More than 755,000 on US terrorist watch list

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The US terrorist watch list includes more than 755,000 names and continues to grow, the US Government Accountability Office said Wednesday.

The list exploded from fewer than 20 entries before the September 11, 2001 attacks to more than 150,000 just a few months later, after the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) was created in December 2003 to keep tabs on terrorist suspects, according to the GAO, the non-partisan investigative arm of Congress.

Including known pseudonyms of suspects, the list's 755,000 names as of May 2007 represents, in fact, around 300,000 people, according to TSC estimates.

Tasked with gathering data on individuals "known or appropriately suspected to be or have been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of or related to terrorism," the TSC gets its information from Federal Bureau of Investigation intelligence and passes it on chiefly to immigration authorities.

Since 2003, the list has been used around 53,000 times to single out individuals for possible arrest or to prevent them from entering the country, the GAO said.

More often, however, people whose names are included on the list for reasons of caution are merely questioned and released, and left to face the same annoyance each time they enter the country, GAO said.

Despite the precautionary zeal, there have been mistakes, it said, adding that many suspects have been stopped by immigration authorities on arrival at US airports when their entries in the TSC list should have prevented them from boarding their planes in the first place.

Describing the list as "quicksand" that traps innocent people for the sake of security, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called on the US Congress to step in.

"How much safer are we when the government turns so many innocent people into suspects?," ACLU senior legislative counsel Timothy Sparapani said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071024/ts_al...BSj3I_PuHLZa7gF

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Well, with a list that large, I think we're losing a bit of focus.

[Jasman0717 9]

Holy Comoly, how do you maintain a 755,000 name list

[Ban Hammer 14,268]

Holy Comoly, how do you maintain a 755,000 name list

outsourced to india

[Geist 0]

What? Government overstep their bounds? No way! Everyone knows that everything the government does is to protect us from evil people who want to hurt us!

Sorry, but it bothers me when people are put on lists with little chance to know why, get their names removed, or do anything about it. That reeks of something the Gestapo or KGB would do. And, I suppose, the Department of Homeland Security.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

What? Government overstep their bounds? No way! Everyone knows that everything the government does is to protect us from evil people who want to hurt us!

Sorry, but it bothers me when people are put on lists with little chance to know why, get their names removed, or do anything about it. That reeks of something the Gestapo or KGB would do. And, I suppose, the Department of Homeland Security.

Well said.

[eric&gen 0]

Wow i didn't know we had 755,000 terrorist here scary indeed who knows what they are up to maybe watching good American porn on a flat panel TV lol or playing pool at a local bar lol.

[Otto 83]

Holy Comoly, how do you maintain a 755,000 name list

One word....... IPhone...(8-Gig of course)

[SteveLaura 0]

More often, however, people whose names are included on the list for reasons of caution are merely questioned and released, and left to face the same annoyance each time they enter the country, GAO said.

Government In Action, people.

[Drew and Tik 0]

Does seem a bit excessive, depending on how accurate their list is (in all probability, not very). There are well over 700,000 terrorists in the world when you count Islamic extremists, extremists from other religions, socialistic and militaristic guerrilla groups from all six continents, racist groups such as the Aryan Nation (Tim McVay anyone?), and just random nihilistic individuals who hate society, such as the unabomber. That being said, I doubt everyone on this list is a real terrorist.

[Drew and Tik 0]

Does seem a bit excessive, depending on how accurate their list is (in all probability, not very). There are well over 700,000 terrorists in the world when you count Islamic extremists, extremists from other religions, socialistic and militaristic guerrilla groups from all six continents, racist groups such as the Aryan Nation (Tim McVay anyone?), and just random nihilistic individuals who hate society, such as the unabomber. That being said, I doubt everyone on this list is a real terrorist.

[Geist 0]

depending on how accurate their list is (in all probability, not very). There are well over 700,000 terrorists in the world when you count Islamic extremists, extremists from other religions, socialistic and militaristic guerrilla groups from all six continents, racist groups such as the Aryan Nation (Tim McVay anyone?), and just random nihilistic individuals who hate society, such as the unabomber. That being said, I doubt everyone on this list is a real terrorist.

I suppose that would depend on your definition of terrorist.

Do you "seek to promote political or social change?" Do you make "numerous references to the US Constitution", or think that you have the right to own a gun? Congratulations! You could be a certified Domestic Terrorist!

[almaty 19]

depending on how accurate their list is (in all probability, not very). There are well over 700,000 terrorists in the world when you count Islamic extremists, extremists from other religions, socialistic and militaristic guerrilla groups from all six continents, racist groups such as the Aryan Nation (Tim McVay anyone?), and just random nihilistic individuals who hate society, such as the unabomber. That being said, I doubt everyone on this list is a real terrorist.

I suppose that would depend on your definition of terrorist.

Do you "seek to promote political or social change?" Do you make "numerous references to the US Constitution", or think that you have the right to own a gun? Congratulations! You could be a certified Domestic Terrorist!

wow, terrible definition ..why only 775, 000? i know over 100 milliion that applies to in this country

[Ban Hammer 14,268]

depending on how accurate their list is (in all probability, not very). There are well over 700,000 terrorists in the world when you count Islamic extremists, extremists from other religions, socialistic and militaristic guerrilla groups from all six continents, racist groups such as the Aryan Nation (Tim McVay anyone?), and just random nihilistic individuals who hate society, such as the unabomber. That being said, I doubt everyone on this list is a real terrorist.

I suppose that would depend on your definition of terrorist.

Do you "seek to promote political or social change?" Do you make "numerous references to the US Constitution", or think that you have the right to own a gun? Congratulations! You could be a certified Domestic Terrorist!

[NavarreMan 10]

My sister-in-law is a very sweet girl who volunteers as a librarian in a small Colorado town. When the DHS demanded that they keep records and make them available of who checks out what books, she and many of her peers organized a discussion group about this. They voiced their opinions about the "Big Brother" aspect of this and now she has been questioned by DHS personnel. #######!

If I check out DOS for Dummies or the The Cat in the Hat, it is not the business of my Government.