Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pants

[thewinchester]

I really feel for this guy. It'ss such a coughpy thing to have happen when thanks to a badly setup and maintained list you can't go home to your own legal country, and had to jump through so many hoops to be allowed home.

Va. man stuck in Egypt on no-fly list coming to US
By MATTHEW BARAKAT (AP) – 9 hours ago

McLEAN, Va. — A Virginia man whose travels to Yemen caught the attention of the FBI and landed him on the U.S. no-fly list, leaving him stuck in the Middle East for months, will be allowed to return to the U.S.

Yahya Wehelie, 26, of Burke, Va., has been stuck in Egypt for more than two months but is now expected to arrive in New York Friday afternoon. FBI agents had been questioning him about his time in Yemen, Wehelie said. He went to Yemen nearly two years ago at his parents' urging to learn Arabic and gain some direction in his life.

Wehelie said in a phone interview Thursday that he does not know why U.S. officials reversed course, but said he holds no ill will toward the government for its investigation.

"I'm not angry at all. I know who I am and I knew eventually I would go home," he said. "They're trying to find the bad people, so more power to them."
Wehelie, who is of Somali descent, said he is looking forward to a home-cooked meal of lasagna from his mother. Wehelie had been living in a ramshackle Cairo hotel and subsisting on fast food coupons provided to him by the U.S. embassy.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, had taken up Wehelie's cause and questioned how Muslim citizens could be denied return to the country without due process.

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said Thursday he is glad that Wehelie's case has been resolved. But the overall concerns remain.

"It doesn't alter the seemingly existing policy of barring Muslims from re-entry" to the United States and using the no-fly list to pressure Muslims into abandoning constitutional rights that would be afforded them if they were being questioned in the U.S., Hooper said.

Wehelie's 19-year-old brother, Yusuf Wehelie, had also traveled to Yemen and was also questioned by U.S. authorities in Cairo. Yusuf Wehelie was allowed to return to the U.S., but not before he was interrogated for several days and shackled to a wall in an Egyptian jail, where he says he was mistreated.

 

[harvyk]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

It's interesting that they are so paranoid over a name on a list (which may not even be referring to you), and yet we allow anyone to fly without even showing ID... (Why Hello Mr Terry Wrist and Mr Al Kyder...)

 

[SeaWolf]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

It's interesting that they are so paranoid over a name on a list (which may not even be referring to you), and yet we allow anyone to fly without even showing ID...

And yet we don't really seem to have problems with our aircraft getting blown up in flight. In fact if you look at trains, which have virtually NO security (or very little anyway) they don't seem to be getting blown up or suffering attacks any more than aircraft are.

 

[Dave Noble]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

And yet we don't really seem to have problems with our aircraft getting blown up in flight. In fact if you look at trains, which have virtually NO security (or very little anyway) they don't seem to be getting blown up or suffering attacks any more than aircraft are.

perhaps the US Govt believes that the USA is more of a target than australia govt believes that Australia is at risk

However I do think that their no fly list does seem to have flaws in it. I do wonder whether he could have perhaps worked around the flaws by flying, say, to Mexico or Canada and then entering the USA by land; could have been a lot of hassle but perhaps better than waiting 2 months in Cairo waiting for the Government to change their minds

 

[sr81]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

However I do think that their no fly list does seem to have flaws in it. I do wonder whether he could have perhaps worked around the flaws by flying, say, to Mexico or Canada and then entering the USA by land; could have been a lot of hassle but perhaps better than waiting 2 months in Cairo waiting for the Government to change their minds

I agree - he could have worked around the problem and flown to Canada or Mexico but the problem would still remain. He would still be on the no-fly list and most likely stoped at the border. The biggest issue I have is that the US can deny entry to a citizen and have that citizen held by a third party (Egypt) on nothing more than being on a list. No conviction or even charges - just a list.

 

[Skoogle]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

urging to learn Arabic and gain some direction in his life.

While not commenting specifically about this guy, this seems like a good reason to consider him for the no-fly list.

 

[serfty]

And yet we don't really seem to have problems with our aircraft getting blown up in flight. In fact if you look at trains, which have virtually NO security (or very little anyway) they don't seem to be getting blown up or suffering attacks any more than aircraft are.

I guess it's somewhat more difficult to employ an hijacked train as a weapon away from it's indented route when compared to a hijacked Passenger Jet.

 

[harvyk]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

While not commenting specifically about this guy, this seems like a good reason to consider him for the no-fly list.

Not really...

From au, the done thing is for young people to go to Europe and get some experiences, learn another language and gain some direction in life (quite a few of my friends have done this recently). We don't put every backpacker which does this onto a no fly list...

If it was confirmed that he was training with terrorist groups, then sure, ban him from flying \ lock him up and throw away the key... But there does need to be a presumption of innocence until guilt is proven, otherwise the terrorists have won

 

[NM]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

I agree - he could have worked around the problem and flown to Canada or Mexico but the problem would still remain. He would still be on the no-fly list and most likely stoped at the border. The biggest issue I have is that the US can deny entry to a citizen and have that citizen held by a third party (Egypt) on nothing more than being on a list. No conviction or even charges - just a list.

The USA government (technically) was not denying entry to a US citizen. They were denying him the ability to board an aircraft flying to the USA. If he had arrived by some other means, he would have allowed to enter the USA. However, he may have been held for questioning once had entered the country.

 

[medhead]

And yet we don't really seem to have problems with our aircraft getting blown up in flight. In fact if you look at trains, which have virtually NO security (or very little anyway) they don't seem to be getting blown up or suffering attacks any more than aircraft are.

Tell that to the Spanish, (and the English) but the Spanish have baggage xray and the full bit for trains.

 

[SeaWolf]

Re: Another demonstration why the US no-fly list system needs a swift kick in the pan

Tell that to the Spanish, (and the English) but the Spanish have baggage xray and the full bit for trains.

I never said there were NO incidents on trains, just that the rate of incidents wasn't any higher than that of aircraft, which have very intense security.

 

[medhead]

I never said there were NO incidents on trains, just that the rate of incidents wasn't any higher than that of aircraft, which have very intense security.

The level of security of a train is more related to potential use of a train than the rate of incident. Spain does have levels of security for trains and I assume that is related to certain homegrown separatist groups.

It also seems that there are many more incidents related to aircraft that need to be secured against, not just blowing them up but hijackings as well. Which would explain the associated security measures.