If your name mistakenly is placed on a terrorism watch list by federal officials, setting the record straight is often difficult. Just ask Sen. Edward Kennedy. The nation's confusing array of terrorism watch lists -- such as those that snagged Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Rep. John Lewis -- can be easy to get on, but far more difficult to get off.

It took Kennedy, one of the country's best-known senators, three weeks and several calls to federal officials to separate his identity from that of a person with a similar name on the no-fly list. Lesser-known Americans face greater hurdles when their name is flagged by an airline computer. TSA and the DHS do not disclose the names on the watch lists or any details about the lists. But a government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that a number of watch lists are being consolidated, and it wasn't clear which agency put a name similar to Kennedy's on the list. The TSA reportedly has a few thousand names on a ''no fly'' list, which bans people from boarding plans, and another few thousand on a list that identifies people for additional screening, the official said.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/9463679.htm?1c


Source:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - August 26th, 2004