The best-received jokes at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's annual conference this summer dealt, only partly in jest, with impeaching President Bush.
The speakers, who included liberal Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, railed against controversial aspects of the administration's anti-terrorism campaign: racial profiling, warrantless wiretaps, harsh interrogation techniques, Abu Ghraib, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and even separate search lines at airports.
Sitting at a front table, listening carefully, was Ron Sanders, perhaps one of the gathering's unlikeliest guests. An Egyptian-American with deep Baltimore roots, Sanders is the architect of what might prove to be one of the most transformative - and unsung - changes taking place in the sprawling U.S. intelligence bureaucracy.
His visit was part of an expanding effort to win back the trust of thousands of the children and grandchildren of immigrants, or "heritage Americans." And then, to hire them.
Many from those communities "take great exception to U.S. policy," said Sanders, referring to concerns he heard at the June conference. "We have to overcome that," he added, noting the growing need for people who can help the federal government understand and prepare for stateless threats or destabilizing emergencies around the world.
"They can give us insights into their countries and cultures and the way people speak and think in their languages that can prevent the United States from making tactical or strategic mistakes. It's hugely important," he said.
It's also hugely challenging. Many of these newer Americans have been angered by U.S. counterterrorism activities. Some come from countries where intelligence is another word for repression.
The descendants of recent immigrants were of extraordinary importance to intelligence gathering in World War II and the early years of the Cold War, but the door has all but closed in recent decades because of rules that make it extremely difficult for children of foreigners to get top-secret security clearances. Those who do often feel alienated by the lack of diversity inside the government and leave after a short time, current and former officials said.
But Sanders believes that's about to change. Operating with a mandate from his boss, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, who has made multicultural recruitment a top priority, Sanders plans to communicate frequently with leaders of various ethnic enclaves across the country, according to a draft "Heritage American Recruitment and Retention Strategy" obtained by The Sun.
