If he turns out to be a terrorist then hoooray for our side. If he turns out to be just a lunatic, shame on us for racial profiling. It's the classic error question. In the face of uncertainty which risk is greater if it turns out you're wrong: the risk of missing a terrorist or the risk of unecessarily offending a group? Hmm, that's a toughie.

Newsday:

Authorities say the unusual behavior of a New York truck driver who was pulled over for speeding and then shot during a confrontation with a state trooper has prompted them to investigate possible terrorist ties.

Mohammed Medhat Karim, 46, was pulled over Monday by Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Thomas C. Kilpatrick for speeding on U.S. Highway 64 in Wayne County, about 80 miles southwest of Nashville.

As Kilpatrick was returning with the citation, authorities said Karim backed into the trooper's car, and "there was a confrontation at that time."

Kilpatrick fired several shots, striking the driver in his chest, according to reports. Karim somehow took the gun away from the trooper, got back in his rig and drove about a mile before apparently realizing he had been shot and pulled over, authorities said. He was then arrested.

"It's a very strange set of circumstances," said District Attorney General Mike Bottoms, who called for the probe. "We're trying to find out why a driver would act the way this one did for a speeding ticket."

Maj. Gen. Jerry Humble, director of Tennessee's Homeland Security, said authorities "don't have any indication right now" that Karim may be tied to terrorists, but they're just being "cautious." "It's normal procedure," Humble said. "This is the world we live in after 9/11, so this is the steps we have to take. Law enforcement never know what's going to happen."

Humble agreed with Bottoms that it was Karim's "actions" that "raised our eyebrows," not his foreign-sounding name or the fact that President Bush was in town Tuesday to speak to the American Legion national convention.

"It was irrational behavior from a commercial truck driver, and this was a crime," Humble said. Karim's tractor trailer has been impounded, he said, and it's going to be off-loaded. Authorities haven't yet learned what cargo the truck was carrying.

Meanwhile, Karim remains at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition Tuesday.

No charges have been filed against him, and his driving record was not available under New York privacy laws. Kilpatrick has been placed on administrative leave with pay.

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