WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A former FBI agent has said the secret list compiled by the federal government to keep suspected terrorists off of airplanes is ineffective.
In a "60 Minutes" segment set for broadcast Sunday, former FBI agent Jack Cloonan said the list of 44,000 names includes many unlikely names, including the president of Bolivia, several deceased people and names very common in the United States, CBS News reported Friday.
"When we heard the name list or no-fly list ... the eyes rolled back in my head, because we knew what was going to happen," Cloonan told "60 Minutes." "They basically did a massive data dump and said, 'OK, anybody that's got a nexus to terrorism, let's make sure they get on the list."
CBS said a copy of the list obtained by "60 Minutes" included detained former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein; 14 of the 19 dead Sept. 11 hijackers; Nabih Berri, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker; and Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia.
The list also includes many common names, such as Robert Johnson, which cause people with those names to be detained at airports every time they fly.
