CNN features a short article stating all relevant facts known about Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man who was recently taken into custody after the explosions in New York and New Jersey on Saturday night. Rahami was born in Pakistan but is a naturalized US citizen after following his father here, who was seeking asylum, as a minor. Throughout the years, he has maintained a strong presence in Pakistan, allegedly visiting family and his wife in an area where the Taliban is largely based. Upon reentering the United States, Rahami was sent to secondary questioning, as all people entering from this area are, and was cleared every time by authorities, never making it on their radar until this past weekend.
CNN, an american based company, obviously caters a bias. This bias is made apparent by their sole usage of police found evidence, evidence that is collected solely to to prove his guiltiness. While it is almost certain that Rahami is guilty of at least some sort of relation to the attack, no information that could prove his innocence is stated, as his claims to have been visiting family have underlying traces of (well deserved) doubt. The fact that Rahami evaded the authorities through even secondary questioning makes me question the formality and operation of this process, as he evaded them numerous times. With the increasing number of terrorist attacks, I wouldn't be surprised to see this process increase even more, along with a rise in airport security. Similar to events in our history like 9/11 and the Cold War, outsiders coming from suspicious areas are questioned and doubted. While this doubt is with our country's safety and wellbeing in mind, it must be remembered that not all people from the middle east are terrorists.
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I really like how you point out that bias. If it really was fair, all evidence would be presented and it would be up to the reader to decide who was responsible. It's important that we see the attempt to persuade us to view the bombing suspect in a possibly xenophobic way.
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