This piece first published by Ohmynews on 2006-10-12 15:25 (KST)
Thousands banned from traveling to the U.S. by air
When checking-in for a flight to America, if you are pulled aside and interrogated for hours, it is quite possible that yoursis among 44,000 names in the no-fly list (NFL).
NFL is the secret list of terrorist suspects compiled by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) with data supplied by the FBI, CIA and the government's terrorist screening center.
NFL list is one of the two terrorist watch-lists maintained by the TSA. The other is the "selectee" list, which consists of up to 75,000 names. Those on the "no-fly" list are not allowed to board a commercial aircraft. Those on the "selectee" list must go through more extensive screening before boarding.
This project has been paid special attention from the U.S. Government in an effort to prevent a repeat of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks. With the NFL coming into effect from 7 pm Oct. 8, thousands of passengers will be banned from boarding airplanes heading for the U.S.
However, an investigation by the broadcaster CBS recently found the list “incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, and a source of aggravation for thousands of innocent Americans.” It also raises doubts about the effectiveness of the anti-terrorism machine of the U.S.
Before Sept 11, the list consisted of only 16 suspected terrorists banned from air travel by the U.S. government. However, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 made it a project of the highest priority. By the end of 2001, the list swollen to 594.
In 2003, President Bush requested the U.S. intelligence community and the FBI to cooperate in creating a watch list of suspected terrorists. All the airliners and the Transportation Security Administration have been given a copy of the list in order to prevent any suspected terrorists from boarding a plane.
The agency overseeing the project is the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), headed by Donna Bucella. TSC is responsible for gathering information submitted by the intelligence agencies, evaluating them, and finally compiling the list.
The number of names in the list skyrocketed to 44,000 today, which means that it is more than 540 pages long.
The document is classified as top secret, so that even members of Congress have been denied access to it. However, the 60 Minutes program of CBS managed to get a copy in March while working with a government watchdog group called the National Security News Service.
After months of studying the list, 60 Minutes discovered quite a few flaws in the list. Names of some terrorists who were dead are still found on the list. Names of 14 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were found on the list, although they have been dead for five years. Francois Genoud, a Nazi sympathizer and financier of Arab terrorism who has been dead for ten years, was also found on the list.
The list includes names of high profile people who are currently unable to travel by air, like convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, now serving a life sentence in Colorado, and Saddam Hussein, currently on trial for his life in Baghdad.
Names of people who seem to pose no threat to aviation security, including world dignitaries, have been included in the list. The name of Bolivian President Evo Morales is on the list. The No Fly List has three variations of Evo Morales along with a date of birth, all matching the president of Bolivia. The names on the list are Evo Morales, Juan Evo Morales Aima. and Evo Morales Ayma, all born on Oct. 26, 1959. The name of Nabih Berri, the head of the Lebanese parliament who recently met with Condoleezza Rice, is also on the list.
However, the list excluded some top terrorist suspects, such as David Belfield, who carried out an assassination in Washington on behalf of Ayatollah Khomeini, and 11 British suspects recently accused of using liquid explosives to try to blow up trans-Atlantic airlines, even though they had reportedly been under surveillance for more than a year.
According to 60 Minutes, the list also has created "enormous frustration and aggravation" for thousands of innocent travelers who have the misfortune of sharing a name with someone on the list and some of the names are among the most common in America, like Gary Smith, John Williams, or Robert Johnson.
In 2004, Senator Ted Kennedy repeatedly complained that he had been stopped at the security gate because he shares the name "Edward Kennedy" with some terrorist suspect who is on the NFL. In the US, there are about seven thousands people named Edward Kennedy. To be "released" from the list, he had to ask the then Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, for help.
In February 2005, the Defense Minister of Canada, Bill Graham, was stopped at the airport when he began his visit to the U.S. It took many hours for his staff to persuade the security personnel at the airport to let him board the plane.
According to TSA, there have been more than 30,000 people complaining because they were stopped at the airport since they share the names of someone on the list.
60 minutes interviewed 12 men with the name Robert Johnson. The Robert Johnson on the No Fly List is the 62-year-old black man who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for plotting to bomb a Hindu temple and a movie theater in Toronto. After serving his term, Johnson was deported to Trinidad. However, the airlines data systems don’t have such details. They just have the name, not even a date of birth. That is where the story begins.
According to the Robert Johnsons, they got in trouble whenever they traveled by plane. One even said he was strip-searched. "I had to take off my pants, I had to take off my sneakers, and then I had to take off my socks. I was treated like a criminal," he said.
The CIA, FBI and TSA recently admitted that there have been quite a few mistakes in data entering and processing, despite the fact that total budget for the project has now reached US$144 million.
The TSA has been trying to avoid such problems through a program called "Secure Flight." TSA employees will be responsible for checking the passengers instead of using a list on the computer screen. However, things are not going well.
