One million names on U.S. terrorist watch list: rights group
WASHINGTON —
A watch list of suspected and known terrorists, compiled by the U.S. authorities, has ballooned and contains more than one million names, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday.
The ACLU said it derived that figure from a Justice Department report on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, which consolidates terrorist watch list information.
The Center “had over 700,000 names in its database as of April 2007 and that the list was growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month,” according to a report by the Justice Department Inspector General, the rights group said.
“By those numbers, the list now has over one million names on it,” the ACLU said in a statement.
Among those on the watch list are deceased people, such as former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who was hanged in 2005, decorated war veterans, and U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, the ACLU said.
Nobel Peace Prize winner, former South African President Nelson Mandela, was also on the list until an act of Congress removed his name—the only way, according to the ACLU, to get off the list.
“The watchlist is a perfect symbol for what’s wrong with the administration’s approach to terrorism: 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,” the director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program, Barry Steinhardt, told reporters in Washington.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) flatly denied the allegation that the list contained one million names.
“Assumptions about the list are just plain wrong,” the TSA said in a posting on its website, estimating that there were less than 450,000 people on the watch list.
Wire reports
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32 Comments
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rjd_jr
What a bloody joke, a million names? Houston we got a BIG problem.
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skipthesong
bigger joke, I caught a segment of Jay Leno. Micheal Cain, one of the greatest actors ever, was on that list.
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DXXJP
I can think of 4 or 5 that should be at the top but you know they never will be.
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DXXJP
By the way can we see the list
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Everton2
Cat Stevens is on that list
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thepro
You're all going on the list
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Statistician
I guess anyone with an opinion on anything is on "the list". That is the way the American administration has always functioned. I feel a chorus of "Alice's Restaurant" coming along here ...
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kinniku
Everton2,
Evidently, as of 2006, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) is no longer on that list and has been let into the US without incident. Which is as it should be.
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adaydream
And this is maintained by the ICE/Homeland Defense.
Really makes me feel safe.
1,000,000 names. Haa Haa!!!! < :-)
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nandakandamanda
If your name comes up on the screen and you are blocked, you should have the right to know instantly what is against your name.
The problem for the individual is that the system is generally inscrutable, and therefore discriminatory. High blood pressure time for some.
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timorborder
Membership has its privelges?
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skipthesong
Hurray for Cat Stevens, now what I am wondering, if and when Obama takes the country, is the dept. of homeland security going to be dissolved?
As one poster puts it "I guess anyone with an opinion on anything ", well that can work both ways. What if someone leans a bit to the right, or is clearly in the middle, is he/she going to placed on a list once Obama and the left leaning take over? Not for nothing, but I think I can reasonably say that from what I have witnessed is that the left is much more harsh on people just at the accusation stage. This would be and should be a concern just as much as what is the content of this article.
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JoeBigs
Anyone deemed to be a threat to America is on that list. Anyone deemed to be a threat by the FBI is on that list. Anyone deemed a threat to the President is on that list. Anyone deemed to be a threat to the Vice President is on that list. Anyone deemed to be a threat to the RNC is on that list. Anyone deemed a threat to any friends of the President or Vice President is on that list.
Anyone that....Oh to hell with it, anyone that is anyone is on that list.
Ok all of you are now on that list.....Well unless you have given money to the RNC that is............
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Helter_Skelter
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!
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Zen_Builder
Helter Skelter.
Aren't you forgetting all the non-muslim europeans, latin-americans, asians, etc that can also be considered terrorists and a danger to your nation.
Nah, I think the list should include anyone except for legal and atleast 4th~5th generation american citizens.
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Zen_Builder
make that everyone.
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Helter_Skelter
Aren't you forgetting - not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslim. But hey, if there any Swiss terrorists out there endangering our nation, we can add 'em to the list.
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wilbur
i got a friend on the list and he used to work for the Secret Service
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skipthesong
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?
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skipthesong
i got a friend on the list and he used to work for the Secret Service" Was he secret about being secret?
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smithinjapan
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!
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wilbur
skip: apparently not enough
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skipthesong
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.
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JoeBigs
Wait till they get in power, then you can be on the list......
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JoeBigs
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
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skipthesong
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?
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rajakumar
Isn't this, way too many.
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WilliB
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!
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Helter_Skelter
When they have no arguments, they just call it racist. Nice try.
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taikan
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.
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SuperLib
Well let's not forget that the list includes names from other governments. One example would be Maher Arar, courtesy of the Canadian government.
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Helter_Skelter
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.
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