With a potential second Gulf War on the horizon, FBI interviews with Iraqi university students studying in America have raised the eyebrows of Arab-American groups.
The FBI said, however, it is just conducting business as usual and when interviews with students are conducted they are only part of larger, counter-terrorism investigations.
FBI Special Agent John Iannarelli at the national press office said media reports of an organized, nationwide program to interrogate Iraqi students and even naturalized Iraqis are "totally blown out of proportion."
Iannarelli credits misconceptions by the public for the negative position some have taken to the Bureau's presence on college campuses.
"Some people always have the incorrect information, and they were upset, which is understandable," he said.
Iannarelli added that since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Bureau has "worked very closely with the Middle Eastern community."
Based on specific information, the FBI asked selected schools to voluntarily provide information about certain students who may be able help with an investigation, Iannarelli said.
"It's not uncommon for the FBI to try to contact someone for information on a case," he said.
If, however, the school legally was not able to do so because of state or local statutes or refused to, he said the FBI would try to obtain access to the records through the courts.
University officials said they protect the privacy of international students.
"The International Studies Office maintains confidentiality of student records and will not release information about students from any specific country," ISO Director Rebecca Brown said. Releasing such information "could have the potential to have people feel targeted, and that's not our mission."
Leila Al-Qatami, spokeswoman for the Washington-based American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said since Sept. 11, 2001 the FBI and Arab community have forged a new relationship, but said she is wary of a more intrusive Bureau.
"We ask the community to cooperate in any way possible but we feel targeting an ethnicity is ... bad police policy," Al-Qatami said.
AAD has not received many complaints from Iraqis and students, she said.
Most alarming to the Arab community, Al-Qatami said, was the potential alternative uses of information gathered through these methods besides counter-terrorism efforts.
Although the AAD encourages community cooperation with the government, Al-Qatami said some members are reluctant because they fear the FBI will find them guilty of immigration violations.
Arab-American Institute Communication Director Jennifer Salan said she was surprised the FBI would be interviewing Iraqi-Americans because "no groups is more supportive of the possible war with Iraq."
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