Thousands banned from traveling to the U.S. by air
When checking-in for a flight to America, if you are pulled aside and interrogated for hours, it is quite possible that yoursis among 44,000 names in the no-fly list (NFL).
NFL is the secret list of terrorist suspects compiled by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) with data supplied by the FBI, CIA and the government's terrorist screening center.
NFL list is one of the two terrorist watch-lists maintained by the TSA. The other is the "selectee" list, which consists of up to 75,000 names. Those on the "no-fly" list are not allowed to board a commercial aircraft. Those on the "selectee" list must go through more extensive screening before boarding.
This project has been paid special attention from the U.S. Government in an effort to prevent a repeat of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks. With the NFL coming into effect from 7 pm Oct. 8, thousands of passengers will be banned from boarding airplanes heading for the U.S.
However, an investigation by the broadcaster CBS recently found the list “incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, and a source of aggravation for thousands of innocent Americans.” It also raises doubts about the effectiveness of the anti-terrorism machine of the U.S.
Before Sept 11, the list consisted of only 16 suspected terrorists banned from air travel by the U.S. government. However, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 made it a project of the highest priority. By the end of 2001, the list swollen to 594.
In 2003, President Bush requested the U.S. intelligence community and the FBI to cooperate in creating a watch list of suspected terrorists. All the airliners and the Transportation Security Administration have been given a copy of the list in order to prevent any suspected terrorists from boarding a plane.
The agency overseeing the project is the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), headed by Donna Bucella. TSC is responsible for gathering information submitted by the intelligence agencies, evaluating them, and finally compiling the list.
The number of names in the list skyrocketed to 44,000 today, which means that it is more than 540 pages long.
The document is classified as top secret, so that even members of Congress have been denied access to it. However, the 60 Minutes program of CBS managed to get a copy in March while working with a government watchdog group called the National Security News Service.
After months of studying the list, 60 Minutes discovered quite a few flaws in the list. Names of some terrorists who were dead are still found on the list. Names of 14 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were found on the list, although they have been dead for five years. Francois Genoud, a Nazi sympathizer and financier of Arab terrorism who has been dead for ten years, was also found on the list.
The list includes names of high profile people who are currently unable to travel by air, like convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, now serving a life sentence in Colorado, and Saddam Hussein, currently on trial for his life in Baghdad.
Names of people who seem to pose no threat to aviation security, including world dignitaries, have been included in the list. The name of Bolivian President Evo Morales is on the list. The No Fly List has three variations of Evo Morales along with a date of birth, all matching the president of Bolivia. The names on the list are Evo Morales, Juan Evo Morales Aima. and Evo Morales Ayma, all born on Oct. 26, 1959. The name of Nabih Berri, the head of the Lebanese parliament who recently met with Condoleezza Rice, is also on the list.
However, the list excluded some top terrorist suspects, such as David Belfield, who carried out an assassination in Washington on behalf of Ayatollah Khomeini, and 11 British suspects recently accused of using liquid explosives to try to blow up trans-Atlantic airlines, even though they had reportedly been under surveillance for more than a year.
According to 60 Minutes, the list also has created "enormous frustration and aggravation" for thousands of innocent travelers who have the misfortune of sharing a name with someone on the list and some of the names are among the most common in America, like Gary Smith, John Williams, or Robert Johnson.
In 2004, Senator Ted Kennedy repeatedly complained that he had been stopped at the security gate because he shares the name "Edward Kennedy" with some terrorist suspect who is on the NFL. In the US, there are about seven thousands people named Edward Kennedy. To be "released" from the list, he had to ask the then Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge, for help.
In February 2005, the Defense Minister of Canada, Bill Graham, was stopped at the airport when he began his visit to the U.S. It took many hours for his staff to persuade the security personnel at the airport to let him board the plane.
According to TSA, there have been more than 30,000 people complaining because they were stopped at the airport since they share the names of someone on the list.
60 minutes interviewed 12 men with the name Robert Johnson. The Robert Johnson on the No Fly List is the 62-year-old black man who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for plotting to bomb a Hindu temple and a movie theater in Toronto. After serving his term, Johnson was deported to Trinidad. However, the airlines data systems don’t have such details. They just have the name, not even a date of birth. That is where the story begins.
According to the Robert Johnsons, they got in trouble whenever they traveled by plane. One even said he was strip-searched. "I had to take off my pants, I had to take off my sneakers, and then I had to take off my socks. I was treated like a criminal," he said.
The CIA, FBI and TSA recently admitted that there have been quite a few mistakes in data entering and processing, despite the fact that total budget for the project has now reached US$144 million.
The TSA has been trying to avoid such problems through a program called "Secure Flight." TSA employees will be responsible for checking the passengers instead of using a list on the computer screen. However, things are not going well.
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