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kpete

(71,980 posts)
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 12:28 AM Feb 2014

How Obama Officials Cried ‘Terrorism’ to Cover Up a Paperwork Error

How Obama Officials Cried ‘Terrorism’ to Cover Up a Paperwork Error
BY DAVID KRAVETS02.11.146:30 AM

After seven years of litigation, two trips to a federal appeals court and $3.8 million worth of lawyer time, the public has finally learned why a wheelchair-bound Stanford University scholar was cuffed, detained and denied a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii: FBI human error.

FBI agent Kevin Kelley was investigating Muslims in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004 when he checked the wrong box on a terrorism form, erroneously placing Rahinah Ibrahim on the no-fly list.

What happened next was the real shame. Instead of admitting to the error, high-ranking President Barack Obama administration officials spent years covering it up. Attorney General Eric Holder, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and a litany of other government officials claimed repeatedly that disclosing the reason Ibrahim was detained, or even acknowledging that she’d been placed on a watch list, would cause serious damage to the U.S. national security. Again and again they asserted the so-called “state secrets privilege” to block the 48-year-old woman’s lawsuit, which sought only to clear her name.

Holder went so far as to tell the judge presiding over the case that this assertion of the state secrets privilege was fully in keeping with Obama’s much-ballyhooed 2009 executive branch reforms of the privilege, which stated the administration would invoke state secrets sparingly.


MORE:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/02/no-fly-coverup/?cid=co18444944

56 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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How Obama Officials Cried ‘Terrorism’ to Cover Up a Paperwork Error (Original Post) kpete Feb 2014 OP
More people that won't get fired that need to be. RC Feb 2014 #1
Betcha none of them lost an ounce of sleep over it. jsr Feb 2014 #2
James Clapper is an unrepentant piece of shit. Gravitycollapse Feb 2014 #3
Placed on the no-fly list 2004, sued 2006, and this is Obama's fault? struggle4progress Feb 2014 #4
It says Obama Officials. Which is true. Gravitycollapse Feb 2014 #6
What the case shows is: improper use of an FBI form in 2004; subsequent improper struggle4progress Feb 2014 #9
Thank you yet again. kristopher Feb 2014 #12
It'd be great if the Obama Administration had the resources... berni_mccoy Feb 2014 #27
Yes, we elected Dems to fix all of this shit. It looks like we were hopelessly naive. But not any sabrina 1 Feb 2014 #14
That means you never paid attention to the case before today, right? struggle4progress Feb 2014 #16
They weren't Obama officials in 2004. Unless they were in Chicago. Obama wasn't yet a Senator. SleeplessinSoCal Feb 2014 #15
this "author" wrote a story five days ago about the same court case but you wouldn't recognize it okaawhatever Feb 2014 #53
Yes, if the name "Obama" is anywhere near it(or even if it's not).. it's all Cha Feb 2014 #20
It took some effort to find a version of the story headlining the President struggle4progress Feb 2014 #21
Sure it is. Bush's entire Presidency is Obama's fault. n/t ProSense Feb 2014 #29
while the first mistake happened under bush questionseverything Feb 2014 #34
Sssh! We have to truedelphi Feb 2014 #39
so sorry questionseverything Feb 2014 #40
As soon as you sign off on that NSA micro-nano-chip that will report on them, truedelphi Feb 2014 #56
3 Obama officials are quoted in the article, tryign to cover up the bungle muriel_volestrangler Feb 2014 #36
It's impossible to know exactly what the statements are arguing without context struggle4progress Feb 2014 #38
Applying "Rational Basis of Law" to any of these ornate trappings truedelphi Feb 2014 #41
I wrote further down the thread about how this same "author" wrote a story 5 days ago in his okaawhatever Feb 2014 #54
... Ms. Ibrahim’s case ... casts light on the role of private contractors in deciding struggle4progress Feb 2014 #5
People make mistakes. reusrename Feb 2014 #8
There seem to have been at least two efforts to correct a database under the prior administration, struggle4progress Feb 2014 #17
Your tax dollars at (ahem) work blkmusclmachine Feb 2014 #7
But surely no mistakes will be made with all the information being amassed on the general population Alkene Feb 2014 #10
oh don't worry - the apologist brigade will be along villager Feb 2014 #13
It's necessary to destroy our freedoms in order to preserve them friendly_iconoclast Feb 2014 #43
Good lord -- have things fallen so far apart that we are in agreement!? villager Feb 2014 #44
In this case, at least, they have and we do... friendly_iconoclast Feb 2014 #45
Well, good. Keep your damn guns locked up.... villager Feb 2014 #46
I won't go that far, but I shall continue to hold the feet of the apologists... friendly_iconoclast Feb 2014 #47
Well, we agree on the pairs of feet held to fire villager Feb 2014 #48
No need to lock up guns, I don't own any friendly_iconoclast Feb 2014 #49
Well, after years (I think it's years) of locking horns... villager Feb 2014 #50
Indictable? DeSwiss Feb 2014 #11
I'm sure you wish it were, but the story is far less sexy than you might like struggle4progress Feb 2014 #18
Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2014 #19
thanks obama PowerToThePeople Feb 2014 #22
Whole buncha people need to be disciplined. bemildred Feb 2014 #23
Brings into question the validity of all of their secret "lists." Downwinder Feb 2014 #24
Clapper: weapons materials were "unquestionably" shipped out of Iraq to Syria jakeXT Feb 2014 #25
but you can't ever question officials, and it's *not* authoritarian to say that MisterP Feb 2014 #33
But Holder *did* get a huge raise for Jamie. MannyGoldstein Feb 2014 #26
Hey! If you didn't do anything wrong you don't have to worry. rgbecker Feb 2014 #28
If it wasn't for Obama, Bush wouldn't have been elected. ProSense Feb 2014 #30
2004? gollygee Feb 2014 #31
why the fuck didn't Obama do anything about Katrina ? JI7 Feb 2014 #35
No joke, a poll taken 6 months ago by PPP shows that more Republican in LA blame Obama than Bush for okaawhatever Feb 2014 #52
K&R woo me with science Feb 2014 #32
Have I mentioned that this country is clear off the tracks? Enthusiast Feb 2014 #37
People must be sacrificed in the name of national security. L0oniX Feb 2014 #42
This article is pure bullcrap. The same "author" wrote a story about this trial five days ago and okaawhatever Feb 2014 #51
As far as I can tell from the court decision, she was removed from the no-fly list in 2005 but struggle4progress Feb 2014 #55

