Q The comments that the President and his senior advisors have made about the increased security, the increased awareness that we will have to follow now have been careful to note that we don't want this country's freedoms to be eroded by the terrorist attack, we want to remain America. And, yet, the presence of five or four Middle East nationals on a domestic flight is exceptionally rare.
Are the rules different for non-Americans? Should that trigger now questions -- Middle East nationals on domestic flights in large numbers, should that trigger questions? And are non-Americans in this heightened sense, this more aware time, to undergo more close scrutiny than members of the Arab American community -- non-Americans to undergo more scrutiny than they did in the past?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think when you look at the fact that there are lines, sometimes people are told to get to their flights four hours early, that way they can all go through the same security review, I think it's perfectly clear that these provisions apply to one and to all. As a matter of law enforcement, anybody who is believed to be violating the laws of the United States will be held accountable and responsible. And the laws target law-breakers.
Q -- whether we can be more focused on non-Americans in this time. I'm trying not to get to profiling; I'm trying not to get to the diminution of civil liberties. But is the scrutiny more on non-Americans than it can be on Americans?
MR. FLEISCHER: Well, I think the scrutiny is on those who violate the law. And whether that's in the form of immigration, whether it's in the form of anything else that would give the law enforcement community reason to believe that there are threats. But I remind you, again, that the precautions that have been put in place apply to one and to all.
And, again, the President -- also, there's a reminder here when he goes to the mosque this afternoon that it still is a time to remind all Americans about the role of civil justice in our society, about the role we all play as individuals in treating our neighbors fairly and in making no presumptions about guilt. And that's one of the reasons the President is going. He wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with the American Arab community and Muslims to say that they, too, are patriots and they, too, are victims of this attack.
Q But, Ari, one of the hijackers was an American.
MR. FLEISCHER: And I repeat my answer: law enforcement will target those who break the law.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-8.htmlOne of the hijackers was an AMERICAN???
NONE of the hijackers was an Afghan.
NONE of the hijackers came from Falluja or anyplace in Iraq.
Which hijacker are they talking about
and for chrissakes why have we not bombed Peyton Place?