Iraqis living in US to be tracked

The Bush administration has begun a major programme to monitor Iraqi-Americans and Iraqi citizens in the US for signs that they might be planning terrorist attacks inside the country in the event of war. One Washington official described it as "the largest and most aggressive" scheme of its type in US history.

Details of the previously secret project, condemned by Muslim-American groups, were apparently leaked to the New York Times as a riposte to allegations made in Congress that US intelligence agencies were proving incompetent in dealing with potential threats.

Any evidence linking Iraqis to terrorism would also boost President George Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein has a history of cooperating with al-Qaida, a claim with which the CIA disagrees.

The federal government is understood to be planning to start voluntary interviews with Arab-Americans next week, asking that they report suspicious activities connected to Iraq. Thousands were similarly questioned during the 1991 Gulf war. The FBI will meet community leaders in an effort to explain why the scheme is necessary.

The programme focuses on those of Iraqi origin at American universities or who are working for private corporations, the New York Times said, and is being given legal authority by means of national security warrants. Individuals will be recruited as informants.

The scheme "goes against all accepted norms of due process and legal rights", said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Washington-based Council on Islamic-American Relations. "To monitor someone who has exhibited no probable cause for any link to illegal activity is a violation of American law, or at least it used to be."