Gore Decries Treatment of Arabs Post 9-11

In a speech at the Jiddah Economic Summit, former Vice President Gore accused the United States of abuses in the treatment Arabs in the country after the Al-Qa'idah attacks of September 11, 2001. His comments come at a time when the Muslim world is already being whipped into a religious fervor over cartoons appearing in a Danish newspaper in the fall of 2005. Even if the comments are technically accurate, and I have my doubts as to that, the degree of exaggeration and hyperbole raise serious concerns about the former vice president's motives, not to mention his grasp on reality. Is he trying to torpedo American foreign policy?

Read what he said:

"Arabs in the United States had been indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

I think the word the vice president might find a better descriptor is "systematic." If you are looking for people that might be up to no good, you probably want to start with people that are breaking the law. Overstaying a visa or not having a green card are violations. Are we not to enforce our laws? I would like to know the "unforgivable" conditions - sort of like a Saudi jail, maybe?

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake. The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Maybe Mr. Gore should remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an incubator for Islamic fundamentalism. Millions of dollars of private Saudi money has found its way into the hands of terrorist organization, or at a minimum to hardline madrasahs in Pakistan that preach hatred and intolerance. Pardon us if we want to take a look at who from Saudi Arabia wants to enter the United States.