(Thumbnail image: The New York Times)

Mikey Hicks is just an 8-year-old Cub Scout who wants to get through airport security like everyone else.  But he faces extra security measures because of his name.  The case of the 8-year-old on TSA’s watch list infuriated some critics of the security system, including Mikey’s family.
 
We’re looking at perspectives from ABC News, The Telegraph, The New York Times, CBS News and Cybercast News Service.
 
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, the TSA started using a watch list to screen for potentially dangerous passengers. ABC News reports that when Mikey was just a toddler, his family realized he was getting flagged.
 
“And then when he was a 2-and-a-half and he got his first pat down. It was a bit stunning, it was a bit funny, but a bit stunning. And as he got older, then I got more angry.”
 
The Telegraph reports that soon the TSA will start cross-checking birth dates and gender to avoid screening people who have the same names as those on the watch list. And the newspaper noted that Mikey is not alone.
 
“Over the past three years, more than 80,000 innocent passengers have applied to the Department of Homeland Security to be removed from watch lists after they were mixed up with people of the same name.”

The TSA also created the traveler redress inquiry program – or TRIP - to help people who shouldn’t be on the list get off. Getting off the list requires submitting personal information. The New York Times reports that some have found quicker ways to solve the problem.
 
“Some travelers purposely misspell their own names when buying tickets, apparently enough to fool the system.”
 
Talking with CBS News, Mikey’s mother suggests that if the TSA would remove her son and the other people working to clear their names from the list, it would make spotting the bona fide terrorists easier.
 
“If you just got all these people off the list that don’t belong on the list, then maybe you’d find the right people.”

Not everyone believes the list is too detailed. In a Cybercast News Service article Daniel Goure, vice president of the conservative Lexington Institute says the list actually needs more information.
 
“The terrorist watch list is full of holes, multiple names for the same person…It is such a general list. It has almost a half-million people, and at best it has a name and a country of origin. A lot of cases the ID being so basic is the real problem.”
 
So what do you think of the TSA’s watch list? Is it too general? And should everyone sharing a name with a potential terrorist go through additional security screenings? What should be done to make the list more accurate?