“”Let me just say first that the Arabs are different from the Persians, but they’re all Osama bin Laden people.””

I flinched as if I had been punched when I heard this at the San Diego Investigator meeting nearly three weeks ago.

I was speechless because the person who said it was an FBI agent. It wasn’t just an ordinary FBI agent, but a special agent in charge of the San Diego Division of the FBI, one who has overseen 500 other agents in the continued investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Almost immediately, my stunned, speechless disbelief turned into outrage as the man’s hateful words sunk in.

All Arabs and Persians are “”Osama bin Laden people””?

My father is Persian, and some of my friends are Arab and Persian. Thus we all must be, without a doubt, a part of Osama bin Laden’s network of terrorists.

Apparently, no proof or hard evidence is required; just take a look at a person’s ethnic background, and that should be enough to convict entire races of being terrorists and traitors.

As much as the FBI special agent believed he was stating a fact, he was not. It was hate, fear and racism speaking. Yet because of the respected stature of this FBI special agent, a statement as racist and erroneous as the one he made can have horrible and far-reaching consequences.

The worst of those consequences would be if others believed him. Because of his impressive credentials and the leadership role he plays, it is not too far-fetched to think that he could be believed.

Racism breeds fear and hysteria. It is conceivable that what follows would resemble the Salem witch hunts or the days preceding the Japanese-Americans’ internment during World War II.

What followed scared me, stunned me and turned my stomach completely. In a chain reaction, the agent’s statement prompted the others participants — who belonged to the FBI, CIA, law enforcement and military — to share their racist stories and suspicions of anyone of Arab or Persian descent, and how the agents immediately reported them to the FBI. As I listened, I could find no basis in fact or truth. Their comments were fueled by nothing more than racist beliefs and fears.

Some might argue that the agent just spoke without thinking, or that his quote was taken out of context. Let me refute any doubts so that there can be no question that racism lives inside the FBI, especially within the investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

That all Persians and Arabs are “”Osama bin Laden people”” was the agent’s preface to his update on the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks.

To be fair, the special agent immediately made the following statement after his first one: “”No offense to those of that background.”” Then the agent continued to debrief the other members about the status of the investigation: which religious organizations in San Diego are funneling money to Muslims and to Afghanistan.

I have no doubt that the racist statement was completely genuine and utterly serious. It was spoken as fact and was accepted as fact by the law enforcement officials at the meeting.

There is a problem in the FBI if one of its special agents is blatantly racist. It brings up the question as to whether the FBI is conducting a witch hunt, completely disregarding the human rights of the people of Middle Eastern descent.

Some might say that what one agent thinks or believes will not have much of an impact on the FBI or its investigations. I strongly disagree.

A special agent in charge has enormous control over the leads that are investigated, the decisions concerning whom people to arrest, detain and deport, and the direction of the investigation.

I fear that the investigation into terrorist activities by the San Diego branch of the FBI has been compromised, and the investigation has turned into nothing more than a witch hunt for people of Arab and Persian descent. It is clear to me that fairness and impartiality have been compromised by the racist beliefs of that particular FBI agent.

Something even scarier: Consider how many FBI agents have similar beliefs to that special agent. It is impossible to know for certain, because racism is not something to which most people will readily admit.

The fact that this agent didn’t try to disguise or hide his racist beliefs scares me further. What is in store for those of Middle Eastern descent? Will we be thrown into internment camps like the Japanese during World War II, or will we just be thrown into prisons, detained indefinitely?

Look at the news: The roundup has begun. Thousands upon thousands of Middle Eastern men are being questioned and detained. What’s next?