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No-fly list belongsin the wastebasket
A Times Editorial
Published November 11, 2007
What do you call a no-fly list that is more likely to snag Sen. Ted Kennedy and former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis than known terror plotters? We'd call it borderline garbage, but the government claims it is a valuable tool. Yet, ever since their creation following 9/11, the terrorist watch list - which now has 880,000 names on it - and its smaller cousin, the no-fly and selectee list, have been plagued by an inordinate number of false positives, snagging thousands of innocent travelers.
Getting these lists right should be the highest priority for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. But they are more of a dumping ground for names than a precision tool for ferreting out potential terrorists. About 200,000 names a year have been added to the terrorist list maintained by the FBI, with each individual sometimes representing multiple entries for aliases and variable spellings. The sheer number of names means that the list is approaching uselessness as more innocent people are ensnared due to names that are spelled the same or sound similar.
In June, 60 Minutes investigated the efficacy of the no-fly list - the one used at airports. The program featured a group of men all with the name Robert Johnson. Most of them were white men who had been repeatedly stopped, searched and interrogated every time they attempted to get on a plane. Yet the Robert Johnson who was convicted of bomb plots and constituted a reasonable threat was black.
A list that can't distinguish between the real Robert Johnson and all the others isn't worth much. What makes these lists even more questionable is that some of the most dangerous terror suspects are not on them because intelligence agencies don't want to reveal their names.
Perhaps the greatest frustration is trying to get off the lists once you're on them. There are procedures in place, but they are lengthy, bureaucratic and not always successful. Updated no-fly lists don't always make it to the airlines that do the screening.
This faulty national security program is an ongoing nightmare for thousands of travelers. Just ask the nearest Robert Johnson.
[Last modified November 10, 2007, 21:05:03]
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