Terrorist watch list helps fight terrorism

The federal government's consolidated terrorist watch list has become a central issue in the debate about how we can best secure our homeland. Unfortunately, myths about the watch list continue to grow in just about every report and retelling.

How many times have you heard: There are a million terrorists on the consolidated watch list! Thousands of Americans get detained and inconvenienced daily because of watch-list errors!

There aren't. They don't.

A vigorous debate about the best way to continue protecting our nation is vital, and the terrorist watch list should be a part of that discussion. As director of the federal Terrorist Screening Center, I offer five facts to remember about the government's consolidated watch list:

• It helps fight terrorism. The Government Accountability Office, Congress' independent investigative arm, reported in October that its review of outcomes from watch-list encounters shows they "helped to combat terrorism."

The GAO report stated that the watch list "has helped federal, state and local screening and law enforcement officials obtain information to make better-informed decisions when they encounter an individual on the list as to the threat posed and the appropriate response or action to take."

• It enhances information-sharing. During a traffic stop last year, a police officer in a major metropolitan area used the watch list to identify three subjects of separate FBI terrorism investigations in the same car. Their association had previously been unknown. In just this instance, important dots were connected and vital intelligence was shared across federal, state and local agencies.

There are many examples like this one, which prompted the GAO to note that the watch list "enhanced U.S. counterterrorism efforts" because encounters provide "the opportunity to collect and share information on known or appropriately suspected terrorists with law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community."

• It is constantly checked to reduce misidentifications. Separate from the redress complaints travelers can submit, the Terrorist Screening Center runs quality-assurance checks on watch-list data every day. One GAO study, "Efforts to Help Reduce Adverse Effects on the Public," made no recommendations regarding the list's maintenance — a very rare occurrence for GAO audits — "because agencies have ongoing initiatives to improve data quality, reduce the number of misidentifications or mitigate their effects, and enhance redress efforts."

A recent example is the Terrorist Encounter Review Process. Under this process, the records of individuals who have frequent encounters with the watch list will be automatically reviewed by the Terrorist Screening Center even if no redress complaint is submitted. This review will assess whether the relevant records are still current, accurate and thorough and whether the information warrants continued inclusion on the watch list. This effort will be particularly helpful for segments of the population that may be apprehensive about directly engaging government agencies and might otherwise not file a redress complaint.

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