Update: Apparently this is a duplicate of
this excellent diary here. Go there and read about Cat Stevens the terrorist. I think this issue is important so I'm going to leave this diary up to link to the other discussion (already buried). The fact that I was so unsurprised scares me about how far America has fallen into a neoconservative mindtrap.
This is too ridiculous for words:
United Airlines Flight 919 was en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between a passenger and a name on the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m., Melendez said.
The two federal officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the passenger as Islam. They said Islam was denied entry on national security grounds, but had no details about why the peace activist might be considered a risk to the United States.
more below...continued...
One official said Islam, 56, was identified by the Advanced Passenger Information System, which requires airlines to send passenger information to Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center. The Transportation Security Administration then was contacted and requested that the plane land at the nearest airport, that official said.
The second official, who is in law enforcement and spoke anonymously because of agency policy, said Islam was questioned by FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. After the interview, Customs officials decided to deny Islam entry into the United States.
Too ridiculous for words...