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US Terror Watch List Tops 400K

As ledger exceeds 1M records, ACLU calls it 'unfair,' feds call it 'effective'

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 14, 2008 5:53 PM CDT

(Newser) – Washington's terror suspect list has topped the 1-million milestone, Reuters reports. That adds up to 400,000 people, including duplicates, about 50,000 of whom are tagged with “no-fly” status. The American Civil Liberties Union slammed the list as poorly managed and too long to be effective. The ACLU has a convincing ally, the AP notes: a former Justice official with the same name as a terror suspect.

"If I were convinced that America is a safer place because I get hassled at the airport, I might put up with it," said former assistant attorney general Jim Robinson, who is mistakenly on the list. "But I doubt it." Added an ACLU exec: “It's unfair, out-of-control, a waste of resources (and) treats the rights of the innocent as an afterthought." A federal spokesman disagreed, calling the list "one of the most effective counterterrorism tools that our country has."

TSA workers screen passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Thursday, May 31, 2007.
TSA workers screen passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Thursday, May 31, 2007.   (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Officer Juan Morales rolls a stack of trays from one area of the security screening to another at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles in this Jan. 10, 2007 file photo.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Officer Juan Morales rolls a stack of trays from one area of the security screening to another at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles in this...   (AP Photo/Ann Johansson, File)
An identification security screener with hand raised calls for a TSA screener at Denver International Airport on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007 in Denver, Colo.
An identification security screener with hand raised calls for a TSA screener at Denver International Airport on Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2007 in Denver, Colo.   (AP Photo/Peter M. Fredin)
Norman Graham, center, of Chicago removes a bag of toiletries from his luggage at a security check point at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007.
Norman Graham, center, of Chicago removes a bag of toiletries from his luggage at a security check point at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007.   (AP Photo/Mike Derer)
A Transportation Security Administration agent runs checked baggage through a x-ray machine at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Wednesday, July 25, 2007, in Houston.
A Transportation Security Administration agent runs checked baggage through a x-ray machine at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Wednesday, July 25, 2007, in Houston.   (AP Photo)
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