The U.S government’s consolidated terrorist watch list contains more than three-quarters of a million names, is growing at the rate of 20,000 names a month, and is consulted several million times a day. But more than a third of the records examined in a recent audit contained inaccurate or inconsistent information.
The audit, by the Justice Department’s inspector general, also found that the watch list, maintained by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, contained more than 6,000 duplicate records; that there was no effective process in place for checking and correcting errors on the list; and that complaints from people who believed they had been wrongly listed took too long to resolve.
However, FBI Director Robert Mueller told a Senate hearing the watch list “is and has been exceptionally successful in terms of doing what it was established to do, and that is identifying persons whom we do not want to let into the country, identifying persons who may be in the country and giving us some indication as where they are and what they’re doing.”
Do IT standards have anything to do with precision, accuracy? Do you honestly think there are 750,000 people out there who hate the US and constitute a danger.
Mean while we have only 8 people in the FBI that speak any Arab language.The Gov. has spent billions on this “war” and is just rearranging the deck chairs before we get hit again.
The watch list is retarded. Anyone they really consider a serious threat isn’t put on the list because they don’t want to alert them they’re being watched. It’s basically a “cover your ass” document” that only serves to inconvenience people.
“…the watch list “is and has been exceptionally successful in terms of doing what it was established to do…”
According to their specious logic, it would be even MORE successful if they simply added the names of everyone in the world, two or three times at least, just to be sure they got them all.
I wonder if I’m on the watch list yet?
nice, we cant even properly maintain a list of names!
Sounds like an actual “exclusion” list rather than a “watch” list?? So, 750K out of 8 Billion is not very many. Would seem to be irrelevant if the visa/passport system was set up correctly?
“I’m dreaming of a moon shadow, moon shadoooooowwwwww!”
Cinaedh: Their logic is impeccable. Bush is a 2 term president isn’t he?
#2 It’s basically a “cover your ass” document” that only serves to inconvenience people.
by inconvenience, i suppose you mean incarcerate, rendition to secret facilities, and interrogated with, er, enhanced techniques?
dear god i hope none of you good people or i am on that list.
we need to vote the nutjob neocons out of office before abject tyranny that they worship breaks out
#7 – Milo
How Bush got elected the first time, when everyone already knew he was an idjit, let alone the incredible second time, are a mystery for history.
750,000 is less than 1/3 of 1% of the US population. We have over 2% of our population in prison right now. Is it so hard to believe that 1/3 of 1% of people are crazy? I’m actually surprised the number is so low.
Well there’s about 100,000 people per year immigrating from Muslim countries.
#10 – The lesson one might draw is that we incarcerate too many citizens. The BS War On Drugs has seen to that.
#11 – Demonstrating that Muslims yearn to breath free too.
#12 – Relax. With those comments, there’s no reason to put you on the watch list: You’re a threat to no one.
Muslims yearn to be dictated: Is it so wrong that we aim to please?
Don’t answer: We already know I own you, too.
#10, Tucson,
Good logic. If these people are guilty of something than perhaps they should be arrested and charged. If they aren’t guilty of anything then why on earth are they on a “list”?
simple formula for creating a terrorist watch list—
1.) start with the list of all possible indicators for terrorist activities
2.) throw everyone matching those indicators on the watch list
3.) throw a statistically random collection of people on the list too, to generate enough “noise” so you can’t be accused of profiling
4.) shakedown everyone on the list and hope you smoke out a bad guy
pros:
1.) looks like you’re doing something pro-active
2.) it might actually work
3.) since there is doubt as to the validity of the list, miscellaneous trouble-makers can be thrown on there as well — oops
4.) being on the list is all the probable cause you need should we ever get back to requiring warrants for police action
5.) you could bluff your enemy by pretending to have weak security
cons:
1.) innocent lives can be horrifically ruined, if not ended in error
2.) if it’s a bluff and congress believes the bluff, your precious list might be stricken down
3.) treats our concept of “innocent until proven guilty” like a fairy tale, eroding public trust, and public sense of decency
4.) makes the nation seem xenophobic (i.e. scared) to the rest of the world, which is precisely what terrorists want — to scare us.
Fear
#14 I’m not advocating the list. I personally think it’s useless. What I’m saying is that there are a lot of nuts out there. More than you could possibly watch or lock up.
We need to stop being afraid of everyone and everything and American males need to find their balls again. If some shithead pulls a knife on a plane every male aboard should beat him into the carpet. The terrorists should be scared of us, not the other way around.
#17 – I almost agreed with everything you said… but why can’t women beat the fuck out of terrorists too?
I agree with 17 and 18.
But back to the original topic,
How can a watch list be wrong?
It’s not a list of terrorists, it’s a list of suspicious people. If they are suspected it doesn’t mean they are terrorists, it only means they are suspected. If they are on the list then somebody thought they were suspicious, that’s all. And more importantly… who cares? It’s a WATCH list, would you rather the FBI just not watch anybody untll after a plane gets flown into a building, it’s a bit too late then I think.
#18. Actually, it would serve the terrorists right if they were beaten up exclusively by women. nothing would better serve to make al Queda a laughingstock.
#19. A broad net necessarily has wide gaps. diffusion of effort. 9/11 could have been prevented without anything like a huge watch list.
and on that topic. from digg, some staggering images –
http://static.scribd.com/docs/4vmze1swjhwq1.swf
20, All that I am saying is that the list itself is not “wrong” the contents of the list are neither right nor wrong, they are simply suspicious people and by that very nature, the contents are not “facts” therefore they cannot be right or wrong.
The real issue is not who is on the list, but how the list gets used.
It is easy to say 9/11 could have been prevented after the fact, but real life is seldom that simple. The FBI needs all the tools they can get to stop tragedies like this from occurring, however their power needs to be tempered with reason.(which is often a problem) Their are always people who abuse power but we stop trusting all of them because of this? We either trust them to protect us and give them the tools to do it, or we neuter them and protect ourselves… However in my opinion the FBI is far better prepared to prevent a terrorist attack than Billy Bob down the road.
To answer your question Eideard….hell yes there are 750,000 people out there that hate’s the US.
That wouldn’t make up a good party list for far leftists and right wingers….let alone everyone else with a bitch about the US……… 🙂
#21 – All that I am saying is that the list itself is not “wrong” the contents of the list are neither right nor wrong, they are simply suspicious people and by that very nature, the contents are not “facts” therefore they cannot be right or wrong.
Are you now or have you ever been a communist?
History has shown again and again that when governments start compiling this type of data, it will be abused… often fatally.
It’s wrong by default.
#18 I guess I’m old fashioned that way. I don’t think the ladies should get their hands dirty when there’s plenty of able bodied men around to do the work.
#23,OFTLO,
My point of view.