Free Republic

Bedford County Deputy Jeff Quarles stopped a tractor trailer on 501 between Big Island and Coleman Falls in October. During the routine safety inspection, Quarles ran the driver’s information and discovered the man is on a terrorist watch list. Quarles could not arrest the man because he hadn’t broken any laws. Quarles was able to collect information the FBI can use to track the driver.

There's a massive conflict of interest -- along with ideological problems -- in Barack Obama's questionable pick to head the review of the failing watch-list "system" that carelessly allowed terrorist Abdulmutallab to get on board the flight to Detroit to try and blow it up. The questionable pick is one John Brennan, and here are his two biggest flaws as they relate to his ability to be able to conduct a competent and ethical review of the watch-list "system."

The White House is standing by Obama's pick to conduct his watchlist review, White House counterterrorism advisor John Brennan, though he served as interim director of one intel agency under review, and more recently, served as president and CEO of a company on contract with the NCTC to do watchlisting, POLITICO's Carol E. Lee and I report in a story today: President Barack Obama promised a “thorough review” of the government’s terrorist watch-list system after a Nigerian man reported to US government officials by his father to have radicalized and gone missing last month was allowed to board a Northwest...

After Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab was arrested and placed in U.S. custody in Detroit, he told authorities that his explosive device was made of powdered explosives and had been taped to his leg. He said he ignited the IED by injecting a syringe filled with chemicals into the powdered mixture. But eyewitness Jasper Schuringa contradicted that report by stating that the man had an explosive device in his lap. Rep. Peter King, the senior Republican on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said the IED was “fairly sophisticated” and that the device “appears to be different from what we’ve...

Despite mounting evidence of a sophisticated international plot to bring down a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, the man charged in the thwarted attack — who was on U.S. officials' radar for years — was never considered a sufficient threat to keep from flying. The alleged Christmas Day terrorist had been in one of the U.S. government's largest terror databases since November, when his father brought him to the attention of embassy officials in Nigeria. But Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab came to the attention of intelligence officials months before that, according to a U.S. government official involved in the investigation. The...

Despite mounting evidence of a sophisticated international plot to bring down a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, the man charged in the thwarted attack — who was on U.S. officials' radar for years — was never considered a sufficient threat to keep from flying. The alleged Christmas Day terrorist had been in one of the U.S. government's largest terror databases since November, when his father brought him to the attention of embassy officials in Nigeria. But Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab came to the attention of intelligence officials months before that, according to a U.S. government official involved in the investigation. The...

US authorities have known for months that the al Qaeda-linked Nigerian who tried to blow up a passenger jet before it landed in Detroit had terrorist ties -- and his own father even alerted them to his extremist behavior, it was revealed yesterday. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who was charged in federal court with attempting to destroy Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, remained hospitalized with burns suffered in the failed attempt. He was read the charges at a hearing, where he appeared smiling in a medical gown and a wheelchair. Several key details came to light yesterday: * Al...

sarc/ Imagine being at DHS or the US State Department and receiving a letter like this: ATTENTION: Dear Sir/Madam in United States Department of Homeland Security, Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Umaru Abdul Mutallab. I am the retired chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria. I have the courage to Crave indulgence for this important warning believing that you will never let me down or those travelers in your great country, especially to the City of Detroit, either now or in the future. I am concerned very much over the welfare of my beloved son Mr.Abdul Farouk...

We now know that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (spellings vary; all are phonetically derived from the Arabic) has been on a U.S. government list of persons with known or suspected ties to terrorist organizations for at least the past two years. This apparently has led the oh-so-cerebral Obama administration to engage in a bit of soul-searching: President Barack Obama's aides are pondering how the government is using terror watch lists after the botched airliner attack in Detroit on Christmas Day. Obama's national security and policy advisers are asking questions such as: How is the intelligence community integrating itself? Did the assumptions...

The man law enforcement officials identified as the suspect in Friday's attempted attack on a overseas flight as it approached Detroit, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, is a Nigerian who was reportedly on a U.S. government terror watch list but did not appear on a "no-fly" list. Mutallab, 23, reportedly told investigators he had links to al-Qaida. The Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam carried 278 passengers and a crew of 11. An U.S. intelligence official said Mutallab tried unsuccessfully to detonate an explosive mix of powder and liquid. He was quickly subdued by other passengers. NBC News, citing anti-terrorism officials, said...

