Mar 16 2009
U.S. Terrorist watch list hits the 1 million mark
This past week USA Today reported the U.S. Terrorist watch list reached 1 million entries, a 32% increase since 2007. The figures were released by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence after requests from the newspaper.
Officials point out that the one million entries do not represent 1 million people, but rather about 400,000. The list often uses multiple entries for an individual for various name spellings and other information.
However, that one million entries remains after the terrorist center removed some 33,000 entries from the list last year, and it is unclear how many individuals that included.
To find yourself on the list you have to be nominated by an agent of the FBI, NSA or other federal agency. The nomination moves to the FBI’s Terrorist Review and Examination Unit and, if considered a potential or known terrorist, your name is sent on to the Terrorist Screening Center and the watch list. But what is a potential terrorist? The feds have never specified.
So who has been found to be on the list? Some notables include:
* A number of the 9/11 hijackers years after they were dead
* Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom
According to the Department of Homeland Security, in the past two years, 51,000 people have filed for redress, claiming they were wrongly included on the list. The majority of these were not actually found on the list, but were misidentified, having similar names to those on the list.
Since 2005, 830 redress requests have found the individual on the list and 150 (18%) of those were ultimately removed.
Can such a huge list, which has clearly made huge mistakes in the past and most likely continues to today, really be an effective tool? Before 9/11 there were less than 20 names on the list, and now there are 400,000.
Sources: USA Today - Terrorist watch list hits 1 million March 11, 2009.
How stuff works - How to Land on the Government Watch List
