Did a speech land a university professor on the terror list?

A trip to the airport leads to a big surprise

By: Courtney Gross
   Whether it’s a case of mistaken identity or an example of Big Brother, constitutional scholar and Princeton University Professor Emeritus Walter F. Murphy was told prior to boarding an American Airlines flight last month he had been added to the terror watch list.
   Although he was eventually able to board the flight, Professor Murphy now questions if his alleged terrorist classification is attributable to a speech given in September at the university that staunchly criticized the Bush administration and called its treatment of the Constitution as tyrannical.
   "Things like this that happen to me and to others proves what I’m saying is true," Professor Murphy said. "The right to criticize the government is the essence of the American political system."
   A decorated Korean War veteran and respected political scientist, Professor Murphy described the incident by phone from his home in Albuquerque, N.M.
   Professor Murphy, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus at Princeton, said he was told by an employee of American Airlines on March 1 at a curbside check-in in Albuquerque that he would not be able to board his flight to Newark for a conference at Princeton because he was on the Terror Watch List.
   Surprised, angry and confused, Professor Murphy said he entered Albuquerque International Sunport Airport to inquire further of this apparent classification with one of the airline’s clerks. The clerk took his military identification to higher-ups behind closed doors to double check his flight status, he said.
   During the process, the clerk, Professor Murphy said, asked if he had been involved in any peace marches recently. Respectfully declining, Professor Murphy said he had given a speech last year at Princeton, which was later televised on the Web, chastising the administration.
   Then, the 77-year-old professor added, "The clerk said, ‘That’ll do it.’"
   Several minutes later, Professor Murphy said, airline officials gave him his boarding pass for his trip to Princeton.
   Professor Murphy added that on his return flight to New Mexico the airline lost his luggage. Although not an unusual occurrence, Professor Murphy said the incident seemed suspicious.
   The professor’s experience was first reported last week in a blog run by a Yale Law School professor. He said he waited for his anger to dissolve for over a month before he addressed the incident publicly.
   In the incident’s aftermath, Professor Murphy has tried to confirm if he was in fact on the Transportation Security Administration’s list, but he has received little information.
   According to the Transportation Security Administration, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, there are two lists tabulated to classify suspect air passengers. The first is the "No Fly" list, which would prohibit the air traveler from receiving a boarding pass. The second is the "Selectee" list, which includes travelers who will be subject to additional screening measures.
   Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for TSA, said the FBI, CIA and other federal law enforcement agencies compile the lists. Because the initial screening check administered by airline officials is based on name only and Murphy happens to be a common last name, Ms. Davis said the professor’s experience is most likely a case of mistaken identity.
   "There has been a lot of speculation as to how individuals are placed on the No Fly list, but the only criteria is posing a risk to civil aviation or national security," Ms. Davis said. "Having certain political views is not going to result in placement on the No Fly list."
   According to the TSA Web site, further criteria for inclusion on either list is withheld because it would jeopardize national security. The TSA Web site also states it would not reveal any person’s identity on the terror watch list, also because of national security.
   Professor Murphy said it is this secrecy, which ironically proves the purpose of his speech last September — that the Bush administration flouts the protections of the American constitutional system.
   "So you have a secret list, drawn up by secret people, using secret criteria," Professor Murphy said. "The possibility of abuse is enormous."
   On Thursday, Professor Murphy was once again heading to the airport for a conference in Texas, and he said he hopes he makes it.