How did airport security get the legal names of terrorists?

[Boojatta]

Why don't they ever have a description so that they can see that somebody doesn't match the description? Why is there always trouble for people who have the same name as a name on a list?

Also, what happens if a terrorist has phony ID that shows a phony name that isn't on a list? Can they always recognize that phony ID is phony?

[provis99]

1. what does the no-fly list have to do with fighting terrorism?

Its simply a tactic for the Cheney administration to harass their political opponents. They don't care if they catch any real terrorists.

[drmeow]

2. Silly person!

Airport security has NOTHING to do with catching terrorists or preventing a terrorist attack and everything to do with controlling honest citizens and getting us used to random search and seizure. There you go again, being logical and applying Bill of Rights principles to the government. What were you thinking?

[ManiacJoe]

3. The do-not-fly list does have the descriptions.

That is how the people with the same names get on the plane. The misunderstanding that most people have is that the only data entry people have at the kiosks is their name, which is not unique by any stretch of the imagination. When their name matches someone on the list, they go to the ticket agent who looks up the data and sees that they do not match the description and gives them a boarding pass.

If the terrorist uses a phony ID, he will probably pass the name check as would anyone using a phony ID.

The do-not-fly list is not designed to catch terrorists; it is designed to catch the dumb terrorists.