A familiar source of hatred for America

Faisal Shahzad, 30, was arrested at JFK Airport. He was trying to flee to Dubai and was literally pulled off the plane by U.S. authorities. Notice that he was trying to escape to Dubai, not Cancun.

Preliminary reports indicate that Shahzad is a Pakistani man who is allegedly a naturalized American citizen. The attempted Times Square bombing is an act of terrorism, but officials haven't yet determined what formal ties the accused Shahzad might have to organized groups. One thing for sure, it wouldn't surprise anyone if Shahzad is connected to the Taliban, Al Qaeda or another terrorist group.

I said in a recent post that our fears of terrorism shouldn't be so centered on immigrants from Mexico. All of the major terrorism attacks in the U.S. in the last 20 years have come from the Middle East or from within our own borders. Not a single Mexican has shot up a military base, flown jets into skyscrapers, blown up federal buildings or threatened South Park cartoon producers. Not one Mexican that I know of has worn exploding underwear or put bombs in their shoes with the intent of killing of Americans. We are not at war with Catholicism, which is the prominent religion in Mexico.

We know what the problem is. We know where the extreme hatred for us is coming from. Instead of profiling Mexicans in Arizona or Prince William County, Va., maybe authorities need to take a harder look at the fanatics coming here legally and illegally who have nothing but contempt for America.

Neighbors have said that Shahzad mostly kept to himself. No crime in that. I live in an area where keeping to yourself is a way of life, especially among certain groups. However, I do wonder what other potential behaviors people might have seen in Shahzad that could have been a red flag. Understandably, it is not always easy to report those behaviors without sounding like a racist or appearing to be paranoid. Yet, with the current state of the world, we do have a responsibility to err on the side of caution.

Some people claim Mexicans do not want to assimilate into American culture. I disagree with that broad assessment. In fact, if you want to see real non-assimilating cultures, come to Northern Virginia where large mosques are surrounded by unwelcoming iron gates and where getting a simple hello from some neighbors is nearly impossible.

I suppose it's easy to go after Mexicans, particularly in the Southwest. Illegal immigration does cause certain problems. But if it's potential terrorism that you're worried about, my guess is that any future car bombs or exploding planes will be caused by people who hate America, not by people who risk their lives to get here.