The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been accused of relying on a counter-extremism group to add names to its secret watchlist, sparking concerns over government surveillance and the vetting process. A probe by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is investigating the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, which has made frequent guest appearances on cable television to opine on subjects such as the rise of antisemitism after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
Paul's committee is looking into how TSA got information from the program, which has published a publicly available database of January 6 defendants. Paul expressed concerns that TSA relied solely on the Program on Extremism's reports for putting names on watchlists, labeling it as "a scandal."
This controversy highlights a broader issue of government surveillance and vetting practices. Arab and Muslim American groups have long complained about the opaque process by which names are added and removed from government watchlists, triggered by where people have traveled and with whom.
The Program on Extremism has faced criticism for its research focusing on the Muslim Brotherhood, having been accused of "collaboration with anti-Muslim racists." The group's director, Lorenzo Vidino, was also involved in a smear campaign that unfairly tarnished an academic's reputation.
This case raises concerns about the accountability and transparency in the vetting process and whether it disproportionately targets specific groups.
Paul's committee is looking into how TSA got information from the program, which has published a publicly available database of January 6 defendants. Paul expressed concerns that TSA relied solely on the Program on Extremism's reports for putting names on watchlists, labeling it as "a scandal."
This controversy highlights a broader issue of government surveillance and vetting practices. Arab and Muslim American groups have long complained about the opaque process by which names are added and removed from government watchlists, triggered by where people have traveled and with whom.
The Program on Extremism has faced criticism for its research focusing on the Muslim Brotherhood, having been accused of "collaboration with anti-Muslim racists." The group's director, Lorenzo Vidino, was also involved in a smear campaign that unfairly tarnished an academic's reputation.
This case raises concerns about the accountability and transparency in the vetting process and whether it disproportionately targets specific groups.
tsa got caught slippin' on this whole watchlist thing... like what even is a counter-extremism group doing with the government? seems fishy to me 
been hearing rumors about these programs for ages, but i guess it's finally come to light. arab and muslim americans have been saying something was up for years, but no one listened 
now we're dealing with a scandal on our hands... meanwhile paul is investigating and all we get are more questions 
. We need to get to the bottom of this and make sure our government is being transparent about who they're vetting and why.
? It's all about transparency and accountability, fam 
. We need to know how these watchlists work and why certain names get added. This whole thing is a major red flag 
?
... I'm all for keeping us safe, but we gotta make sure our surveillance isn't just a bunch of speculation and bias 
It's like they're playing a game of "extremist roulette" where people get added to watchlists without any real evidence 
... and now our airport security is using this info too?! 
I'm really concerned about this whole thing... It seems like our government is getting too comfortable with relying on these counter-extremism groups to help them keep an eye on us, you know? Like, isn't that just a slippery slope where they start targeting people for their beliefs or affiliations rather than actual threats? 
Like, how is our government supposed to keep us safe if they're relying on some group that has its own agenda? The TSA needs to be transparent about who they get info from and how they decide who goes on watchlists. It feels like a total breach of trust. And what's up with this Program on Extremism, anyway? Their research is so biased and they've been involved in some pretty shady stuff. I just want to know what's really going on behind the scenes and how it affects us as citizens. We need better accountability and transparency in our vetting processes, or else we're gonna end up with another 9/11 kind of situation 
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? Seriously though, how much more evidence do we need that vetting processes can be totally messed up?
. Now let's just hope some actual changes come out of this investigation 
. And what's up with them being able to get info from the TSA without anyone knowing? It feels like a big ol' black box 
. And Arab and Muslim American groups have been complaining about this stuff for ages, but nobody ever really does anything about it... 
. I mean, what even is the purpose of these watchlists? Is it really about keeping us safe or just to control our movements? The Program on Extremism sounds like some kind of shadowy organization that's more interested in stoking fear than promoting understanding 
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. This is what happens when you have all this power concentrated in one place 
. I'm not saying these people are terrorists or anything, but we gotta make sure the process isn't biased towards certain groups 
. I get why Arab and Muslim American groups have been complaining about this for years - it feels like they're being pulled under the bus every time there's a 'terrorist' incident 
my aunt actually had some issues with her name being flagged by tsa last year because she'd visited some arab country for work... she was like "what even is that?"