free Life Party of Kurdistan and outside by assassinations of its national security officials and diplomats.
On the contrary a greater number of individuals and groups who have been involved in the criminal acts of terrorism came from those countries ruled by governments which are considered friendly to the United States, such as those from Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the U.S.-organized and supported army of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the terrorist group of Mojahadeen Khalgh, which are under U.S. protection and command in Iraq.
For the Iranians, Syrians, Cubans and Sudanese, it is not hard to see that the classification of the countries of their origin as "state sponsors of terrorism" is politically motivated by plans of initiating and intensifying an atmosphere of fright and terror in the U.S. and world-wide so that the Obama Administration and the U.S. Congress would be able to justify the expansion of the wars in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan into Yemen, using Saudi Arabia as a conduit, and drive the American people to shoulder the tremendous human and financial costs. It is not a secret that all these and wars are to guarantee U.S. corporate control of sources of energy in the Middle East and Africa.
President Barack Hossein Obama, you have gone as far as discarding the morality of genuine peace, adopting the G.W. Bush vocabulary of "taking the war to the enemy", which is a euphemism for the infamous act of "pre-emptive strike". It must be undeniably obvious to you that to target and plan to carry out a policy of intimidation and demonization against citizen-travelers of 14 countries - Algeria, Nigeria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, overwhelmingly Muslim, leaves no doubt of the U.S. hotility towards 1.5 billion believers of Islam, which is one-fourth of the world's population. If the U.S. government's judgment is based on religious fundamentalism, shouldn't such extremists as Christian Evangelicals, praying for the Day of Rapture, be included in this game plan? But in fact one reason for making the citizens of these countries suffer in their travels is the failure of the U.S. intelligence apparatus in Afghanistan and other military bases.
During his 8 years of presidency, even G.W. Bush did not want to be framed as a U.S. president against the Muslim world. Now you, claiming to be the "friend of the Iranian people" are instigating the deep prejudices imbedded in the American society against peoples from Muslim countries. It is a tragedy that you, born to a Muslim father, are now the proponent of this travesty.
President Barack Hossein Obama, in the name of being at war with Al Qaeda, it is conceivable that as head of state of an imperialist country, you cannot recognize that the bombardment of the cities, land, villages and citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and now Yemen, is state terrorism of the highest order. Before it is too late, as happened to your predecessor, turn the U.S. policy around, as you had promised to do just a year ago. The U.S. on the present path will soon sink and drown you into a deep quagmire. The choice is yours.
Therefore, we the undersigned demand that this prejudiced national TSA policy be revoked immediately and an apology made to the law-abiding citizens here and in all fourteen countries, targeted because of their ethnicity, religion, and country of origin.
Sponsor
Links
The American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC) has news and views on Iran-U.S. relations at http://www.iranaifc.com The Stop War On Iran Campaign contains articles, videos and petitions opposing war and sanctions against Iran at http://www.stopwaroniran.org Gofto-gooTV is one media outlet where people can speak their minds freely, without interruption or being shut out if their opinions are different from those of the moderators. It is certainly one of the most progressive voices for Iranians here in the U.S. We encourage everyone to contribute intellectually and financially to this outlet. Visit www.Goftogootv.com The Westchester People's Action Coalition supports peace, justice and environmental issues at http://www.wespac.org
Comment