NEW YORK - The FBI is trying to ferret out possible Hizbollah agents in
the United States amid concerns that rising U.S.-Iranian tensions could trigger
attacks on American soil, FBI officials said.
Relations between Washington and Tehran, which soured after the 1979 Islamic
revolution, have deteriorated further recently over Iran's nuclear program and
its support for Hizbollah, the militant Islamic group whose capture of two
Israeli soldiers last week prompted Israel to launch retaliatory strikes in
Lebanon.
American law enforcement officials are concerned the Lebanon-based Hizbollah,
which has so far focused on fund-raising and other support activities inside the
United States, could turn to violence in solidarity with Iran.
"If the situation escalates, will Hizbollah take the gloves off, so to speak,
and attack here in the United States, which they've been reluctant to do until
now?" said William Kowalski, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI in
Detroit.
Detroit is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the United
States.
"Because of the heightened difficulties surrounding U.S.-Iranian relations,
the FBI has increased its focus on Hizbollah," said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson
in Washington.
"Those investigations relate particularly to the potential presence of
Hizbollah members on U.S. soil."
There is no specific or credible intelligence pointing to an imminent U.S.
attack by Hizbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist group,
Bresson added.
But Iran's Hizbollah -- which claims links to the Lebanese group -- said on
Tuesday it stood ready to attack U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told reporters in Toronto that agents were
keeping a close eye on Hizbollah, especially "when the international situation
heats up."
AMERICAN MUSLIMS WORRY
Muslim American groups worry that fear of Hizbollah violence in the United
States could again cast an unwelcome spotlight on their community, which has
often felt a target of surveillance or discrimination since the September 11
attacks.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in
Washington, said his advocacy group fielded almost daily complaints from Muslims
who felt singled out or intimidated by government officials.
Muslim American groups say that while they support fighting against
terrorism, they are concerned the focus is unfairly on them.
"There are individual concerns that the government does interviews with
individuals, with kind of subtle threats that they could be arrested or deported
if they don't cooperate. That is really the concern for a lot of these groups
right now," said Salam al-Marayati, head of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public
Affairs Council.
"That fact in itself will alienate, frustrate and perhaps even push these
young people further to the margins, which creates a very problematic situation
for all of us," he said. "In a way, this is becoming a self-fulfilling
prophecy."
Marayati, who consults regularly with government officials, said they were
listening to his concerns, but should do more to show Americans that their
Muslim compatriots are just as determined as they are to fight terrorism.
"Since the relationship is not publicized, people think we're not
contributing and Muslims continue to be seen as a problem in our society as
opposed to part of the solution," he said.