...As reported, in part, at the NY Times: “WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has concluded that the Obama administration can lawfully pay the community group Acorn for services provided under contracts signed before Congress enacted a law banning the government from providing funds to the group. “The department’s conclusion, laid out in a recently disclosed five-page memorandum from David Barron, the acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, adds a new wrinkle to a sharp political debate over the antipoverty group’s activities and recent efforts to distance the government from it. “Mr. Barron said he had based...

Both Men Arrested During 'Operation Rolling Thunder' SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Spartanburg County Sheriff called a week-long special traffic enforcement effort named Operation Rolling Thunder a success. Spartanburg County was just one of several agencies from across the state that took part in the week-long enhanced traffic effort along I-85 and I-26. Some of the people pulled over during the effort were wanted on serious charges.

A "Law-Abiding Combat Veteran," Who Converted To Islam, May Lose His Job At A Commercial Airline: A commercial airline pilot and convert to Islam who says his name is on the U.S. government's secret terrorist watch list has fought back, filing a federal lawsuit against the Homeland Security Department and various other federal agencies. Erich Scherfen says that unless his name is removed from the list, he faces losing not only his job but the ability to make a living in his chosen profession. "My livelihood depends on being off this list," Scherfen told reporters Tuesday after his lawyers filed...

The secret government “Terrorist Watch List,” reportedly already swelled to more than 1.1 million names, will have an addendum, if gun control advocates in Congress have their way. This new addendum — also to be cloaked in secrecy — would empower the U.S. Attorney General to deny a person the ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights to purchase a firearm. While it is not surprising that some members of Congress are again using fear of terrorism to implement a gun-control agenda, the openly unconstitutional legislative language proponents are employing is troubling. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) is leading the effort...

Cannot post. Here is the link:http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Terrorist+watch+list+hits+1+million+-+USATODAY.com&expire=&urlID=34661486&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fwashington%2F2009-03-10-watchlist_N.htm&partnerID=1660

European human rights watchdogs are now watching Belgian democracy closely after the move by Flemish local authorities. The Council of Europe has "opened a monitoring procedure on local democracy" fuelling a row between Dutch speaking and francophone Belgians that has threatened the existence of Belgium. Flemish regional authorities have blocked three French-speaking mayors from taking up public office since they were elected in January 2007 in the Brussels suburbs of Linkebeek, Wezembeek-Oppem and Kraainem. Marino Keulen, the Flemish Interior Minister responsible for the ban, remained defiant and announced he will stick by his decision to outlaw the elected mayors....

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A watch list of suspected and known terrorists, compiled by the US authorities, has ballooned and contains more than one million names, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday. The ACLU said it derived that figure from a Justice Department report on the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center, which consolidates terrorist watch list information. The Center "had over 700,000 names in its database as of April 2007 and that the list was growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month," according to a report by the Justice Department Inspector General, the rights group said. "By those...

WASHINGTON: The name of the Justice Department's former top criminal prosecutor has turned up on the U.S. government's terror watch list. The former assistant attorney general, Jim Robinson, joined with the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday in calling for elimination of the list, which is designed to identify suspected terrorists. Critics say the list has caused thousands of innocent people to be questioned or searched. The rights organization estimates that one million records will have been added to the list by the end of July. Chad Kolton, a spokesman for the Terrorist Screening Center, which maintains the list, says...

A WATCH list of suspected and known terrorists, compiled by the US authorities, has ballooned and contains more than one million names, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said today. The ACLU said it derived the figure from a Justice Department report on the FBI's Terrorist Screening Centre, which consolidates terrorist watch list information. The centre "had over 700,000 names in its database as of April 2007 and that the list was growing by an average of over 20,000 records per month", according to a report by the Justice Department Inspector-General, the rights group said. "By those numbers, the list...

"One man went into a Glen Burnie, Md., Toyota dealership to buy a car, only to be told that a name check revealed he was on a U.S. Treasury Department watchlist of suspected terrorists and drug dealers. He had to be "checked for tattoos," he said, to make sure he wasn't the suspect. An 18-year-old found he could not open an account to accept credit card payments for his fledgling technology consulting business because his name was similar to that of a Libyan official on the watchlist. A former U.S. Navy officer who served in the Persian Gulf and whose...