Your problem is not really that it won't work in your view is it? You simply don't like the smell of categorizing folks in general for police/intelligence work do you?
We know that they have been recruiting in this country since at least 1993. We also know that they would expect us to use profiling, as that is how they operate in their own lands.
Therefore, I think it quite logical to assume that they are actively working, and have for some time, in recruiting non-ethnic types to do their work. It would be foolish of the government not to take this into account.
Do I think the government should keep an eye on ME men between 17 and 40 years of age? Sure. But I also think that you need to look at all sorts of people, and I reiterate my comment above on how many ways I could think of circumventing airport security to avoid ethnic profiling...and I am just a Midwest housewife. My objection is to why people are complaining about random searches; they are necessary if we are looking at all possibilities.
Sabertooth, you cannot seriously think we should open religious descrimination as an alternative. Not only is that unconstitutional, but it goes against the very foundations of our nation. In addition, that won't work either, because those who are terrorists will simply LIE.