Tampabay: Iraqi heritage might trigger visit from the FBI

At the very least, he thinks the FBI will call to ask for an interview. It's the norm these days for Iraqis who live in the United States, Omeira said.

"I understand why they do it," said Omeira, who works at a convenience store in Tampa. "But sometimes the way they do it makes me wonder if they really want information or just to harass us."

The FBI has acknowledged that agents will be interviewing thousands of residents of Iraqi heritage throughout the country in hopes of gathering information to prevent any terrorist attacks planned as revenge for the conflict with Saddam Hussein.

The move is part of pre-war security measures that include protecting the food supply and more careful screening of asylum seekers from countries where the terrorist group al-Qaida operates.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said earlier this week that intelligence reporting indicated that groups sympathetic to Iraq "may use this time period to conduct terrorist attacks against the United States and our interests, either here or abroad."

Agents in Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit, among other places, have already been interviewing certain Iraqi natives, according to news reports. Tampa FBI spokeswoman Sarah Oates would not reveal the details of how local agents plan to carry out the interviews or whether any interviews have taken place.

"We want to know if they know anything that could prevent another Sept. 11th from taking place," Oates said. "We also want to reassure them that if they are a target of any sort of hate crime that we will protect their civil rights."

Federal officials have reportedly identified about 11,000 people to interview. The total Iraqi population in the United States is estimated at more than 50,000.

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics from 2000, about 1,200 Florida residents said they were born in Iraq. In the Tampa Bay area, the number was 141. Those numbers could be artificially low, according to some Arab experts.

Michael Pheneger, treasurer of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida, said that to a certain extent the FBI interviews are understandable given the probability of war. On the other hand, he said, the interviews have a "serious intimidation factor."

"The trouble is they call people in asking for cooperation, but they treat them like suspects," said Pheneger, a retired U.S. Army colonel.

Pheneger pointed out that officials in some FBI offices have said they won't pursue any technical immigration violations unearthed as a result of the interviews. Others have said they will be obliged to report the violations.

The FBI has also told Muslim groups that if the interview subject brings an attorney it might lead them to suspect that person has something to hide, Pheneger said.

"That is not the way we do things in America," Pheneger said. "Given what has happened to other targeted groups, if would seem reasonable to take along an attorney even if you had done nothing wrong."

Instead of targeting Iraqis as a whole, Pheneger suggested that the FBI work with the leaders of the Iraqi immigrant community to forge lasting allies.

"The question is whether the emphasis is on intimidation or cooperation," he said.

Omeira, who was questioned after the Sept. 11 attacks, said most Iraqi immigrants hate Hussein and would take pleasure in seeing him ousted from power. Omeira, who came to the United States in 2000, said he does not think he has any information the would be helpful to counterterrorism or the war effort.

"I wish I did," he said. "I'd happily help get rid of Hussein."

-- The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer and Times staffers John Martin and Connie Humburg contributed to this report. Graham Brink can be reached at (813) 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com .

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