McClatchy Newspapers - Rep. Peter King: Terrorism Hawk or Witch Hunter?

By William Douglas | McClatchy Newspapers
 
WASHINGTON Extraordinary public scrutiny will focus Thursday not only on the topic of a widely publicized House of Representatives committee hearing the radicalization of American Muslims but also on the man who'll wield the gavel.
 
Some elected officials, civil liberties groups and American Muslim organizations fear that Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, will preside over an inflammatory inquiry akin to former Sen. Joseph McCarthy's infamous 1950s "witch hunt" investigations into communist anti-American activities.
 
Others, however, including top officials of the Obama administration, say there's a real threat to U.S. security from domestic terrorists, in particular from Muslims attracted to jihad, and that investigating that threat is a legitimate task for Congress. . . .

. . . . Abed Ayoub, the legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, worries that King's hearing could end up doing more harm than good in fostering better relations between Muslim Americans and law enforcers.
 
"There already is a strong dialogue and connection with the law enforcement communities," Ayoub said. "We don't know what his motives are and what he's trying to accomplish. It seems pretty political."
 
King's supporters disagree. They see the hearings as an obligation of Congress.
 
"This hearing isn't about profiling; it's about protecting our homeland," said Jay Sekulow, the chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice. "The hearing represents a sound strategy to address what most Americans understand: that there is a very real and growing threat to our national security and way of life." . . . .

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