Watch List Snares Traveling Feds

"Feds' Watch List Eats Its Own:" That's the headline on a Wired News story about federal employees and military service members who have endured delays at airports because their names match those on terrorist watch lists. Among those snared in the system:

  • A State Department diplomat who said he flys 100,000 miles a year.
  • A U.S. Navy officer who has been enlisted since 1984.
  • A high-ranking government employee with a better-than-top-secret clearance who is also a U.S. Army Reserve major.
  • A federal employee traveling on government business who told Wired News he has endured "ridiculous delays at the airports, despite my travel order, federal ID and even my federal passport."
  • A high-level civil servant at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
  • An active-duty Army officer who had served four combat tours (including one in Afghanistan) and who holds a top-secret clearance.