Politics: Know Allah, No Peace

Professor Jonathan Turley in the LA Times lays out a stark contrast between the justice received by non-Muslims and the so-called justice that Muslims and Arab-Americans receive under the heavy hand of Ashcroft's Justice Department:

Consider the cases of Earl Krugel and Robert Goldstein. Krugel is the former West Coast coordinator of the Jewish Defense League. He was recorded in meetings in October 2001 with alleged co-conspirators planning a reign of terror on Arab Americans to give them "a wake-up call" by destroying one of their "filthy mosques." This conspiracy allegedly included a plan to assassinate Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), who is of Lebanese descent. Recently, Krugel confessed to a plot to blow up a mosque in Culver City.

Krugel was given immunity and is reportedly sharing information on other attacks, including the 1985 bombing death of Arab American civil rights leader Alex Odeh. Though Ashcroft has promised to prosecute accused terrorists to the fullest extent of the law and to reject any deals, Krugel was given a generous plea bargain and immunity and is likely to receive a mere 13-year sentence.

In the Krugel case, the government had evidence of a conspiracy to attack Arab Americans and their institutions; it included bombings with the stated intent to terrorize. Yet, the government chose not to charge Krugel as a terrorist but instead charged him only with civil rights violations.

Krugel's case is not unique. In Florida, Robert Goldstein and his wife, Kristi Lea Persinger, plotted their own terror war. When the police were called to their house in a domestic dispute in 2002, they discovered an arsenal that included 30 bombs, mines, 30 to 40 guns, light-armor rockets, machine guns, sniper rifles and grenades. They also found plans to blow up 50 mosques and to "liquidate" Muslims. Goldstein vowed to "kill all 'rags' "at an Islamic education center.

Like Krugel, Goldstein was charged not with terrorism but with civil rights violations. Goldstein was sentenced to a paltry 12 1/2 years for conspiracy to violate civil rights. Persinger (who had five bombs in her closet) was given a mere three years in prison — about what you might get for tax evasion.

Next Turley goes on to discuss the extreme action the Justice Department has taken in the case of 11 Muslim men in Northern Virginia (discussed here in the Liquid List). Unlike the bomb- and threat-making exploits of the former Mr and Mrs. Goldstein, "in the cases of at least four of the men, there is scant evidence of anything beyond anti-Indian sentiments and weekend Rambo fantasies."

There is so much in our nation that is dangerously flawed, or tragically still bound up in racism, bigotry and hate. And so much of it seems beyond repair. I can't convert the racist beliefs of this or that bigot; it's an exercise in futility in which I'm not interested in wasting my time. But shouldn't our nation's highest law enforcement entity not so clearly engage in racist treatment of American citizens? Don't we all deserve that?