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Posted on 04/29/2008 4:32:30 PM PDT by kellynla
Some federal air marshals have been denied entry to flights they are assigned to protect when their names matched those on the terrorist no-fly list, and the agency says it's now taking steps to make sure their agents are allowed to board in the future.
The problem with federal air marshals (FAM) names matching those of suspected terrorists on the no-fly list has persisted for years, say air marshals familiar with the situation.
One air marshal said it has been “a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline.”
“In some cases, planes have departed without any coverage because the airline employees were adamant they would not fly,” the air marshal said. “I've seen guys actually being denied boarding.”
A second air marshal says one agent “has been getting harassed for six years because his exact name is on the no-fly list.”
Earlier this month the agency issued a new security directive (SD) “to address those situations where air carriers deny FAMs boarding based on 'no-fly list' names matches.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Morons.
Wait one ... I doubt we’re talking about John Jones or Fred Smith here. I know it is not PC, but an Air Marshal named Abdul of Ahmed raises a red flag for me. Imagine the agent names that are likely to coincidentally match those to be found on the list. Yeah, the problem is whacked but this does raise other questions.
This is just a case of a few coincidences, combined with idiot airline employees not knowing how to handle the no-fly list. The air marshal’s “name” may be on the list, but how many John Smiths are there in the world?
The procedure is then to match birthdate or some other identifying information, and absent that information matching, the person is cleared, usually rather quickly and with a single quick phone call. But all it takes is one or two idiotard counter agents to screw things up. Most counter agents are pretty good, but there are always a few...
As for you commoners with the same problem, Tough $hit!
So a terrorist is going to do all the things necessary to pass for an air marshal, yet use a name like Abdul Mohammed Jihad on the fake ID?
Actually, Most of the “No-Fly” mistaken identity complaints I have seen have been for “Fred Smiths” and “John Jones” sounding names.
The No-Fly List is a joke.
ONLY in America!
We have liberals whining about a president not connecting the dots, but when he does...he’s a racist!
And remember, we had a member of the 101st airborne frag soldiers with a muslim name!
Our enemies know that stupid liberals will allow them to use our own constitution and their PC thinking against us.
No, that’s not my concern. It is that we’re hiring air marshals named Abdul Mohammed Jihad, arming them, and placing them on aircraft. I said it wasn’t PC but we do have the example of Sgt. Asan Akbar to consider.
Hey, wait a minute...
LOL!
Anyone can get on using any name with a decent fake ID. Bars do more to check for fakes than airports.
Well hiring Muhammad Abdul Zareem Skyhook to be a marshall under the diversity program does have its downsides apparently.
Of course it's a joke. Everything associated with airport "security" is a joke and has been for years. THe really funny thing about it, is the mouth-breathing goverment employees don't give a damn. Noone in government gives a damn because they don't have to deal with it. You and I are the only people subject to our insane overseers. I'm disgusted at the nation of unthinking, compliant sheep that this nation has become.
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Well said.
Thanks. Sometimes when I think about it, I just want to scream.
And start shooting things. :-)
AmP
The numbnuts at the TSA had Ted Kennedy on the No Fly List (even though it's common knowledge that the main danger from Teddy Boy has to do with water, not air).
It would suit me just fine if everybody winds up on the no-fly list.
I'm not suggesting anything should be done about it because I don't believe any effective security is possible. So my suggestion would be for the TSA, the airline industry, and the public to just stop pretending.
Yes, there is evidence that large scale coordinated attacks have been thwarted both here and abroad, but the actions that stopped them did not occur anywhere near the security checkpoints.
Yup. And in most cases, the only effective countermeasure was vigilant passengers.
People forget that the only aircraft that did not reach it's target on 9/11/01 was thwarted by the passengers themselves. Ordinary Americans acting in an extraordinary way.
The only thing that would have thwarted the 9/11 attacks completely would have been to have an armed flight crew and/or armed passengers. Of course, that is out of the question because it doesn't give more power to FedGov. All actions must increase federal power or they will not be considered. Doesn't matter if Repubs or Dems are in charge, they are all statists.
Pay attention. These are real air marshals who are being denied, not fake ones. If it was fake air marshals who were being kicked off of flights it wouldn't be a problem.
“Wait one ... I doubt we’re talking about John Jones or Fred Smith here. I know it is not PC, but an Air Marshal named Abdul of Ahmed raises a red flag for me. Imagine the agent names that are likely to coincidentally match those to be found on the list. Yeah, the problem is whacked but this does raise other questions.”
Like why are so many air marshals named Mohamed?
Pay attention. Fake air marshals wouldn't be using names likely to get them kicked off in the first place, so why would you kick off a real air marshal because of a name?
To give you an example, in this country we have a large community of Iranians who fled here to excape the new Muslim regime in '79, and they are loyal to America. They know what Muslim extremism does and they don't like it, they are very unlikely to be terrorists. Do we deny them jobs just because of their names?
I said it wasn’t PC but we do have the example of Sgt. Asan Akbar to consider.
Yes, sad case. How many frag incidents did we have in Vietnam? How many of the perpetrators has Muslim names?
Because they are retarded government a-holes. BTW you are the only one on this thread who is talking about “fake air marshals”. This article isn't about “fake air marshals”, so drop it already.
Read everything Bruce Schneier has on the issue. He divides security into actual and perceived. While he has a lot of criticism of the perceived security we have at the airport, he does say that sometimes perceived security has a use.
Again you are missing the point.
Jobs, no. Air marshal jobs, yes. Giving Arabs or Iranians jobs as air marshals is just stupid and asking for trouble. If the air marshal looks like a Muslim terrorist is it really going to surprise you if ordinary passengers and crew take exception to him waving a gun around on a plane? Looking like a Muslim terrorist would be a distinct disadvantage for an air marshal.
Why? In general the Iranians here are more pro-American and against Muslim fundamentalists than most Americans. They were pro-American under the Shaw, have already been hurt by the fundies and America welcomed them when the fled.
Looking like a Muslim terrorist would be a distinct disadvantage for an air marshal.
Or an advantage, as the real terrorists wouldn't peg him as an air marshal, and probably pretty much ignore him while trying to take over the plane.
If an Arab or Persian pulls a gun on someone in a plane, passengers might just mistake him for a hijacker and gang tackle him. Thats not an advantage.
If he pulls a gun it will be because others already pulled guns and claimed they're taking over the airplane. What, do you think air marshals are just in the habit of randomly waving their guns around in the cabin?
So you think it impossible for someone to mistake an Arab air marshal for a terrorist? I don’t, and for that reason I think it’s stupid to hire them as air marshals.
So you think it impossible for someone to mistake a white or black air marshal for a terrorist?
“So you think it impossible for someone to mistake a white or black air marshal for a terrorist?”
Not impossible, but certainly less likely. I guess you haven’t noticed that terrorists these days are about 99 percent Arab Muslim.
Have you seen an Iranian recently? They don’t all look like Ahmanutjob.
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