Prosecutor flagged by US terror watch list

[laststeamtrain]

Prosecutor flagged by US terror watch list

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 21 minutes ago

The Justice Department's former top criminal prosecutor says the government's terror watch list likely has caused thousands of innocent Americans to be questioned, searched or otherwise hassled.

Former Assistant Attorney General Jim Robinson would know: he's one of them.

Robinson joined another mistaken-identity American and the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday to urge fixing the list that's supposed to identify suspected terrorists.

"It's a pain in the neck, and significantly interferes with my travel arrangements," said Robinson, the head of the Justice Department's criminal division during the Clinton administration. He believes his name matches that of someone who was put on the list in early 2005, and is routinely delayed while flying — despite having his own government top-secret security clearances renewed last year.

"I suppose if I were convinced that America is a safer place because I get hassled at the airport, I might put up with it," Robinson said. "But I doubt it."

He added: "I expect my story is similar to hundreds of thousands of people who are on this list who find themselves inconvenienced."...http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080714/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/terror_watchlist

[Alexander]

1. That's also the name of the douchebag who created Free Republic.