more on the"No-Fly" List?

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Re: [IP] Why's a Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel on
the"No-Fly" List?]
Date:   Mon, 27 Feb 2006 23:36:13 -0600
From:   Eric Weisberg <weisberg () texoma net>
To:     dave () farber net
CC:     ip () v2 listbox com
References:     <BAY109-F8195A54AA5E3950564F7FDCF60 () phx gbl>
<C948BE49-4A17-4D2B-A101-3A1FF80C8FBA () farber net>



Does this answer the question posed in your "subject" line?

David Farber wrote:
> Subject:  Why's a Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel on  the"No-Fly" List?

More broadly, "is everyone named "Robert Johnson" black listed?
Or, is the list target specific--name, address, SS#, and driver's
license, nearest relatives?  Did the government suspect this particular
person?
If so,why? He was obviously a patriot and not al Qaeda. On the other hand,
what could possibly justify denial of the right to fly to
the hundreds of Robert Johnsons (or, Joe Smiths) who have that or a similar
name?  If the specific Robert Johnson (or, Ted Kennedy) was targeted, you
can safely accuse the system of being corrupt/abusive (in the broad
sense--e.g.political).  If the list is not specific to this Robert
Johnson/Ted
Kennedy, then it is poorly implemented.  Fortunately(?), it appears
(based upon the reports of your readers and
EPIC's research)the latter (inept) is the more likely explanation.

First, looking at your readers' reported experiences:

    I had the same clearance process described below when I was on "the
    list".
    I began making reservations as DAVID JOHNSON rather than DAVID A
    JOHNSON and haven't been flagged since.

And,

    From: Steve Peterson <steve () zpfe com>

    When I was on the no-fly list (hmmm, couldn't be my name could it?),
    the clearance process involved the ticket agent 1) verifying my ID
    and 2) reading my birthdate to the person at the other end of the
    authorization process.  That combination would get me cleared.

    People I know thought it was particularly entertaining, because I've
    been an elected official in my city of 85000 for 6+years now.

The result of EPIC's FOIA requests regarding the no-fly lists and the
criteria for "listing" are discussed at
<http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/foia/watchlist_foia_analysis.html>.
"The documents [EPIC got], while heavily redacted, ...give an insight
into how the TSA
operates the watch lists..." However, it appears that "insight" is too
strong a term
for what little EPIC learned.

EPIC's report seems to indicate that the listing is not specific to the
person
contrary to the implications of Steve Peterson's report,
above, but merely (and, only loosely) to names:

    The documents establish that the TSA administers two lists: a "no fly"
    list and a "selectee" list, which requires the passenger to go through
    additional security measures. The names are provided to air carriers
    through Security Directives or Emergency Amendments and are stored
    in their
    computer systems so that an individual with a name that matches the list
    can be flagged when getting a boarding pass....

    A local FBI office in New Jersey, at the behest of Congressman Bill
    Pascrell, wrote to the TSA in August 2002 to ask it to take a woman
    off the list who was being flagged because of her name's similarity to a
    wanted Australian man. In an email dated July 2002, an FBI
    counter-terrorism officer acknowledged that different airlines have
    different procedures when the passenger's name is a similar to one
    on the
    list...

EPIC also found:

    There are two primary principles that guide the placement on the lists,
    but these principles have been withheld. The documents do not show
    whether
    there is a formal approval process where an independent third party
    entity
    is charged with verifying that the names are selected appropriately and
    that the information is accurate. Furthermore there is no reference to
    compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, which imposes certain record
    keeping obligations on the agency....

    It appears from the 2002 FOIA documents obtained by EPIC that TSA
    directed
    individuals to their local FBI offices to clear their names. More recent
    documents obtained in 2005 show that an ombudsperson within TSA is
    responsible for handling requests to be removed from the lists.

As regards how  Dr. Johnson made his flight (when so many have not),
EPIC found that

    A "no fly" match requires the agent to call a law enforcement
    officer to detain and question the
    passenger. In the case of a Selectee, an "S" or special mark is
    printed on
    their boarding pass and the person receives additional screening at
    security.

Dr. Johnson (and, indeed, Steve Peterson) was likely on the "selectee"
list, since he was allowed to fly after calling someone and, probably, being
searched and questioned.  It appears that TSA does have more specific
information on the "selectee," but does not trust "locals" to
conduct the preliminary screening.





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