Another Voice / Counter-terror policies
No-Fly List should not be used as a political weapon
Updated: 08/05/08 6:47 AM
When I recently learned that a CNN reporter was put on the federal “No-Fly List” shortly after his investigation of the Transportation Security Administration aired, my first reaction was, “Welcome to the club!”
CNN investigative correspondent Drew Griffin stands in good company with Sen. Ted Kennedy and other congressmen, singer Cat Stevens, American Civil Liberties Union attorneys, peace activists and even Nelson Mandela.
But this is of cold comfort to those of us who have had the dubious distinction of being on the secret terrorist watch list.
In March 2006, the No-Fly List contained 44,000 names. Last month, according to a tally maintained by the ACLU based upon the government’s own reported numbers, it hit 1 million.
Some mistakes are chalked up to “false positive passengers” who have the misfortune of sharing names with genuine terrorists. However, many of those listed pose no security risk, but instead have spoken out against government policy.
I started having trouble flying after blowing the whistle in the case of “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh. As the Justice Department ethics attorney in that case, I inadvertently learned that my e-mail records had been requested by the court.
When I tried to comply, I found that the e-mails, which concluded that the FBI committed an ethics violation during its interrogation of Lindh, had been purged from the file. I managed to recover them, gave them to my boss and resigned. I also took home copies in case they “disappeared” again.
Eventually, in accordance with the Whistleblower Protection Act, I turned them over to the media when it became evident that the Justice Department withheld them from the court.
There is no way to find out why you are on the list. Nor is there a sure-fire way to get your name removed. There have been numerous “redress” procedures over the years.
In 2004, I complained, as directed by the government, to the TSA Ombudsman. I never heard back. More recently, I was instructed to file a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security “Travel Redress Inquiry Program” — which entails providing my unlisted home telephone number, my weight, my personal e-mail address and my voter registration card, which reveals my party affiliation.
Moreover, the TSA Web site explicitly states that this information may be shared for reasons not related to the redress process. The last thing I want to do is reveal my private information to a government agency that is unfairly targeting me.
Security is compromised when limited government resources are wasted on listing individuals based on their dissent, not their danger. Terrorist watch lists should protect, not punish.
Jesselyn Radack is Homeland Security director for the Government Accountability Project.