struggle4progress

(118,270 posts)
4. Placed on the no-fly list 2004, sued 2006, and this is Obama's fault?
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 01:12 AM
Feb 2014

... In early 2005, she was detained for two hours at San Francisco's airport because authorities believed she was on the no-fly list.

Eventually, she was allowed to travel to Malaysia. However, her U.S. visa was revoked under a legal provision relating to suspected terrorist activities, though she was not told the specific factual basis for that action. She has not been allowed to return to the United States.

Ibrahim petitioned U.S. authorities to clear her name, but instead received a letter that did not say whether she was still on the no-fly list. She filed a lawsuit, claiming that her inability to return to the United States damaged her professionally.

The U.S. government has since conceded that Ibrahim is not a national security threat ...


FBI's no-fly list mistake kicked off woman's odyssey, filing says
By Dan Levine
SAN FRANCISCO Fri Feb 7, 2014 3:57am IST

Gravitycollapse

(8,155 posts)
6. It says Obama Officials. Which is true.
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 01:19 AM
Feb 2014

You know what this thread doesn't need? Cheerleaders for the administration.

struggle4progress

(118,270 posts)
9. What the case shows is: improper use of an FBI form in 2004; subsequent improper
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 02:14 AM
Feb 2014

addition of her name to a federal database and propagation through a number of other federal databases; an arrest in 2005 by San Francisco police, based on information provided by a contractor (which was soon deemed improper and for which she received monetary settlement from San Francisco); an immediate promise to remove her name from the no-fly list; failure to remove her name from other databases, so that in 2005, she was improperly still in the SSSS database, and (although allowed to fly) was issued an SSSS boarding pass; revocation of her F-1 student visa by early 2005; after she filed suit in 2006, a review finding no reasonable grounds for suspicion against her; then further refusal in 2009 to issue a visa, probably because several old database records had never been corrected, and the law simply requires officials when conducting such reviews to examine existing records

When the case finally went to trial for five days in December, the government conceded the errors. One problem is that the data from the original seems to have been automatically exported to multiple databases, so that the corrections in 2004 and 2006 were inadequate

 

berni_mccoy

(23,018 posts)
27. It'd be great if the Obama Administration had the resources...
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 08:31 AM
Feb 2014

to open up an investigation on every Bush fuck-up, which this was. But they don't, so sometimes they have to go on what they have, which isn't much. It's not an excuse, it's the reality of what the mess they were left with and the limited resources they had to clean up the multitude of ineptitude.

sabrina 1

(62,325 posts)
14. Yes, we elected Dems to fix all of this shit. It looks like we were hopelessly naive. But not any
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 03:11 AM
Feb 2014

longer. And now it's time to move forward.

