Why's a Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel on the "No-Fly" List?

[sabra]

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=63406

Why's a Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel on the "No-Fly" List?


Anti-War Veteran Placed on No-Fly List

The federal officials who are busy assuring Americans that they've got their act together when it comes to managing port security are not inspiring much confidence with their approach to airline security.

When Dr. Robert Johnson, a heart surgeon who did his active duty with the U.S. Army Reserve before being honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, arrived at the Syracuse airport near his home in upstate New York last month for a flight to Florida, he was told he could not travel.

Why? Johnson was told that his name had been added to the federal "no-fly" list as a possible terror suspect.

Johnson, who served in the military during the time of the first Gulf War and then came home to serve as northern New York's first board-certified thoracic surgeon and an active member of the community in his hometown of Sackets Harbor, is not a terror suspect. But he is an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, who mounted a scrappy campaign for Congress as the Democratic challenger to Republican Representative John McHugh in 2004 and who plans to challenge McHugh again in upstate New York's sprawling 23rd District.

Johnson, who eventually made it onto the flight to Florida, is angry. And, like a growing number of war critics whose names have ended up on "no-fly" lists – some of them prominent, many of them merely concerned citizens – he wants some answers.

[Crazy Dave]

1. I think even Ted Kennedy is on a no fly list...

...and gets hassled form time to time. Ridiculous! :mad:

[maxrandb]

2. Because

"You're either 'withus', or 'agin-us'" :sarcasm:

I'm surprised they still let us "liberal-looney-left" types serve in the military.

Oh, yeah! That's right! If it weren't for Dems serving, the military would be "extremely" small. Sort a' the size of a neo-cons penis.

[Oreo]

3. That means that anybody named Robert Johnson is also on the list.

I don't think the list goes any deeper than the name.

These people are SO stupid!

[gatorboy]

4. From the reports I've read on the No-Fly list

The list seems to be made up entirely of Americans.

[DELUSIONAL]

5. I expect that Rove has whole staff adding peace activists to this list

It almost seems that the main credential for being placed on this list is to be for Peace and against War.

There is no trial -- no jury -- but people are being judged and condemned for their political beliefs.

Here we have a Veteran placed on the no fly list . . . who really served and in the White House we have a phony cowboy who played at flying in the Air Force National Guard until even that bored him. Then all he did was write a letter to quit that token military service.

[MercutioATC]

6. Why is one of my fellow air traffic controllers on the no-fly list?

I think it's the height of irony. He has a secret security clearance. He's been investigated my the FBI and passed a psychological screen. They trust him to tell planes (even Air Force One) where to fly.

...but he's not allowed to get on a plane.

:eyes:

[immoderate]

7. The no-fly list is a farce!

There are 80,000 names on the no-fly list. If any of them are terrorists, they should not be turned away, they should be ARRESTED! As far as I know this has never happened.:eyes:

The only purpose of the no-fly list is to harass critics of the administration.

--IMM