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Terror List Making Americans Unsafe

By Paul Craig Roberts  Posted by Michael Germain (about the submitter)       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   2 comments
The Bush Regime's "terrorist" protection schemes have reached the height of total incompetence and utter absurdity.  According to the American Civil Liberties Union, a private organization that defends the US Constitution
that inattentive Americans neglect,  there are now *one million names* on the "terrorist" watch list.

One of them is that of former Assistant US Attorney General Jim Robinson, whose top security clearances are current.  Every time Mr.Robinson flies away on business, he is delayed by a totally incompetent "terrorist" protection racket that cannot tell a person named Jim Robinson, who served in the highest echelons of the US government, from a Muslim terrorist.

What confidence can we have in a regime that is incapable of differentiating an Assistant US Attorney General from a terrorist?

Mr. Robinson said: "If I were convinced that America is a safer place because I get hassled at the airport, I might put up with it, but I doubt it.  I expect my story is similar to hundreds of thousands of people who are on this list and find themselves inconvenienced."

"Hundreds of thousands of people" on a watch list that they have no business being on?

Yes. "Members of Congress, nuns, war heroes and other 'suspicious characters,' with names like Robert Johnson and Gary Smith, have become trapped in the Kafkaesque clutches of this list, with little hope of escape," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

And this is America, not Nazi Germany?

How can Airport "Security" possibly protect anyone when the idiots cannot differentiate a  high level American government official from a terrorist?

Do you really believe there are one million terrorists and nothing has blown up in the US since September 11, 2001 (assuming you believe the government's account of that episode)?

How can there possibly be 1,000,000 terrorists and America still be in one piece?  If there were 1,000,000 terrorists, America would be in ruins. According to the Bush Regime's line, it only took a handful of terrorists to destroy America's tallest skyscrapers and a section of the Pentagon and to send the President of the United States scurrying to a hiding place.

One million terrorists could bring America to its knees, and they wouldn't need to fly on airplanes to accomplish this.

What we are witnessing with the one million person "watch list" is bureaucracy run amok.  One Million Terrorists makes the danger seem overwhelming.  Such overwhelming danger rationalizes the aggressive behavior of the bullies and thugs attracted by the power of confiscating your toothpaste and bottled water and riffling your belongings in your luggage.

Show your ID. Take off your shoes.


Take off your belt. Take off your jacket.

Empty your pockets.

Don't complain about being searched without a warrant or you will miss your flight.  You might be arrested, handcuffed, kicked and otherwise abused--the fate of many American citizens.

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I am a lifelong progressive activist working for a better future. This has included work to create head of household green jobs, strengthening education, from pre-K to Higher Education, enactment of a single payer health insurance system, and (more...)
 
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