Is racial profiling justified? This police practice has long seemed unfair, but is it necessary--maybe even essential--in times of crisis? (opinion).

YES

Racial profiling may not be the best way to catch criminals, but it is necessary in a time of crisis such as we are now experiencing.

Hundreds of people are involved in Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, living in many countries, including the United States. Authorities do not know many details about these terrorists except for their nationalities and religious beliefs. In order to capture them, people of similar nationalities and religions need to be questioned to make sure that someone posing as an innocent citizen is not really a terrorist hiding out, waiting for a chance to strike.

In many airports, security guards question people who match the description of terrorists before letting them board planes--not because they are racist, but to keep travelers and innocent people on the ground safe. Truthfully, if people who fit the description of a terrorist were not questioned, I would be much more upset and afraid for the security of our country. If the terrorists were described as white teenagers with blond hair and I was questioned because I fit the description, I would be happy to comply, because I have nothing to hide, and I know that it would be done in the name of safety.

Racial profiling is not something that should be practiced on a regular basis, but it is necessary in a time of crisis when criminals are still at large and thousands of people have died.

--ABIGAIL EDEN, 16
Omaha, Neb.

NO

As a Palestinian-American, born in Jerusalem and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., I have experienced racial profiling each time I return to my birthplace. Arriving at Tel Aviv's airport as a young Arab male, I am assumed to be a threat. I am routinely interrogated; five times, I have been strip-searched. These remain the most dehumanizing events of my life.

Arab-Americans now face overwhelming suspicion that they are somehow responsible for the atrocities of September 11, in which thousands died, including Arab-Americans.

Institutionalizing racial profiling would only accelerate the de facto profiling already taking place across the nation. People who look Arab have been questioned on campuses, escorted off planes, and unjustifiably detained. More than 300 hate crimes against Arabs have been reported, with about 150 being investigated by the FBI. I fear that Americans will overlook the principles of civil liberty that built this nation, and allow discriminatory policies to increase a false sense of security.

My fellow Americans must understand that Arab-Americans are with them in this time of national crisis and have fully embraced the concepts of liberty and justice.

We must find an answer to the question of security that does not compromise the sacred values of the free world. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "They that can give essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

--IYAD FATTOM, 17
Bethesda, Md.

RACIAL PROFILING/ THE BACKGROUND

Though racial profiling has been criticized, U.S. courts have never declared it legally dead. With law-enforcement focusing on Arabs in the hunt for terrorists, some individuals may be singled out for questioning more than ever.