How the US's terrorism watchlists work

[islamirama]

How the US's terrorism watchlists work – and how you could end up on one


Long-withheld document provides insight into secretive system in which people can be placed on terrorism databases with astounding ease, and without any way to get off

They're reading your tweets

The watchlisting guidance says that "first amendment protected activity alone shall not be the basis" for nominating someone to the lists. The key word: alone. What you say, write and publish can and will be used against you. Particularly if you tweet it, pin it or share it.

Where you go might get you placed on the list – and then stranded

Contained within the guidance is a potential reason why many US Muslims find themselves abruptly unable to return from trips abroad without explanation. An example given of "potential behavioral indicators" of terrorism is "travel for no known lawful or legitimate purpose to a locus of TERRORISM ACTIVITY". Not defined: "lawful", "legitimate" or "locus". That could mean specific training camps, travel to which few would dispute the merits of watchlisting. Or it could mean entire countries where terrorists are known or suspected of operating – and where millions of Americans travel every year.

There's room for the family (and perhaps your friends)

A precursor data set that feeds the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB or, "the watchlist") is the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, maintained by the National Counterterrorism Center. TIDE contains records of known or suspected international terrorists. It also contains information on their families and perhaps their friends.


Just because a jury finds you innocent doesn't mean watchlists agree

The guidelines explicitly state that someone "acquitted or against whom charges are dismissed for a crime related to terrorism" can still be watchlisted. A federal official nominating such a person for inclusion on the list just needs "reasonable suspicion" of a danger – something defined as more than "mere guesses or hunches", based on articulable information or "rational inferences" from it, but far less than probable cause. A judge or jury's decision is not controlling.


Watch how you walk

In keeping with a general enthusiasm exhibited by law enforcement and the military for identifying someone based on their seemingly unique physical attributes, biometric information is eligible as a criteria to watchlist someone. Several of those biometric identifiers are traditional law enforcement ones, like fingerprints; others are exceptionally targeted, like DNA. Then there are others that reflect emerging or immature analytic subjects: "digital images", iris scans, and "gait" – that is, the way you walk.


You can be turned into an informant (or punished if you refuse)

Keeping track of suspected terrorists may not be the only purpose the watchlisting system serves. Recent lawsuits allege that the FBI uses it to as leverage to turn people into snitches.


So much for that job

Being unable to travel is in some ways more invasive than other forms of surveillance. Unless your friends spend their time digging through court records, they will be unlikely to find out that, say, your assets were frozen, even you suddenly can't pay for dinners. Not all jobs ask about or care about an arrest.


You can't get off – yet

There is no procedure to challenge and reverse your status on the no-fly list, the terrorism watchlist or TIDE. Inclusion on any is not typically disclosed – making legal remedies difficult – nor does the government provide any process for removal. Travelers suspicious about why their attempts to fly were unsuccessful can launch a redress request through the Department of Homeland Security, but that process does not challenge inclusion on a watchlist or database, nor will even successful requests guarantee against future travel restrictions. Procedures that will, identified within the guidance, are exclusively internal government processes.

Full article at : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/us-terrorism-watchlist-work-no-fly-list

 

[kritikvernunft]

...many US Muslims find themselves abruptly unable to return from trips abroad without explanation ... It also contains information on their families and perhaps their friends.You can be turned into an informant (or punished if you refuse) ... nor does the government provide any process for removal.

But then again, it does not particularly work, in a sense that it does not manage to achieve its stated purpose, since it will still fail to identify the people that they are really looking for. However, it will certainly manage to alienate Muslims against the National State, and convince them that the National State is fundamentally evil. In that sense, it is better that the National State behaves in obnoxious ways, as it destroys the trust in it, and precludes every possibility that people would collaborate with it voluntarily. It certainly spares us from having to explain how fundamentally evil the National State is. Furthermore, it is an important political objective of the anti-Statist left wing to make sure that the National State is duly hated and detested by as many people as possible. We have long time ago discovered that the only realistic way to achieve that, is to encourage the National State to misbehave even more.

