Profiling Works

(The following is an excerpt from last night's heated discussion on "Kudlow & Company" where we discussed profiling potential terrorists. My guests were Ibrahim Hooper, the spokeman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Jed Babbin, author/former deputy undersecretary of defense.)

KUDLOW: All right, gentlemen. Let me move quickly to another but very important subject, the front page of the New York Times. An excellent story by Mr. Eric Lipton. Let me just read briefly. "As the man approached the airport security checkpoint here on Wednesday, he kept picking up and putting down his backpack, touching his fingers to his chin, rubbing some object in his hands and finally reaching for a pack of cigarettes even though smoking was not allowed. Two transportation security administration officers stood nearby, nearly motionless and silent, gazing straight at him, then with a nod they moved in, chatted briefly, and then swiftly pulled him aside." Now, this is called behavioral--this is called behavioral profiling...Jed Babbin, what is your take on this new development? They're using it in London. They're using it in Israel, Tel Aviv and so forth, and it looks like they're using it in the United States increasingly.
Mr. BABBIN: Well look, it's not new. It's been used by the Israelis for three decades very successfully. And what we're talking about here, Larry, this is not a civil rights issue. Nobody's going to confuse Ibrahim with Martin Luther King Jr., or confuse CAIR with the NAACP. We're talking about profiling of people who are more likely to be terrorists. And if you look at the list of the 24 people arrested in London, you don't see any Johanssens or Kowalskis or Goldfarbs or O'Flanagans on that. It's all those people.
Mr. HOOPER: Can you be more racist?
Mr. BABBIN: Well, I don't think I--that's not racist. This is not about racism.
Mr. HOOPER: OK, I'll ask you...
Mr. BABBIN: If you read the Con--look, I will...
Mr. HOOPER: How would you determine who is a Muslim to be profiled? Would you pull me aside? I didn't wear my skull cap just so that you...
Mr. BABBIN: Oh, I certainly would. I would absolutely. Ibrahim, you'd be at the top of my list because CAIR's history...
Mr. HOOPER: How would you know I was a Muslim?
Mr. BABBIN: Because I know you--look...
Mr. HOOPER: How would you know I was a Muslim?
Mr. BABBIN: It's not a question of knowing who is a Muslim or who is not. We know people who have certain appearances, we know people who have certain behavior patterns. This behavior profiling has been working for 30 years.