SleeplessinSoCal

(9,107 posts)
15. They weren't Obama officials in 2004. Unless they were in Chicago. Obama wasn't yet a Senator.
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 03:28 AM
Feb 2014

The bias is blatant.

okaawhatever

(9,461 posts)
53. this "author" wrote a story five days ago about the same court case but you wouldn't recognize it
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 08:39 AM
Feb 2014

from the differences in the story. It should be criminal what this guy did. It appears he's one of the journalists who does "sponsored content". That's when someone pays you to write a story and they give you the subject and how they want it to turn out. Clearly, this piece is a case of that. Especially since he wrote a few days ago a complete different story.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/02/no-fly-list-bungle/

Cha

(297,029 posts)
20. Yes, if the name "Obama" is anywhere near it(or even if it's not).. it's all
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 05:28 AM
Feb 2014

his fault. Any chance to get the ODS juices flowing .. you bet it's his fault.

questionseverything

(9,646 posts)
34. while the first mistake happened under bush
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 05:57 PM
Feb 2014

it does not excuse the current admin of continuing to defend the previous admin for over 4 years

all the gal wanted was her name cleared...geesh

3.8 million in lawyer fees to defend a screw up and the worst thing is current admin breaking his promises of a transparent govt

questionseverything

(9,646 posts)
40. so sorry
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 09:46 PM
Feb 2014

I do not know what is wrong with my fingers...they just type the truth as I see it!!

bad fingersssssssssssssssssss

truedelphi

(32,324 posts)
56. As soon as you sign off on that NSA micro-nano-chip that will report on them,
Sat Feb 15, 2014, 04:35 PM
Feb 2014

I bet then they will behave!

muriel_volestrangler

(101,294 posts)
36. 3 Obama officials are quoted in the article, tryign to cover up the bungle
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 06:48 PM
Feb 2014

One of them, Clapper, Obama had an excellent reason to fire months ago - a proven liar to Congress. Now he's been caught showing contempt of court, by misleading it. He's not fit to hold his position. Holder may not be, either. This is a disgrace.

struggle4progress

(118,270 posts)
38. It's impossible to know exactly what the statements are arguing without context
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 08:12 PM
Feb 2014

Tyler may be saying the plaintiff has not right to challenge the very existence of the No-Fly list, rather than that the plaintiff has no right to challenge her placement on the No-Fly list. Everyone seems to agree the plaintiff was improperly on the No-Fly list but was removed from that list in 2005

Salvator might simply be saying TSA opposes disclosure of the identities of persons on the No-Fly or SSSS lists, citing TSA regulations. If those regulations were properly promulgated pursuant to law not found unconstitutional, typical US jurisprudence would give significant latitude to the agency in this regard. Unless one wants to argue that the No-Fly and SSSS are fundamentally unconstitutional, there is no obvious and intrinsic flaw in Salvator's opposition to "providing terrorists with information that may reveal which of their members have been compromised, and which of their members may board an aircraft without any form of enhanced security"

Freeborne could be arguing that allowing the plaintiff to a full hearing, on alleged abridgment of her alleged right to travel internationally, would require the Executive to disclose privileged information; to understand the exact argument here, it would be necessary to know exactly which claim of the plaintiff was under discussion. If, for example, this was response to denial of a visa to plaintiff, then it is important to note that in the history of US visa denials, the courts have generally granted the Executive wide latitude and have not forced the Executive to justify such decisions

Holder appears to argue, as a matter of principle, that the FBI cannot reasonably be compelled to disclose whether an individual is under investigation by the FBI, on the grounds that such disclosures may have the potential to reveal whether other individuals are under investigation. This is not a novel or unusual stance for an investigatory agency to take

Clapper appears to say privilege "precludes .. any response .. that would .. disclose classified information ..; the sources, methods, and means by which classified information is collected; and information which would confirm or deny whether .. plaintiff or .. other individual is in NCTC’s ..database.” The court apparently recognized this argument, as it managed to reach its decision without using classified information, without disclosing sources, methods, and means by which classified information is collected, and without confirming or denying whether anyone was in the database

