"U.S. Urges Changes in Watch List Rules"

Thursday, September 23, 2004

U.S. Urges Changes in Watch List Rules
By LESLIE MILLER
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON -- A gap in the airline passenger-check system permitted the
former Cat Stevens to board a London-to-Washington flight despite being on a
no-fly list for suspected ties to terrorists, a Bush administration official
said Thursday. 

The incident involving Yusuf Islam, formerly known as singer Cat Stevens,
dramatizes a need for changes to tighten the system, said Asa Hutchinson,
under secretary for homeland security. 

"Right now, under the rules we get the information (about passenger
boardings) at Homeland Security, I believe it's 15 minutes after the plane
takes off," Hutchinson said. 

"There's a gap there, so obviously the rules have to be changed" governing
the comparison of passenger names with a watch list of people suspected of
terrorist links, Hutchinson acknowledged in an interview on ABC's "Good
Morning America." 

Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, he said, "Someone on the watch list should
not be on the airplane flying. The responsibility falls on the airline under
our current system." 

He said the rules need to be changed to permit federal authorities to review
passenger lists, particularly for international flights, at least an hour
before a plane takes off and said U.S. officials will be working with their
counterparts internationally to get that done. 

His Homeland Security Department had said Wednesday that the incident
involving Islam -- in which his plane was diverted to Bangor, Maine and he
was intercepted by federal agents -- demonstrates why the government should
take over the screening responsibility from the airlines. 

"This is a good example of the need for the government to manage the lists,
as recommended in the 9-11 commission report," said Homeland Security
spokesman Dennis Murphy. 

In July, the Sept. 11 commission issued a report that said airlines can only
check names against "no fly" lists -- people the government believes "pose a
direct threat to aviation." 

The government maintains a much larger set of watch lists, but those aren't
used because of concerns about sharing information with private companies
and foreign countries. 

Still, Yusuf's name was on the no-fly list that United Airlines employees
were supposed to check. 

United spokesman Jeff Green said the airline followed procedures in checking
Islam's name, and it wasn't on the list. 

"The information did not match," Green said. 

Islam returned to London early Thursday. "I'm totally shocked," he said upon
arrival at the airport. "Half of me wants to smile, and half of me wants to
growl. The whole thing is totally ridiculous. Everybody knows who I am. I am
no secret figure. Everybody knows my campaigning for charity, for peace." 

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained Wednesday to U.S. officials
their treatment of Islam, telling Secretary of State Colin Powell "that this
action should not have been taken," the Foreign Office confirmed. 

United and the U.S. government say they're working together to figure out
what happened. It's possible Islam's name was spelled differently on the
list, Homeland Security officials conceded. 

United's Flight 919 was en route to Washington Dulles International Airport
on Tuesday when U.S. officials reviewing the passenger list discovered Islam
was aboard. The aircraft was diverted to Maine's Bangor International
Airport, where federal agents met the plane and interviewed Islam. 

Under rules imposed following the Sept. 11 attacks, once an international
flight is bound for the United States, passenger information is forwarded to
U.S. officials. The amount of data varies, but can include name, address,
flight details, seat location, form of payment and meal preference. 

U.S. authorities use the information to run a more thorough check against
government watch lists. That's when authorities discovered that Islam was on
the plane. 

Unlike airline workers, law enforcement officers are trained to look for
names that sound like those on the watch list or are spelled differently
than the ones on the watch list, Homeland Security spokesman Garrison
Courtney said. 

The Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the Homeland
Security Department, announced plans Tuesday to take over the task of
checking names against watch lists before passengers get on planes. The
agency is developing a computerized system that will compare passenger data
with the watch lists for domestic flights only. 

U.S. authorities provided few details about Islam's alleged connection to
terrorism. 

Homeland Security spokesman Brian Doyle would only say that the intelligence
community has recently obtained information that "further heightens concern"
about Islam. 

"Yusuf Islam has been placed on the watch lists because of activities that
could potentially be related to terrorism," Doyle said. "It's a serious
matter." 

A second government official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said
U.S. authorities think donations from Islam may have ended up helping to
fund blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted for a plot to bomb New York
City landmarks, and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group considered a
terrorist organization by the United States. 

Islam, born Stephen Georgiou, took Cat Stevens as a stage name and had a
string of hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning
Has Broken." Last year he released two songs, including a re-recording of
his hit "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in
Iraq. 

He abandoned his music career in the late 1970s after converting to Islam. 

While in Washington in May, Islam met with officials of the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives "to talk about philanthropic
work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan, who said the
meeting occurred before Islam was added to the no-fly list. 

On the Net: 

Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov 

Yusuf Islam: http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/


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