Explanation of terrorist watch list

Thucydides writes:

I heard today on Fox News that there are three levels of terrorism watch list: Mutallab was on the lowest level, which consists of 500,000 persons who have some terrorist connections. The intermediate level, with 14,000 on the list, requires a secondary inspection including swipes for explosive residues. Finally, there is the no-fly list, with about 4,000.

Would not ordinary prudence suggest that all Muslim passengers be given the secondary inspection?

At the very least, all those on the 500,000 “terrorist connections” list ought to be given extra scrutiny.

LA replies:

So there are 500,000 persons with known terrorist connections, and they are allowed on planes with no extra scrutiny, and given two-year U.S. visas to attend “religious seminar,” and so on. What, then, is the point of this third level, since the people on this level are apparently treated exactly the same as the general population?

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 27, 2009 05:06 PM | Send