The Senate, of course, has mechanisms for dealing with Executive witnesses it regards as in contempt of its investigations or misleading before its committees, ranging from informal letters signed by groups of Senators, through official requests for prosecution for contempt or perjury, to trial and removal after impeachment by the House. Mutual courtesies between the House and Senate, however, will probably preclude a House impeachment vote on the sole basis of alleged impropriety of the accused before a Senate committee; and therefore it would be a Senate responsibility to request Clapper's resignation, or prosecution, for alleged contempt or perjury before a Senate committe

The Court similarly has mechanisms or dealing with Executive witnesses it regards as in contempt, although the plaintiff's request, to call Clapper as a witness, seems not to have been allowed by the Court, so that reference to such mechanisms would be moot
Finally, let us turn to Clapper (not one of my favorite people).

truedelphi

(32,324 posts)
41. Applying "Rational Basis of Law" to any of these ornate trappings
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 09:47 PM
Feb 2014

Of the military/industrial/surveillance/governmental agency state, would make these all these contentions of and about the Surveillance State totally moot.

Our public officials, both elected and appointed, must all take an oath of office to defend, protect and uphold the Constitution. Yet more and more of their energy is about creating an elaborate and over-funded group of agencies that do nothing but deprive We the Citizens of the very rights that our government is supposed to exist to protect on our behalf.

They are destroying the village in order to save it.

okaawhatever

(9,461 posts)
54. I wrote further down the thread about how this same "author" wrote a story 5 days ago in his
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 08:51 AM
Feb 2014

same media publication that is completely different from this one. This piece is nothing more than lies and propaganda. According to Stanford Magazine, she was given a clearance letter from authorities about two hours after she was detained. They also told her at the time that it was a mistake.

There's a lot to this story, but you won't learn about it from the moron who wrote this article. I see you've done some research, but there are still a lot of questions that this woman hasn't answered. When she attempted to fly back to the US from Malaysia she was told she needed to contact the consulate there to get her visa cleared. I can't find anything that describes her doing that. That's a big issue. Was she forbidden from coming back to the US or did she refuse to contact the Embassy? All the lies being put forth by the reporters claim she was on the no-fly list for years. That's untrue. She was taken off and allowed to fly a couple hours after she was detained. The reason she's been unable to return to the US is her Visa. So...okay....did she give the clearance letter to the embassy? Did she contact them? These are big questions. I think her attorneys may have told her not to do any of that to make her case stronger. I don't know, there's something fishy. It seems if she went to the Embassy and they refused her they would be shouting it from the roof tops. Why no mention in the approximately twenty articles I read? Her court filing doesn't sound anything like the hyperbole the press is pushing on this story. No one is addressing how things would be different if she were a citizen. Actually, no one is addressing the story at all. They're using bits of it to push their agenda. Thanks for trying to gather information.

struggle4progress

(118,270 posts)
5. ... Ms. Ibrahim’s case ... casts light on the role of private contractors in deciding
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 01:18 AM
Feb 2014

whether someone should be held. The police in San Francisco said they had acted on the instructions of a contractor working for the Homeland Security Department ...

Ensnared by Error on Growing U.S. Watch List
By MIKE McINTIRE
Published: April 6, 2010

 

reusrename

(1,716 posts)
8. People make mistakes.
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 02:08 AM
Feb 2014

It'd be easier to accept a simple mistake if it weren't for all the fabrications that go with it.

struggle4progress

(118,270 posts)
17. There seem to have been at least two efforts to correct a database under the prior administration,
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 04:19 AM
Feb 2014

but the data appears to have been automatically exported to other databases, and apparently none were constructed so the origin of the flagging could be determined. So folk repeatedly went to their various databases, found her flagged, and followed standard procedure. It's not evident that any one person would have understood the problem, or had the authority to correct all the databases if the person did understand the problem. The pre-trial government wrangling seems to have been, in part, an effort to reduce or eliminate the need for classified information to support the judge's decision

Does it look ridiculous and unfair? Sure does. Is there evidence of any deliberate cover-up? I don't think so: it looks like a bunch of different folk did their jobs, the way they're supposed to do them, based on the information they had, and the system didn't work very well. Government lawyers typically defend the actions of whatever agency employs them, so if a mistake somehow ultimately involves multiple agencies, it's hard to fix. The intelligence and counter-intelligence folk, by culture and practice, don't want to discuss their methods of obtaining "information" and "analyzing" that information, because they naturally don't want everyone to know what they may know or may not know: so, in particular, they won't want people to have a clear idea what might put them on some watchlist, lest some a-hole who belongs on the list figure out how to stay off the list

In this case, the government clearly stated a mistake had been made, and the judge ordered multiple databases appropriately corrected

Alkene

(752 posts)
10. But surely no mistakes will be made with all the information being amassed on the general population
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 02:26 AM
Feb 2014

I mean, this is just a unique case of a rather unlucky individual who suffered at the hands of bureaucratic incompetence and hubris. But all that surveillance being done on the rest of us will be handled with the utmost competence and professionalism.

