"Unusually high" number of people on "no-fly list" trying to board planes

Anti-terror officials said the past week had seen an "unusually high" number of people on their no-fly list trying to board US-bound planes.

source

I just found this article while browsing just now. When I read that quote, I 'bout burst out laughing! Apparently there were two Egyptian men detained at London Heathrow due to terror suspicions. Later an official said there have been an "unusually high" number of people trying to board flights to the United States that are on the no-fly list.

Why are they surprised at this? I mean, the FBI/CIA just adds people because they held their spork the wrong way. There are also people that share the same name. Do they really think that there only one person named "Mohammed Abdullah" and he's trying to board planes all the time?

This no-fly list is ridiculous. I think they'd be doing everyone a favor if they just got rid of it. The failed Christmas Day ordeal shows that it doesn't work.

[edit on 1/25/2010 by octotom]

I couldn't agree more, although the concept of the list is sound. However, the execution of the list has been atrocious. They need to go over the list w/ a fine toothed comb and take out all the people Bush slapped travel restrictions on simply b/c they were antiwar protesters or belong to a citizen action group (which should be encouraged and celebrated in a democracy, regardless of whether you agree w/ them or not). Then make sure they have enough identifiers to ensure that they can recognize the exact person named and not everyone with the misfortune of sharing the same name as someone suspected. A way to file a grievance and get your name off would help us all. A list lacking validity has no predictive power, and becomes nothing more than a blunt instrument of annoyance and social control. This article might actually mean something if the list were in any way valid. As it stands, the information is utterly meaningless.

I mean seriously, the ACLU is now a terrorist group?

www.globalissues.org... (Just one of many citations).



[edit on 1/25/2010 by DeathTribble]