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Article: Terrorism Watch List Is Faulted For Errors; Justice Dept. Official Urges Improvement
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 7, 2007
- Author:
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The government's master watch list of known or suspected
terrorists continues to be marred by errors and inconsistencies that
can obstruct the capture of terrorists or cause innocent people to
be detained by U.S. authorities, the Justice Department's inspector
general said yesterday.
As one of the most powerful intelligence tools created by the
Bush administration after the 2001 attacks, the watch list is used
to screen about 270 million people a month and its content can
determine whether people are allowed to fly on airplanes or detained
after routine traffic stops.
Its size has more than quadrupled since its creation in 2004, to
the point that it contained more than 720,000 records as of ...