I'm not a terrorist, so I shouldn't worry.

And someone has to keep us safe.

Right?

 

villager

(26,001 posts)
13. oh don't worry - the apologist brigade will be along
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 03:07 AM
Feb 2014

... to tell you it's for your own good.

And then they'll snark and post smilies.

 

friendly_iconoclast

(15,333 posts)
47. I won't go that far, but I shall continue to hold the feet of the apologists...
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 05:11 AM
Feb 2014

...for the current version of what David Halberstam called




to the fire...

 

friendly_iconoclast

(15,333 posts)
49. No need to lock up guns, I don't own any
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 05:26 AM
Feb 2014

Nor am I gay- or a Muslim, for that matter. For me, it's about a little thing known as 'principles'.

No matter how Loudly certain Professionals proclaim the superiority of their Senses, or struggle
to ensure the progress of blatant partisan Squealing*, I will always resist cults of personality
here at DU



(*readers of Orwell's "Animal Farm" will get the reference...)
 

villager

(26,001 posts)
50. Well, after years (I think it's years) of locking horns...
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 05:32 AM
Feb 2014

...on That One Particular Issue, it's good to find some common ground where we can be... well, Friendly!



Response to kpete (Original post)

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
23. Whole buncha people need to be disciplined.
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 06:42 AM
Feb 2014

Once again caught a.) lying, and b.) doing it because they were intimidated

jakeXT

(10,575 posts)
25. Clapper: weapons materials were "unquestionably" shipped out of Iraq to Syria
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 07:26 AM
Feb 2014
In 2003, Clapper, then head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, attempted to explain the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq by asserting that the weapons materials were "unquestionably" shipped out of Iraq to Syria and other countries just before the American invasion, a "personal assessment" which Clapper's own agency head at the time, David Burpee, "could not provide further evidence to support."[48]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Clapper

rgbecker

(4,823 posts)
28. Hey! If you didn't do anything wrong you don't have to worry.
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 08:52 AM
Feb 2014

Only terrorists and really "Bad" guys will be targeted.



okaawhatever

(9,461 posts)
52. No joke, a poll taken 6 months ago by PPP shows that more Republican in LA blame Obama than Bush for
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 08:36 AM
Feb 2014

the botched response to Katrina. No, I'm not kidding:

According to a new survey by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, slightly more Louisiana Republicans blame President Obama for the federal government’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina than blame President George W. Bush.

A total of 29 percent of the Republicans surveyed placed the blame on Obama, while 28 percent said Bush, who was president at the time, was to blame. A plurality — 44 percent — said they were unsure who was at fault.

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/21/more_louisiana_gopers_blame_obama_for_katrina_than_bush/

 

L0oniX

(31,493 posts)
42. People must be sacrificed in the name of national security.
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 10:00 PM
Feb 2014

It really is much worse than 1984. ...but I'm sure Obama and Hillary will save us from totalitarianism.

okaawhatever

(9,461 posts)
51. This article is pure bullcrap. The same "author" wrote a story about this trial five days ago and
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 08:30 AM
Feb 2014

you wouldn't even think it was the same event. I don't know if he rewrote the story and added the lies and hyperbole for a direct paycheck, or to get added circulation by having a bunch of foreign papers pick up the "new, improved, anti-American, anti-Obama" story. It smacks of "sponsored content" where someone paid him to make this story a hit piece about Obama. it's a disgrace and "reporters" like him should not be granted the protection of freedom of the press if the content of his stories are for sale.

Old Headline:
FBI Checks Wrong Box, Places Student on No-Fly List

New Headline:
How Obama Officials Cried ‘Terrorism’ to Cover Up a Paperwork Error

Old Explanation:
In this version, she isn't wheelchair bound, she isn't a "scholar", he admits she was held for only two hours, but of course fails to mention she took the next flight (which was the next day). How can one be on a no-fly list for seven years if she flew the next day? He never tells the whole truth about the trip. She was returning to her home in Malaysia for two months, but had scheduled a stop over in Hawaii where she was presenting a paper on affordable housing. Oddly, her partner on the paper was a student at the military naval college. Why did he write that she was denied her pain medication until 2005?

