US Apologizes to Billionaire Added to Terror No-fly List - ABC News

Thanks to Yussi Pick for the following story.

I've written about Abdulmutallab before and how despite being a suspected terrorist did not manage to end up on the no-fly list. Both the CIA and MI5 knew about Abdulmutallab but for whatever reason the National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC) did not add his name to the no-fly list.

The NCTC and other intelligence agencies are now rightfully sensitive to missing another underwear bomber so Mr. Chagoury was put on TWO no-fly lists. How did billionaire philanthropist/businessman/former ambassador manage to get on TWO no-fly lists? Mr. Chagoury's company banks with Abdulmutallabs father.

Chagoury spokesman Mark Corallo: “Everyone understands that after the December attempt, the government re-examined a lot of travelers. Ambassador Chagoury has no problem with the government taking a second look at him, and he’s pleased that he’s been cleared to fly to the United States. What he doesn’t understand is the decision by someone in the government to disclose his name to the media and to unfairly suggest that he was a potential threat."


ACLU's Ben Wizner: "This is a secret, unchecked executive power with absolutely no due process for people who are on the list. You can wake up one morning and find yourself unable to fly without ever being told why and without any meaningful opportunity to challenge it."

The best systems are the ones that are constantly being evaluated where ineffective practices are eliminated or corrected. As this story illustrates, our homeland security system is still unable to evaluate its processes even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

US Apologizes to Billionaire Added to Terror No-fly List - ABC News