Hassling innocent citizens

Saturday, July 19, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

Jim Robinson sounds like a fairly common name. It happens to belong to the former head of the Justice Department’s criminal division under the Clinton administration. It also apparently matches one of hundreds of thousands of names on the nation’s terrorist watch list, which includes entries from the FBI, the CIA, the Homeland Security Department and other federal agencies.

The problem in Robinson’s case is that he has been wrongfully identified and hassled as a potential terrorist many times as he has passed through airports. “It’s a pain in the neck, and significantly interferes with my travel arrangements,” he told the Associated Press on Monday.

It is absurd that Robinson could be mistakenly identified as a terrorist while holding top-secret security clearances issued by the federal government.

Robinson said he believes thousands of other innocent Americans are also routinely searched and questioned for no good reason — because their names are similar to those on the watch list. Talk about a waste of law enforcement resources.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, it made sense for U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies to compile a list of potential terrorists. But the FBI, in a Justice Department audit released in March, was criticized for placing outdated, incomplete and inaccurate information on the list. Knowing that, it is easy to empathize with Robinson’s plight.

The list obviously could be improved with more accurate and current information, including physical characteristics such as identifying marks. To accomplish that, agencies such as the FBI and the CIA must improve their intelligence-gathering capabilities so government resources are not squandered by going after the wrong people.

Americans have come to tolerate the additional airport security that became necessary after the terrorist attacks. But they also have demanded increased accountability from the FBI, the CIA and other federal agencies that have been directed to thwart terrorist threats.

Until innocent Americans such as Robinson are no longer needlessly hassled, the agencies will have a long way to go to achieve that accountability.