"The government contested a former Stanford University student’s assertion that she was wrongly placed on a no-fly list for seven years in court despite knowing an FBI official put her on the list by mistake because he checked the “wrong boxes” on a form, a federal judge wrote today."

"The judge issued a brief ruling last month declaring that the Malaysian woman was a victim of a bureaucratic “mistake.” The judge’s full opinion was released today."

"Ibrahim’s saga began in December 2005 when she was a visiting doctoral student in architecture and design from Malaysia. On her way to Kona, Hawaii to present a paper on affordable housing, Ibrahim was told she was on a watch list, detained, handcuffed and questioned for two hours at San Francisco International Airport."

SNIP

"She sued and federal authorities fought her all the way."

New Explanation:

"After seven years of litigation, two trips to a federal appeals court and $3.8 million worth of lawyer time, the public has finally learned why a wheelchair-bound Stanford University scholar was cuffed, detained and denied a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii: FBI human error."

"What happened next was the real shame. Instead of admitting to the error, high-ranking President Barack Obama administration officials spent years covering it up. Attorney General Eric Holder, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and a litany of other government officials claimed repeatedly that disclosing the reason Ibrahim was detained, or even acknowledging that she’d been placed on a watch list, would cause serious damage to the U.S. national security. Again and again they asserted the so-called “state secrets privilege” to block the 48-year-old woman’s lawsuit, which sought only to clear her name."

SNIP

"Ibrahim was a Stanford University doctoral student in architecture and design from Malaysia and was headed to Hawaii to give a paper on affordable housing. Wheelchair-bound after just having a hysterectomy, she was handcuffed, detained for hours at San Francisco International Airport and denied her pain medication until paramedics arrived in 2005. She was eventually released and allowed to fly to her home country of Malaysia."
_______________

According to Stanford Magazine:

DURING THAT DECEMBER nine years ago, those who knew Ibrahim, then a doctoral student in civil engineering, had one chief concern: her health. She had undergone an emergency hysterectomy 10 weeks prior to the trip. And though she had passed the worst of her recovery she remained unable to stand for long or go without medication for pain in her back and abdomen

Things began to unravel as soon as Ibrahim reached the ticket counter, where she sought wheelchair assistance.

Instead of heeding Ibrahim's request for help, the ticket agent called police. Ibrahim's name had flashed up on the federal no-fly list, a consolidated database of thousands of known or suspected terrorists created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Without explanation, Ibrahim was put in the back of a squad car, taken to a police substation, searched beneath her hijab, the traditional Muslim dress, and refused her pain medications until paramedics arrived to validate that she was authorized to take them, according to Ibrahim's account.

After more than two hours, a Homeland Security agent arrived with release papers and told Ibrahim that her name had been removed from the no-fly list. The next day, after enhanced security searches, she flew to Hawaii, unaware that the time spent there would be her final days in America.

________________

It's disappointing that some people are more concerned with promoting their own agenda than they are at promoting the truth. I would think those on DU would like for the readers to understand the events leading up to a trial, and not pushing hyperbole and lies on fellow readers. Obama didn't claim terrorism to cover up the mistake. Most of the trial wasn't even about Ms. Ibrahim but about the legal precedent for the case, the no-fly list, and so on. There are many unanswered questions about this case and the no-fly list in general, but this article does nothing to answer any of those things. The author is a liar and is pushing an agenda. Fall for it if it makes you feel good, but if you're interested in the truth and all the facts this isn't the article for you.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/02/no-fly-list-bungle/

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/02/no-fly-coverup/?cid=co18444944



struggle4progress

(118,270 posts)
55. As far as I can tell from the court decision, she was removed from the no-fly list in 2005 but
Thu Feb 13, 2014, 11:07 AM
Feb 2014

the listing had been copied to multiple other databases, so she continued to experience problems from other listings: for example, her visa applications to the US were denied, apparently on the basis of the derivative listings: it's difficult to be entirely sure, because the Executive did not want either to confirm or deny that she was listed in any such database, though it did agree that there was no reason (other than human error) to have had her on the no-fly list in 2005

The judge therefore instructed that her name be removed from the various databases or annotated there to show that it had been included by error, allowing the possibility that her name might be re-added to a database if, on review of existing or new information, the Executive concluded she belonged in the database

The decision, as I understand it, further says the Executive has broad discretion regarding visa issuance, and so she cannot seek remedy for visa denial, no matter what the cause

She did settle with San Francisco for $225,000 a while ago regarding the 2005 arrest at the airport

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