 

[Ineed Umar]

I would also balme terrorism for that as well, 'Jihad' which the terrorism is doing has a bad outcome for muslim community and muslim communitu both. Whulst the real sacriligeous war or Jihad is meant to end fighting once and for All and at least show benefits for Muslim.

 

[kritikvernunft]

... terrorism is doing has a bad outcome for muslim community ... at least show benefits for Muslim.

Well, in Kritik der practischen Vernunft, Immanuel Kant famously argues that outcome-based morality, i.e. hypothetical morality, is not permitted. All moral rules must be categorical.

Another problem is that terrorism is not a valid term in religious theory. The term is used nowhere in religious scriptures to designate a particular, forbidden behaviour. Therefore, you must rephrase every occurrence of the questionable behaviour in the terminology accepted by the scriptures.

In my impression, the persons involved will most likely try to construct a defense based on the provisions originally codified in the Codex Hammurabi, an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth, a bone for a bone, a defense which also reappears in the Quran, in the Qisas.

The essence of the Qisas, is that the morality of hostile behaviour is always predicated on the history of hostile behaviour going in the opposite direction. In that sense, hostile behaviour is in and of itself morally neutral. For example, killing someone is a morally-neutral act. The morality of this act can only be established by investigating the history of mutual hostility that leads up to it.

Therefore, I utterly reject the term terrorism in the context of morality. As a prosecutor before Divine Law, you will have to use proper terminology to accuse the individuals of whom you suspect that their behaviour is in violation of Divine Law.

EDIT: In fact, it just means that complaints, incriminations, and accusations that are not fielded in accordance with the procedures imposed by Divine Law, are also not receivable in Divine Law.

 

[Abz2000]

it is wise to use wisdom where possible but there's sometimes a point where one realises, these satans are trying to terrorize people into self censorship in conveying Allah's message and speaking for truth and justice.

I would take it as a complement on the day of judgement that the enemies of Allah who are also the enemies of truth and justice saw me as their enemy due to conveyance of Allah's message, my job is to convey the messages of Allah in plain truth and anyone who has a problem with that can go hang themselves.

They've arrested and harassed me out of injustice and falsehood too many times for me to not see through their false claims of "democracy" and "freedom", and that started when i was just protesting and speaking out againat the illegal war against iraq and afghanistan and hadn't begun a full study of Islam or even praying regularly.

Told me "they" had "found something in my blood, i had a camera in my head and were watching me" back in 2002/2003. Even though i was selling class a drugs at the time and doing credit card fraud, i used to just not turn up at first, second or third court hearings and later when i did get caught for anything blatant i used to find all charges either dropped, or totally wiped off the slate - weird huh?

But when i began fixing up my life and walking straight, and speaking the truth, i'd find them giving me dirty looks as i walked the streets of london, i'd find them harassing me when i went out to paint over lewd bust stop adverts, i'd find them arresting me based on utter fabrications and the police taking part in blatant false charges, i found my life being threatened constantly, being dragged to psychological analyses places based on utter lies and drugged up 'til i couldn't think clearly anymore, i'd have a riot van swerve up next to me on my way to a pro-palestine protest claiming i fit the description of someone who was just reported for having a fight way back, i'd have a police superintendent come and threaten to arrest me on suspicion of terrorism just for playing an audio of the story of David (pbuh) loudly at my market stall, and i slowly realized that kaafir system is the dajjal system,.and that i was at the center of something way bigger than myself, and that the best reward would be in eternity for my efforts in this world.

The part that should help clarify the issue further is that in London back in 2002/2003 we were dealing in ounces, but after my long winded journey through Pilgrimages and 'Umrah, through harassment and miracles, after constantly being told to "go back to my own country" despite only having a british passport and the government in my parent's country of origin being a british american infidel puppet, and finally being threatened with eviction, i moved to bangladesh and set up a decent little shop and all was going well, the activism with the Islamic parties were going well, they had someone who has unwillingly worked for the british government before and forced into acting as an agent of influence, tempt and almost ensare me into sending kilos of heroin to the u.k from afghanistan. It was a difficult choice to have to say no - especially as i was seeing my businesses earnings drop in a curious way just before it happened, anyway, it wasn't long before i had to close that shop too due to the blackmail and harassment.
and Allah knows best.

