How one is placed on the No Fly List

Tweet

According to Timothy J. Healy Director, Terrorist Screening Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation in a Statement Before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on December 9, 2009 stated that to be placed on the Terrorist Watch List one has to meet two criteria. Fist is biographical data to separate them from other people. Second, the facts and circumstances pertaining to the nomination must meet the “reasonable suspicion” standard of review established by terrorist screening Presidential Directives. Reasonable suspicion requires “articulable” facts which, taken together with rational inferences, reasonably warrant a determination that an individual is known or suspected to be or has been engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of or related to terrorism and terrorist activities, and is based on the totality of the circumstances. Due weight must be given to the reasonable inferences that a person can draw from the facts. Mere guesses or inarticulate “hunches” are not enough to constitute reasonable suspicion. http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress09/healy120909.htm This is based on Court Ruling on the 4th Amendment protection for US Citizens to protect them from unreasonable search and seizure. Following this approach the Millennium bomber would have gotten into this country. Because a respected government official from a foreign country did not have "articulable (Capable of being expressed clearly) facts" about his son the Christmas Bomber was not put on the Terrorist Watch list and therefore not placed on the No Fly List. It is time we got the lawyers out of the equation and let the people who are trained to spot such people do their job.