More Than Points

We’ve all heard about the “No-Fly List” in all its numerous name incarnations. Unfortunately, it’s another safety mechanism that falls into the bucket labeled, “False Sense of Security Items Here”. How do we know this? Well, apparently 60 minutes has obtained a copy of this secret watchlist (which apparently is not that secret).

This list has several unlikely terrorists:

These include Saddam Hussein, who is under arrest, Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker, and Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia. It also includes the names of 14 of the 19 dead 9/11 hijackers.

The list is also outdated:

The 11 British suspects recently charged with plotting to blow up airliners with liquid explosives were not on it, despite the fact they were under surveillance for more than a year.

The kicker is the list just contains names. That’s it. There is nothing else used to identify the people on the list. So if your name is Robert Johnson and you fly alot, it might be a good idea to just change your name.

Gary Smith, John Williams and Robert Johnson are some of those names. Kroft talked to 12 people with the name Robert Johnson, all of whom are detained almost every time they fly. The detentions can include strip searches and long delays in their travels.

“Well, Robert Johnson will never get off the list,” says Donna Bucella, who oversaw the creation of the list and has headed up the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center since 2003. She regrets the trouble they experience, but chalks it up to the price of security in the post-9/11 world. “They’re going to be inconvenienced every time … because they do have the name of a person who’s a known or suspected terrorist,” says Bucella.

In all the movies I’ve seen, the bad guys are usually using fake names and counterfeit passports. But, hey, those are just the movies!

My heart goes out to you business travelers named, Robert Johnson or John Williams. Seriously.

The only thing worse than no data, is bad data.