One million names on U.S. terrorist watch list: rights group

Tuesday 15th July, 06:45 AM JST

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wilbur at 05:06 PM JST - 15th July

i got a friend on the list and he used to work for the Secret Service
skipthesong at 05:27 PM JST - 15th July

Yo Zen, 1. Leave the Latin American out of this. Non-relevant. 2. "Nah, I think the list should include anyone except for legal and atleast 4th~5th generation american citizens." Thanks a lot.

How about this, why don't they just close down the DHS, throw the list away. This way, everyone is happy. If they get blown up on a plane by an extremist from an Islamic land, an American, a European, an alien from outer space, at least they can say they weren't profiling him/her.

Throw it away so everyone can shut the heck up. Cease all security at airports, let all who want on fly, and let us bring what ever we want.

JoeBigs: So, if I am a threat to the Democrats, I am safe?
skipthesong at 05:27 PM JST - 15th July

i got a friend on the list and he used to work for the Secret Service" Was he secret about being secret?
smithinjapan at 06:03 PM JST - 15th July

Helter: "There are about a billion Muslims in the world. If we assume that 1% are radicalized enough to be potential terrorists, which is probably a low estimate, that's still ten million. So, if anything, the U.S. terrorist watch list of one million names is sorely lacking. It should be closer to ten million. The FBI needs to pick up the pace!"

"not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslim"

According to whose definition of 'terrorism', Helter? I think people with extremist' thoughts like YOURS should be on the list. Your generalization poses far more a threat to innocent people in the world than their religion does to you, regardless of how you choose to misinterpret it. Sorry if I don't like racist generalizations, but everything I just said is true.

Anyway, lest we forget that earlier this year a 5-year-old boy (or maybe 6) was not allowed to board a plane because he was on the terror list (had the same name as someone else), and they took him into custody. He got out before long, but it still took them a week to get things sorted out and for him to be allowed to fly with his family.... So as you can see, a VERY effective list!
wilbur at 07:05 PM JST - 15th July

skip: apparently not enough
skipthesong at 07:18 PM JST - 15th July

it’s unfair, out of control, incompetently administered, a waste of resources, and is a very real impediment in the lives of billions of travelers" With exception to the last part, what the hell does the ACLU expect from US government workers? Do you really think street level stuff is going to change because of a change at the top? It never makes it down to the bottom. For once, I agree with the ACLU - Government workers need to be fired and replaced by contractors who will work for the money, not to sit around.

So Smitty, you think because a person holds a certain view, hasn't acted out on anything, should be put on the list? If that's the case, then shouldn't people who are calling for death to the infidel, like those in London should be on the list as well. Hey, what about Iranian president, who has called for Fatwas as well as yelled out death to a certain type of people? Oh, I forgot, you put those people into a different category.

Wilbur, I was only joking man. It is an ironic case at best.
JoeBigs at 08:33 PM JST - 15th July

JoeBigs: So, if I am a threat to the Democrats, I am safe?

Wait till they get in power, then you can be on the list......
JoeBigs at 08:35 PM JST - 15th July

Let us see, if 19 of the terrorist the land of Saud and their leader was from their also......Why was of Cat on the list.....BTW anyone know why Ted Kennedy was also on the list? Make the President or VP a bit angry?LOL
skipthesong at 09:27 PM JST - 15th July

JB: Wait till they get in power, then you can be on the list......" Well, I hate both Dems and Repubs, so I guess I'll never have a break..

BTW, I heard they are now asking or detaining you if you have lived outside the US for a considerable while and checking to if your taxes are up to par, or is that just another rumor?

As for Ted Kennedy, you do know he is Irish, don't you?
rajakumar at 12:41 AM JST - 16th July

Isn't this, way too many.
WilliB at 01:53 AM JST - 16th July

There are 1.3 billion muslims in the world, all of whom are potential terrorists, out of which about 10% have fundamentalist leanings (and that is a conservative estimate). So, if they want to individualize this, they are looking forward to 130 million names. Plus, political correctness will dictate that they also include other groups, just to make the list look more diverse. (For example, the Tamil Tigers, who are conducting a war but not on the US.)

So, lots of growth prospects here!
Helter_Skelter at 03:34 AM JST - 16th July

Sorry if I don't like racist generalizations...

When they have no arguments, they just call it racist. Nice try.
taikan at 10:20 AM JST - 16th July

Even if one accepts TSA's estimate that the watch list is closer in size to 450,000 than 1 million, that's still a lot of names, and it undoubtedly leads to numerous false alarms. This is illustrated by the fact that the list includes a name shared by the former head of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division (i.e., the former chief federal prosecutor).

Logically, TSA should have no need for a list identifying potentially risky travelers, unless TSA has concluded that current airport security measures are insufficient to prevent someone either from hijacking a plane or from smuggling explosives on board and causing a detonation which destroys the plane in mid-flight.
SuperLib at 09:06 PM JST - 16th July

Well let's not forget that the list includes names from other governments. One example would be Maher Arar, courtesy of the Canadian government.
Helter_Skelter at 04:56 AM JST - 17th July

Logically, TSA should have no need for a list identifying potentially risky travelers, unless TSA has concluded that current airport security measures are insufficient

No single system of security is fool proof, not even current airport security measures. Having a list of potentially risky travelers is simply one more level of security. Seems reasonable.