So brothers and sister, fear Allah in your duty and obedience to Him and know that anyone who gets ensnared into falling for the deceptive offers of this world and threats of punishment just for trying to walk along God's straight path, whilst selling their eternal life for a pittance just becomes a part of the falsehood game.

Allah is terrorizing the kuffar, the kuffar leaders are terrorizing the kuffar through false flags events and fearmongering about the believers, and the kuffar leaders are also terrorizing the believers. So choose Allah who is truthful and just and most powerful and has a goodly reward for those who choose to walk upon the path of truth and justice.

You's lot were foolish to allow them to force the usury based oyster card on you despite constantly being warned about it, now the recognition cameras go click as soon as you touch in and touch out, i was having to pay like three to five times the amount in cash simply to avoid using the usury based abomination out of protest despite knowing i was under surveillance.
And had to throw away my sim cards and long used phone numbers despite having thousands of beautiful business cards with the numbers printed on them after the puppet government here rolled out biometric registration, now i use those corner shop sims without registration (or some unknown's registration) simply out of protest despite knowing they monitor my speech on the net.
Wake the **** up, i'm not going to say you ain't got a clue what the rothschilds at the bottom of city road are planning, because you have many clues. You watched them engineer the federal reserve and blackmail the politicians before annual break, you watched them engineer the first and second world wars and get the worlds countries on their knees before forcing through the zionist state which never stood a chance of being "approved" before that, you watched them engineer 9/11 and 7/7.
you'll only blame yourselves on the day of judgement if you play the falsehood game.

[96.*"They will say there in their mutual bickerings:
97.*"'By Allah, we were truly in an error manifest,
98.*"'When we held you as equals with the Lord of the Worlds;
99.*"'And our seducers were only those who were steeped in guilt.
100.*"'Now, then, we have none to intercede (for us),
101.*"'Nor a single friend to feel (for us).
102.*"'Now if we only had a chance of return we shall truly be of those who believe!'"
103.*Verily in this is a Sign but most of them do not believe.
104.*And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.

From Quran, Chapter 26.

 

[Snel]

I would also balme terrorism for that as well, 'Jihad' which the terrorism is doing has a bad outcome for muslim community and muslim communitu both. Whulst the real sacriligeous war or Jihad is meant to end fighting once and for All and at least show benefits for Muslim.

Before USA went to commit Major aggressions against the muslim community including murderer, imprisonment, torture, theft, rape, etc., acts of terrorism (from muslims) against them was, I dare to say, non-existent. It's sad to see you blaming the victim, the muslims, for making a slight resistance. Even if we are sometimes in disagreement with how the resistance was carried out, making a statement like that is in my opinion inappropriate. That's because it's clear that the crimes that have been done by USA should over-shadow whatever its opponents have done to it. The terrorist-attacks that have been done against USA are over-dramatized by the USA-dominated media, and that is perfectly natural. We as muslims should know better, and take everything they say with a grain of salt. I'd say that even if the media was interested in covering the crimes that have been done against muslims in the same way, they wouldn't have been able to, it's simply impossible. Think about it, sometimes they interview family-members, show old portrait-photos and what not of the victims, they are basically humanizing him/her. Now would that be possible with 500000 murdered Iraqi children? No, those children would remain a statistic, and never get the chance to be humanized in the same way. So these limitations in the media further "helps" us perceive the world in an incorrect way, making us believe that the victim is the perpetrator, and the perpetrator is the victim, which now has the right to "defend itself". So its soldiers and agents get the chance to act as if they're part of a noble fight.

References
500k Iraqi children - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0uvgHKZe8

What's sadder yet is that we all knew this. What I wrote above, what others have written, what people like Julian Assange released, what countless of publications say, are not there to enlighten you, but to make sure you have no reason to claim you didn't know. Once all of this is established, there would be no way for you to say, with a straight face, that anything besides the American aggression is the problem. We all know that the wars that USA have carried out were unholy, we all know that this monster is trying to clean up its mess by killing even more people, we all know that it is trapping itself in evil more and more as the days go by. But the question is, will you go with the flow, because it's more convenient for you? Or will you do what's right and oppose it. Alternately, opposition could be in a bad way, but that is not what is meant here by opposition, because unlike the American establishment we do have solid morals (from Allah).

