Profiling will increase terrorism not combat it:

Profiling alienates groups needed in the fight against terrorism.  Treating all Muslims as suspects, or being perceived as such, undermines efforts to gain intelligence on terrorists. Profiling the very communities we need information from to catch terrorists would be counter-productive as they would be less inclined to come forward. Umar Abdul-Muttallab’s father for example gave us such information to prevent the Dec. 25 terror plot.[1] Even if security profiling did make airport security more effective as supporters claim (although it would not) without  personal intelligence and assistance the security situation will be far worse than it is now..  Normal security screening does not alienate these groups in the same way, as it is applied to everyone (and so they do not feel singled out) and it can be applied in culturally sensitive ways (for example, ensuring that pat-downs of Muslim women are always carried out only by female security officers).[2] Profiling also gives terrorists a justification for their acts. As Michael German argues: "when we abandon our principles, we not only betray our values, we also run the risk of undermining international and community support for counterterrorism efforts by providing an injustice for terrorists to exploit as a way of justifying further acts of terrorism."[3] In general profiling contributes to an environment of fear and insecurity, in which some communities feel victimized and others feel under constant threat, leading to even more tensions and an increased risk of violence on either side. Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in December of 2009 after the Christmas Day Bomber incident: "While everyone supports robust airline security measures, racial and religious profiling are in fact counterproductive and can lead to a climate of insecurity and fear."[4] True success in preventing terrorism will require the active co-operation of Muslim communities, both at home and abroad, in identifying and isolating terrorist suspects and training groups. This cannot be achieved if it is perceived that the West regards all Muslims as terrorist suspects. The distinction which almost all Muslims currently see between themselves and the violent jihadis of the terrorist networks should be fostered, rather than sending the opposite message by implying we cannot tell the difference, or even that we believe there is no difference between them. For this reason, instituting security profiling at airports would be counter-productive, and thus should not be done. [1] Al-Marayati, Salam. "Get the Intelligence Right". New York Times Room for Debate. 4 January 2010. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/will-profiling-make-a-... [2] Schneier, Bruce. "Profiling Makes Us Less Safe". New York Times, Room for Debate. 4 January 2010. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/will-profiling-make-a-... [3] German, Michael. "Wrong and Unworkable". New York Times Room for Debate. 4 January 2010. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/will-profiling-make-a-... [4] Groening, Chad.  “U.S. airport security - 'profiling' a must”. OneNewsNow. 31 December 2009.  http://www.onenewsnow.com/Security/Default.aspx?id=833346