Why? Well, One Reason Is He's On It...

Calling hassles he encounters every time he wants to fly on commercial airlines "a pain in the neck," former US Assistant Attorney General Jim Robinson says it's time to put a stop to the government's so-called terror "watch-list."

Robinson headed the Justice Department's criminal division during the Clinton administration. He tells the Associated Press his believes his name is a close match for someone who was placed on the list in early 2005.

Despite being an obvious threat to the security of the United States (note to DHS: this is sarcasm, no phone calls or SSSS ticket codes, please -- Ed.) Robinson had his own top-level security credentials renewed last year.

"I suppose if I were convinced that America is a safer place because I get hassled at the airport, I might put up with it," Robinson said. "But I doubt it. ... I expect my story is similar to hundreds of thousands of people who are on this list who find themselves inconvenienced."

Over 30,000 people had asked the Department of Homeland Security to remove their names from the list as of October 2006. The list of over-1 million names -- consolidated from 12 existing lists following the September 11, 2001 attacks -- does NOT include at least 20 suspected terrorists; as it turns out, they were left off the list last year due to a programming glitch, reports the AP.

FBI spokesman Chad Kolton says the government is trying to make sure such gaffes are rectified. "We strive to have the watch list contain all appropriately suspected terrorists who represent a threat to the US, but only appropriately suspected terrorists," said Kolton, who works for the agency's Terrorist Screening Center.

Despite public outcry over erroneous listings, it's not likely we'll see the end to the terror watch list any time soon. Last year, congressional investigators found "general agreement that the watch list has helped to combat terrorism."

FMI: www.dhs.gov, www.fbi.gov