 

[Scimitar]

allow me to get my popcorn... ah heck, i'll order pizza this should be interesting

Scimi

 

[islamirama]

25 Reports That Can Put You on the Terrorist Watchlist


A concerted effort has been afoot for some time to merge local police with federal authorities to respond to the implementation of citizen spy “snitch” programs. This has been best illustrated by the role of threat fusion centers, which are integrating data from public and private sources alike — even universities.

The FBI has now made public their “Communities Against Terrorism” Suspicious Activity Reporting flyers.

I myself have seen documents like this as a former retail store owner. One day, roughly 10 years ago, I received a flyer in my mailbox informing our establishment that we were to submit a “Suspicious Activity Report” for anyone paying with large amounts of cash (I believe it was $2,000 or more at the time). I proceeded to throw it directly into the garbage where it belonged. I did inform my clients, though, rather than inform the “authorities” as I was directed. However, these SAR’s have clearly become much more widespread than my tiny retail shop, infiltrating nearly every facet of life in America.

Listed below are all 25 known flyers that should be read in their entirety if one wishes to discover just how far the United States has traveled in its attempt to replicate a level of citizen snitches not seen since the Stasi of East Germany.

I have included a very short summary of each .PDF, with an embedded link in the title, to serve as a general guide of who is a potential suspect worthy of being added to the terrorist watchlist.

We must never forget that this system of control needs our cooperation if it is to succeed. We have to accept personal responsibility for how much further this slide toward tyranny is going to take us; and that starts by getting informed, and informing others of the extent of their plan.

