Profiling is valid safety measure

I am in no way anti-American Civil Liberties Union, or its mission to protect the rights of American citizens. But it is high time that the U.S. Supreme Court and the Congress clarify the support of this union in our war against terrorism, and nationwide response actions on the part of individual states, to protect the safety, security and ultimate continued liberty of its citizens.

Though a powerful, intelligent organization, the ACLU is not in the national chain of command that permits access to highly classified information from abroad or here on the home front. It is neither knowledgeable or qualified to become involved in the important issue of national security, nor the required response to deter and prevent present or future problems.

Whether it is probable profiling or not, the lawsuit being filed by the ACLU against New York for random searches of backpacked passengers boarding subway trains is a laughable issue. The demented killers of New Yorkers, and American and innocent citizens of other nations on 9-11 were of Arab nationality. We must certainly be suspicious of anyone even resembling an individual from this part of the world. And even though it would be even better if everyone was searched, this could become a very costly, time-consuming procedure.

Following 9-11, the president of these United States made a statement that the ACLU perhaps has forgotten, or has neglected to fully absorb the serious content of its urgency. He said: "We are at war!" No one under peaceful conditions would endorse obvious profiling tactics to protect our safety and security.

Under conditions as they are today, though, and given the culture of the attackers, profiling is not a violation of our civil rights. It is a measure to protect the safety, security and civil rights of all American citizens.

Douglas Neal Sr., Augusta