The Consequences of Refusing to Profile

The consequences of refusing to profile:

The top U.S. diplomat in Pakistan says the Obama administration does not know how many Americans might have disappeared overseas to train with al-Qaida or other terrorist groups.

The number is not thought to be large, but Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson outlined a possible "nightmare scenario" — people holding U.S. passports receiving terrorist training then returning legally to the U.S. to commit violent acts.

She said in a speech Friday to the Pacific Council in Los Angeles that the U.S. is working with Pakistan and other governments to figure out how to identify such people.

She said after the speech "there are more out there than we know about."

Young Arab men flock from the U.S. with their American passports to Islamic countries. They can legally return whenever they want. We have no databases on these men to track a pattern, even though we know all Islamic jihad is waged by young Arab men. The consequences of refusing to profile: we haven't a clue to the identities or numbers of radicalized Americans, but we know they are out there.