WASHINGTON - Because of political correctness, the United States is doomed to more terrorism, and there is virtually nothing we can do to stop it.

That, at least, is the opinion of several terrorism experts with whom I spoke recently. They strongly believe, as do I, that because of a pervasive climate of political correctness in and out of government, and unwillingness to engage in racial or ethnic profiling during wartime, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Americans may soon die at the hands of terrorists.

Many liberals in the media, Congress, entertainment and the private sector believe racial or ethnic profiling is wrong. Period. No exceptions. Should that thinking continue, common sense dictates that the opportunities and openings for terrorists can only grow.

Every honest law enforcement officer charged with protecting our borders will say the borders are a sieve and that we can do little to keep out terrorists. When a high-level U.S. government official was asked why more couldn't be done on the U.S.-Mexican border to keep out or at least better screen the thousands of "non-Mexicans" coming into our country, he said it was not possible because of "political and cultural reasons."

"Political and cultural." That's just another way of saying, "We want votes and don't want to offend any particular group." National security sacrificed in the name of cheap politics and political correctness is an obscene and lethal trade-off that can only have tragic consequences.

Aside from our porous borders, my biggest fear is still home-grown terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.

Several months ago, Israeli forces arrested two Arab-American men from Fairfax County, Va., who allegedly went to Israel in the hope of becoming suicide bombers. They were born and raised in the United States.

While such examples are rare, they demonstrate that the viper is already in the nest, and it would be irresponsible and negligent to pretend otherwise. In wartime, profiling must be looked at as a viable option for homeland defense.

These home-grown terrorists may - and I stress may - come from certain groups that some in the media and elected office choose to ignore or downplay. I strongly believe that 99 percent of any group are very decent, law-abiding citizens.

That said, because all of the 9/11 terrorists were Muslim - while stressing that the vast majority of Muslim-Americans are very patriotic and would have nothing to do with terrorism - wouldn't it at least make sense to focus more attention on Muslim-Americans?

The recent problems with Muslim extremists in Moscow, Bali, Nigeria and Kenya demonstrate that the trend is not only growing, but also becoming increasingly more violent and unpredictable.

If you argue that 99 percent of all Muslim-Americans are good people who were horrified by the events of 9/11, that doesn't seem like a real problem for the United States. What's 1 percent? But if you say there are 2 million Muslim-Americans in our country and 20,000 may be suspect, that puts the problem in a different light.

With regard to the home-grown risk, and those in the Muslim faith who might sympathize with the terrorists, we would do well to examine another fact some may choose to ignore for "political or cultural" reasons: the number of African-Americans who have converted to Islam.

Make no mistake: The Muslim faith is one of peace and honor. Among its many positive aspects, Islam preaches against the killing of innocent civilians. It is gratifying that a large number of African-Americans in the U.S. military and our prisons have found comfort and security in Islam.

That said, is it racist or wrong to wonder whether a minute minority among them might, just might, sympathize with Muslims who choose to twist their faith for the wrong reasons?

We should have a solid answer to that and other questions before something terrible happens, or some in our country will have to admit to the surviving relatives that we could have prevented the tragic deaths of their loved ones but we didn't want to offend those who ultimately committed the crime.

Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and a novelist.