What happened to investigation on spying of Muslim-Americans by New York City Police with aid of CIA of Muslim individuals, groups and mosques? What is potentially illegal about such activities is numerous, but most critically the CIA is prohibited by law from engaging in domestic spying. Further, profiling by law enforcement on basis of religion, ethnicity or race goes against presumably standing regulations as well as the US Constitution. Every Muslim a Suspect? Over last 2 months Associated Press, CNN, CBS and others have followed trail of such spying. According to AP, prominent leaders who even “decried terrorism, cooperated with the police” were subjected including one who was under monitoring even as he dined with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. ---“Sheikh Reda Shata was among those singled out for surveillance because of his "threat potential" and what the NYPD considered links to organizations associated with terrorism, despite having never been charged with any crime, according to secret police documents obtained by The Associated Press. This was life in America for Shata: a government partner in the fight against terrorism and a suspect at the same time. During his time at the Islamic Center of Bay Ridge since 2002, he welcomed FBI agents to his mosque to speak to Muslims, invited NYPD officers for breakfast and threw parties for officers who were leaving the precinct. As police secretly watched Shata in 2006, he had breakfast and dinner with Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion and was invited to meet with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Shata recalls. ‘This is very sad,’ Shata said after seeing his name in the NYPD file. "What is your feeling if you see this about people you trusted? The dichotomy between simultaneously being partner and suspect is common among some of New York's Muslims. Some of the same mosques that city leaders visited to hail their strong alliances with the Muslim community have also been placed under NYPD surveillance — in some cases infiltrated by undercover police officers and confidential informants.” --- (10-11-2011) “Tier One Person of Interest”: However, it appears simply on basis of religion and standing as community leaders, Mr Shata and others are defined as “Tier One Persons of Interest” Police records define a person of interest as "an individual with threat potential based on their position at a particular location, links to an organization, overseas links and/or criminal history." According to the AP Report: “Police assigned an undercover officer and an informant to watch Shata personally, and two others were assigned to watch his mosque, according to the NYPD files.” The rationale/excuse for the “spying” is often contradictory and/or convoluted. It certainly would not be allowed to stand with respect to any other American ethnic, racial or religious identity as a group. In response to allegations of profiling according to the AP: ---“Last year, after a Pakistani-American man was accused of attempting to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, Kelly, the police commissioner, visited the Al-Iman mosque in Astoria, Queens, where he praised a Muslim street vendor for reporting the suspicious vehicle to local police. Kelly assured members of the mosque that racial profiling is prohibited by the police, though he acknowledged in response to a question that officers will conduct random checks of people who fit a particular description. Yet in 2006, the NYPD recorded in its files that members of the same mosque also belonged to extremist organizations that harbored anti-American sentiments and terrorist sympathies. That mosque was placed under surveillance by an undercover NYPD officer and a confidential informant, according to the police files.” --- Jewish Borough President & Friend of Diversity: The AP reported on the reactions of some of NYC officials including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, a visible supporter of diversity and tolerance who “attended an event on the final day of Ramadan at Brooklyn's Makki Masjid. The borough president, Marty Markowitz, described his Muslim neighbors as "like every other group in our fabric — successful, community-minded contributors who improve our quality of life." Meanwhile, the NYPD recorded in its files that Makki Masjid was a "Tier One" mosque because of its members' radical Islamic views.” --- Chilling Effect of Community Interaction Which has Been at Essence of Citizenship: In the past, I have attended community activities involving its Muslim members as well as the NYPD Commissioner. I’m not particularly religious, but I do take offense that I would be judged by police/CIA in my religiosity. More critically, this has the intended or not chilling effect – discouraging non-Muslims and Muslims from associating for fear that by association one could come to be monitored/spied upon by law enforcement/CIA (which appears to be blurring its own lines of authority and legality) CIA Involvement in Domestic Spying: CNN also reported that the CIA was involved in the spying of Muslim-Americans by New York Police. According to CNN, the CIA stated that reports "mischaracterized the nature and scope" of the CIA's support for the New York police. ---“A senior CIA officer is assigned to work with the NYPD, an official familiar with the agency's cooperation with New York police said Thursday. The officer would not be involved in law enforcement activities," said the official, who did not wish to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. This senior officer's assignment is part of a program that gives him an opportunity to observe the best practices, leadership lessons, and management methodology of a large organization also involved in the fight against terrorism," the official told CNN.”--- Broad Denials, Fear and Patriotic Words as Substitute for Rule of Law & Our American Constitution: The involvement of the CIA in domestic spying would carry significant legal and Constitutional consequences, as such is clearly against standing laws of the US. Several lawmakers from the area have called for an investigation. Those include Rush Holt, area US Congressman from New Jersey. So far we have no indication of the results of any investigation, departmental or by any US legislative body. To the contrary, the NYPD has used the story to prove its commitment to the “war on terror.” According to the CNN report: ---“The NYPD has blasted the report as "fictional.’ ---‘Even for a piece driven by anonymous NYPD critics, it shows that we're doing all we reasonably can to stop terrorists from killing more New Yorkers," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. We're going to do all we reasonably can to keep New York safe," Browne said in an e-mail. "We do so in partnership with the FBI and other federal agencies, and we uphold the Constitution in doing so." --- Where is the Investigation? Nice, broad statement that seeks to effectively deny while in reality accepting the facts of the published reports, and then dress them in veneer of fear crowned by the ultimate justification of patriotic language. It appears that there is no intention to proceed with a departmental investigation and to hold anyone accountable. We’re still waiting for our lawmakers to turn calls into a real investigation. The defense of America starts at home, but with protection of our Constitutional standards and the rule of law – otherwise we as Americans are only left with rhetoric. MOST RECENT AP REPORT – “NYPD Keeps Files on Muslims Who Change Their Names” - www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jXkeRxLP5SdQ66pVJzqoFUSTbRXQ?docId=99772be873ea48c2a8c113e55c74dfcc By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey FaceBook – Become a Fan at “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX More at “War Crimes Channel” - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice