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No fly list flagged any t kennedy { August 20 2004 }

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   http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/08/20/MNGQ28BM1O1.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/08/20/MNGQ28BM1O1.DTL

Terror no-fly list singled out Kennedy
Senator was stopped 5 times at airports
- Sara Kehaulani Goo, Washington Post
Friday, August 20, 2004

Washington -- Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy said Thursday that he was stopped and questioned at airports on the East Coast five times in March because his name appeared on the government's secret "no-fly" list.

Federal air security officials said the initial error that led to scrutiny of the Massachusetts Democrat should not have happened even though they recognize that the no-fly list is imperfect. But privately they acknowledged being embarrassed that it took the senator and his staff more than three weeks to get his name removed.

A senior administration official, who spoke on condition he not be identified, said Kennedy was stopped because the name "T. Kennedy" has been used as an alias by someone on the list of terrorist suspects.

While he worked to clear himself, Kennedy kept having to wait in the terminal at Washington's Reagan National, Boston's Logan International and at least one other airport, his staff said. All the flights were on US Airways.

When the senator checked in at the counter, airline employees told him they could not issue him a boarding pass because he appeared on the list. Kennedy was delayed until a supervisor could be summoned to identify him and give approval for him.

Kennedy's description of his air travel troubles -- mentioned during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday on the 9/11 panel's recommendations -- gave new life to questions about the quality and effectiveness of the no-fly list. Security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies established the list after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Critics said the senator's experience served as the latest example of how a system designed to improve security is instead targeting innocent travelers.

The government does not make public the names or total number of people on the list, which officials say is constantly updated. According to FBI documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act request, more than 350 Americans have been delayed or denied boarding since the list's inception. The list hasn't led to any arrests, officials said.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Americans who have had experiences similar to Kennedy's.

"That a clerical error could lend one of the most powerful people in Washington to the list -- it makes one wonder just how many others who are not terrorists are on the list," said Reggie Shuford, a senior ACLU counsel. "Someone of Sen. Kennedy's stature can simply call a friend to have his name removed, but a regular American citizen does not have that ability. He had to call three times himself."

A Kennedy aide said the senator nearly missed a couple of flights because of the delays. After the first few incidents, his staff called the Transportation Security Administration, which maintains the no-fly list. But even after those discussions about getting his name removed, the senator was stopped again, according to Kennedy spokesman David Smith.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge finally called to personally apologize about the mix-up, and the delays stopped in early April, Smith said.

TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said the no-fly system occasionally causes problems because the airlines are responsible for flagging passengers who show up on the list.

"Administration of the list clearly needs to be changed and consolidated to be government-managed," Hatfield said. "This points out the weakness in having the names checked against passengers at hundreds of different airlines at thousands of different airline counters across the country."

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80 000 names distributed to airlines for terror watch { September 11 2001 }
Aclu sues secret gov fly list { April 22 2003 }
Airline passenger screening program violates privacy act { June 15 2005 }
Airlines must supply government with travel data
Airlines will have to hand over passenger information
Babies on no fly list vexes travelers
Babies stopped from flying on no fly list { August 15 2005 }
College student sues over no fly list { September 11 2001 }
Delta passenger catagory { March 1 2003 }
Delta security plan
Feds rate travelers for terrorism { October 2006 }
Fliers to rate passengers for risk level { September 9 2003 }
Homeland security wants airline meal request data
Jetblue shared passenger data
Lockheed tracks financial records passengers
Muslim names no fly list { February 21 2003 }
No fly blacklists { September 27 2002 }
No fly list flagged any t kennedy { August 20 2004 }
No fly list raises civil liberty concerns
Push airlines for passenger records { January 12 2004 }
Senator kennedy on no fly list
Travellers rated by Automated Targeting System
Two women sue fbi no fly list { April 22 2003 }
Us europe clash over passenger data { September 19 2003 }
Us sued no fly list { April 22 2003 }

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