All veterans should be treated with respect, but in the case of US Air Force veteran Saadiq Long that has not been the case. He has been having trouble getting in and out of the country. A US citizen, Long travels from Qatar, where he currently lives with his wife and kids. He had come home a year ago to see his mother who suffers from congestive heart failure.
Long tried on February 6 to board a flight out of Oklahoma City but was denied a boarding pass, as has happened repeatedly in the past.
Despite having worked countless hours assisting his fellow Americans in combat, Long is said to be on a government no-fly list. Neither FBI officials nor Transportation Security Administration agents have responded to Long’s requests for an explanation.
He has spoken to an attorney and decided to travel in alternate ways. This should be the last way any US veteran should be treated.
Secret, unaccountable no-fly lists are one of many weapons the US government uses to extra-judicially punish American Muslims.
Source:
Ken Miller, “Muslim USAF veteran again barred from flight,” Air Force Times, February 23, 2013. http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2013/02/ap-muslim-vet-barred-flight-qatar-saadiq-long-no-fly-022313/
Glenn Greenwald, “US Air Force veteran, finally allowed to fly into US, is now banned from flying back home,” The Guardian (UK), February 9, 2013, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/09/saddiq-long-no-fly-list
Student Researcher: Mohammed Azam, College of Marin
Faculty Evaluator: Susan Rahman, College of Marin