Following reports on the FBI and NSA’s targeting of Muslim-Americans, an alliance of 44 civil rights groups has sent a letter to President Obama, while the NSA faces criticism over racial slurs.
The latest batch of NSA documents, detailed in an article by journalist Glenn Greenwald and published by the Intercept this week, have triggered shock waves through the civil rights community.
FBI, NSA targets Muslim-American lawyers, rights activists
Not only does the NSA seem to unfairly target Muslims over their
religious beliefs, but the agency peppered the report with racial
slurs, at one point calling a hypothetical target in an
instructional manual from 2005 “Mohammed Raghead.”
The letter from the 44 civil rights groups, organized by the
American Civil Liberties Union, drew parallels between the NSA’s
intense interest in Muslims and the political firestorm that
prevailed during an earlier politically turbulent period of
American history:
“[D]uring the 1960s and 1970s, civil rights leaders,
activists and members of minority communities were subjected to
unlawful and abusive government surveillance based not on what
they had done, but what they believed and who they were,”
the letter read. “Despite reform efforts, abusive practices
continue today. Federal, state, and local law enforcement are
targeting entire communities—particularly American Muslims—for
secret surveillance based on their race, religion, ethnicity or
national origin.”
According to the leaked material, at least 202 Muslim-Americans
have fallen under the surveillance of their government, including
Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil
rights organization in the country, and Faisal Gill, member of
the Republican Party and a former political candidate who held
served in the Department of Homeland Security under President
George W. Bush.
None of the targeted Muslim-Americans has been charged with a
crime.
While the White House has not yet responded to the coalition’s
letter, spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told the Guardian that the
Obama administration takes the issue of racial slurs
“extremely seriously.”
"Upon learning of this matter, the White House immediately
requested that the director of national intelligence undertake an
assessment of intelligence community policies, training standards
or directives that promote diversity and tolerance, and as
necessary, make any recommendations changes or additional
reforms," Hayden said.
Report on #surveillance of US Muslims suggests govt may be spying based on activism, religion, belief. by @Lwmurphyhttps://t.co/6WKennC9x4
— ACLU National (@ACLU) July 9, 2014
Sen. Ron Wyden, a fierce critic of NSA activities, said the
latest revelation “raises new questions about agencies’ internal
oversight of domestic surveillance activities and the adequacy of
protections for the privacy of law-abiding Americans.”
Vanee Vines, a spokeswoman for the NSA, said "Any use of
racial or ethnic stereotypes, slurs, or other similar language by
employees is both unacceptable and inconsistent with NSA policy
and core values."
In 2011, the FBI, at the behest of the White House, was forced to
remove a large quantity of offensive language from its training
material, including some that called for "Hiroshima"
tactics against Islamic countries.
The NSA, the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence rejected the assertion that intelligence
work was based on specific belief systems.
"It is entirely false that US intelligence agencies conduct
electronic surveillance of political, religious or activist
figures solely because they disagree with public policies or
criticize the government, or for exercising constitutional
rights," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
and the Justice Department said in a joint statement.
"No US person can be the subject of surveillance based solely
on First Amendment activities, such as staging public rallies,
organizing campaigns, writing critical essays, or expressing
personal beliefs. On the other hand, a person who the court finds
is an agent of a foreign power under this rigorous standard is
not exempted just because of his or her occupation," the
statement said.
It is worth noting that another 5,501 email addresses tagged for
surveillance, the “nationality” column was marked
“unknown” or left blank, while the remaining 1,782
accounts were tagged as belonging to “non-US persons.”
Without this piece of information, it is impossible to say with
certainty that Muslim-American were more likely to fall under
surveillance than other racial and religious groups.