1. Airport Service Providers — Includes on-craft providers: baggage, cleaners, cargo, catering, mechanics, ground crew, food service, cleaners, security, taxi, limos, and shuttles.
2. Beauty/Drug Suppliers — People who have burn marks, missing limbs, travel a long distance, nervous, who are picked up, make illogical requests (even of consumer-grade products).
3. Bulk Fuel Distributors — New customers not from the area, those using cash for large transactions, nervous, large purchases, having a rental vehicle.
4. Construction Sites — People with environmental slogans and/or anti-government slogans, banners or signs that threaten or imply violence.
5. Dive/Boat Shops — New customers reluctant to provide complete personal information, customer who does not have certification, using cash for expensive transactions, extended rentals, appearing uninterested in safety rules, experiencing guarded behavior.
6. Electronics Stores — Person who alters appearance from visit to visit (changing hair color, shaving, etc.), fills a “shopping list” of components while lacking knowledge about their use. Pays cash for large purchases.
7. Farm Supply Stores — New customers not from the area, nervous or impatient, suspicious inquiries regarding equipment specifications, failing to state legitimate use for supplies, rental vehicle, cash for large transactions.
8. Financial Institutions — No evidence for legitimate business activity, those with multiple accounts, banks, parties, and jurisdictions (layering). Mixed deposits (money orders, third-party checks, and/or payroll into a business account). Large volume of wire transfers, or repetitive patterns, shell entities, “pass through” points by foreign jurisdictions.
9. General Aviation — Taking flying lessons but appear uninterested, renting under vague reasons for doing so, requests to fly over specific locations without substantiated reason, taking pictures or videos of potentially sensitive locations, actions outside the norm, parking near the perimeter of airport, asking questions without substantiation.
10. General Public — Basically everything exhibited by those with an inquisitive nature: questions, note taking, drawing, annotating maps, inappropriate photos or videos, people in places where they do not belong.
11. Hobby Shops — Interest in remote-controlled aircraft, interest that does not seem genuine, possessing little knowledge of purchase, exhibiting unusual interest, exhibiting no interest, using cash for large transactions.
12. Home Improvement and Large Retail Stores — Large quantity of ammunition, firearms and ammunition out of season, combination of unusual items, interest in night vision and camouflage apparel, purchases of pipe fittings and supplies, rental vehicle, refusal to complete firearms paperwork, using cash for large transactions.
13. Hotels/Motels — There is an excellent discussion of this section in Michael Snyder’s recent article.
14. Internet Cafes — There is an excellent discussion of this section in Michael Snyder’s recent article.
15. Shopping Malls — Wearing backpacks, discreet use of cameras, note-taking, or video over an extended period, several men arriving together then splitting up, continuing to communicate (dry run?), speaking to security guards, comments regarding radical theology, vague or cryptic warnings, or anti-U.S. sentiments that appear out of place and provocative.
16. Martial Arts/Paintball — Insist on paying with cash, travels long distance to participate, interest in learning offensive moves in a confined space, learning the use of hidden weapons, learning kill and restraint techniques with no occupational need, group training, uttering racist, religious, unusual, anti-US, or vague and cryptic warnings, close combat training, paintball tactics of ambush or kidnapping scenarios, operating a private facility, converting large plots of rural land to conduct these activities.
17. Mass Transportation — Altering one’s appearance, exhibiting burns, bleached body hair, concealed wires, nervous, actions suggesting use of a hidden camera, unusual comments, questioning security/facility personnel via normal means of communication, groups arriving together then splitting up and communicating via cell phone.
18. Military Surplus — Demanding identity privacy, insisting on paying with cash, suspicious comments, bulk purchases.
19. Peroxide Explosives — Unknown customer, individual requesting more information.
20. Recognizing Sleepers — Arrival from countries where violent militant Islamic groups are known to operate, long unexplained absences, fury at the West for reasons ranging from personal problems to global policies of the U.S., conspiracy theories about Westerners (e.g. the CIA arranged for 9/11 to legitimize the invasion of foreign lands), accusing the West of trying to destroy Islam.
21. Rental Cars — Reluctance to provide complete personal information, using cash, unusual questions.
22. Rental Properties — Using cash for large transactions, inquiries about local sites, refusing maintenance or service over extended time, not using property for intended purpose, unusual number of package deliveries, unusual amounts of traffic, discovery of unusual items.
23. Rental Trucks — Reluctance to provide personal information, cash for large transactions, inquiries about renting a truck with a wooden floor, questions about vehicle specifications.
24. Storage Facilities — Failing to provide complete personal information, using cash to pay fees in advance, placing unusual items in storage, disposing of tools, gloves, masks, or clothing, discarding clothes or shoes in new condition, avoiding contact with rental facility personnel, accessing facility an unusual number of times, storing items that emit unusual odors or leak liquids.
25. Tattoo Shops — Demanding identity “privacy,” paying cash, altering appearance (beard, hair style, hair color, style of dress, etc.), making racist or extreme statements, suspicious comments that suggest or appear to endorse violence in support of a cause, repeated returns with multiple individuals requesting identical tattoos, inquiries about unusual methods of tattooing or placement which could allow the concealment of extremist symbols.

These flyers also state an additional note about how you can be a part of the solution:

• Require a valid ID of all new customers.
• Keep records of purchases.
• Talk to customers, ask questions, and listen to and observe their responses.
• Make note of suspicious statements, people and/or vehicles.
• If something seems wrong, notify law enforcement authorities.

http://www.activistpost.com/2012/02/25-reports-that-can-put-you-on-terror.html

 

[kritikvernunft]

It's sad to see you blaming the victim, the muslims, for making a slight resistance.

For the sake of justice, accusations against an individual must be brought forth under the law to which the individual submits. Hence, only accusations, related to criminal behaviour as defined in Islamic Divine Law, are receivable against Muslims, suspected of wrongdoing. The term terrorism is not to be found anywhere in the Quran or the Sunnah, and must therefore be translated in actually receivable legal terminology. Hence, the accusation of terrorism is not receivable under Islamic Divine Law. Furthermore, the individual should indeed be allowed to bring a defense based on the Qisas. Only successful condemnation under Islamic Divine Law will bring justice and discourage future misbehaviour. In other words, accusations of terrorism must be ignored, since the terminology is not receivable in Islamic Divine Law.