Falafel and the War on Terror
By Tom Shoop | Thursday, November 08, 2007 | 09:22 AM
By Tom Shoop | Thursday, November 08, 2007 | 09:22 AM
Can you tell a terrorist by what he eats? Apparently FBI agents thought so.
CQ Homeland Security reported last week that FBI officials combed through sales records of Middle Eastern food at San Francisco-area restaurants in 2005 and 2006, hoping that the data, along with other information, would lead them to Iranian secret agents operating in the United States. Apparently, higher-ups put a stop to the effort before it got very far.
(Hat tip: Danger Room.)
Comments
Mr. Shoop: I think you need to check your facts. The CQ Homeland Security article you cite mentioned FBI searches of grocery stores -- not restaurants. Of course, that begs the question: were they searching purchase records at major grocers such as Vons and Ralphs or just specialty ethnic markets? As a frequent purchaser of boxed felafel mixes, tahini, and olive oil, and having recently lived in the region the FBI searched, the personal implications are profound. Of course, I'm a white, blue eyed female Christian who believes in non-violence ... but still, I do feel a bit queasy that Big Brother really is watching ...
anon | Friday, November 09, 2007 | 10:25 AMJust appears they were doing some good critical thinking. Bravo to the agents for trying to think outside the box. Management was probably just afraid of bad press they might get from profiling. Unless, they paid the agents overtime for this project the cost was the same as it would have been otherwise.
Ron | Friday, November 09, 2007 | 10:00 AMUnfortunatly this intelligence gathering most likely cost the tax payers millions..
Chris | Thursday, November 08, 2007 | 09:53 AMABOUT THIS BLOG
Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.
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