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USF Student's Plea Disproves Racial-Profiling Accusations

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 17, 2008

The guilty plea signed on Friday by former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed confirms the worst fears of many in the post-9/11 United States: Despite the government's efforts to keep them out, individuals who espouse Islamic terrorism continue to slip into the United States.

Make no mistake - Mohamed is a dangerous man, not, as his supporters said, a hapless college student who got caught with some fireworks while traveling near Goose Creek, S.C.

Ahmed Mohamed made a videotape teaching terrorists worldwide how to turn remote-controlled toys into detonators for explosive devices. There is little difference between those who provide support for terrorist and those who do the actual killing. It is appropriate that Mohamed is going to be behind bars for a long time.

His specific intent was to kill U.S. troops stationed in Arab countries, but who can say what harm resulted when his instructions were disseminated worldwide on YouTube. He did this as a doctoral student invited into the United States to advance his studies. Outrageous.

The case is chillingly reminiscent of some of the 9/11 hijackers, who turned Florida into their home base in the months leading up to the attack, taking advantage of our open society to advance their murderous cause.

There has never been an explanation from either the U.S. State Department or Homeland Security as to how Mohamed was allowed into the United States from his native Egypt to attend USF.

Only months after being admitted into the United States, he was posting videos teaching terrorists how to kill. Surely, there is a flaw in the system.

The public is due some answers.

And the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina is due an apology from those who claimed Mohamed was a victim of racial profiling. Had it not been for an eagle-eyed deputy, this admitted terrorist would still be free.

Mohamed and his co-defendant Youssef Megahed were stopped for speeding, and it was their suspicious behavior that prompted deputies to inquire further. A federal public defender assailed the deputies for acting on a "hunch" based on "inappropriate stereotypes."

Granted, comments made by the deputies during the arrest and captured by a dashboard video camera were less than professional. Nonetheless, there is nothing wrong with law enforcement acting on a hunch - plenty of crimes have been solved and fugitives - including Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph - caught that way.

As for stereotypes, sometimes law enforcement can be overly aggressive. But often those who try to pretend that Islamic terrorists are neither Islamic nor terrorists are the first to make the racial profiling claim as they look for an easy excuse.

At least with Mohamed bound for federal prison, there will be one less terrorist among us for awhile.

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