Nelson Mandela On Terrorist Watch List

Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation "embarrassing," and some members of Congress vow to fix it.

The requirement applies to former South African leader Mandela and other members of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC), the once-banned anti-Apartheid organization. In the 1970s and '80s, the ANC was officially designated a terrorist group by the country's ruling white minority. Other countries, including the United States, followed suit.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[jeglazer]

This is indicative of the incompetency of bureaucracy. The fact that such a leader, who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, and did so much for South Africa and sacrificed himself, is on the United States"s terrorist watch list today is disgraceful. We can hope that the names on that list are carefully researched because it is a grave concern to label someone a terrorist in this country. It is like calling someone a communist during the McCarthy era. If the U.S. government isn"t going to watch carefully over who they deem a terrorist, it also follows that perhaps those that they are torturing, detaining and persecuting may not all be terrorists, either. Of course we can hope that there is some rhyme and reason to the way this country does things, but how can a figure who has a Nobel Peace Prize end up on the terrorist watch list? He should be taken off immediately, but the beauracracy wouldn"t be able to do that quickly anyway. Let"s cross our fingers it happens soon.

[Driver125]

Just where he belongs, too. He's got a lot of nerve trying to spread those ideas about democracy in this country.

[Soothsayer08]

Just more evidence of the stupity in the State Department heading up by Condi Rice. More of Bushie cronyism and no qualifications for the job. She was probaly out buying shoes like she was when 911 happened, after she didn't look at the memo warning her department of the possibility.

[loki]

Not a surprise. Im shocked the Dali Lama and others are not on the list as well. People like these support freedom , diplomatic conflict resolution and equal and fair treatment for everyone. That is totally anti Neo Con.

[heretical_eggs]

What? I'm boggled.

[momofsonofwar]

It's amazing how slow this government has been working for many decades, they can't finish a damn thing.

[MilwaukeeMike]

' Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says "common sense" suggests Mandela should be removed. He says the issue "raises a troubling and difficult debate about what groups are considered terrorists and which are not." '

Too funny. If the Homeland (In)Security Secretary can't define a terrorist, and we're fighting a war on terrorists at considerble human, economic and military expense, one only has to wonder why we're not so successful. What an incompetent group of people parading as leaders. Think maybe one person maybe glanced at the list and said "Hey, I've seen this Madela's name in the paper. Isn't he a leader or Nobel Prize winner or something." What kind of credibility does this country have? Lord help us all.

[Gary47]

Mass insanity is alive and robust in the Bush Presidency.

[StillIRise]

Nelson Mandela was placed on the U.S. terrorist list when the U.S. supported Apartheid in South Africa and supported Mandela's twenty-six year imprisonment. Of course, some Americans today will not want to hear that their country did this, especially from someone like Reverend Wright. When he says it, it becomes un-American and hateful and even racist. I wonder how many know that Dr. Martin Luther King was also on a "list" in America, as were other people of color, both at home and abroad, who America saw as their enemy because they spoke out against the establishment and stood up for justice. But much of this is that side of America that is unpatriotic to talk about!

America is the greatest country on earth, but it is far from perfect; and its imperfections have hurt many people for many years. To say that this is an embarrassment is an understatement!

[Boobaloo]

Exactly what I was going to say but, since you already said it ....

[billaryisswillary]

When she was alive, was Mother Theresa on that terrorist list?

[LITU]

What I want to know (really) is how many Americans are on that list, or more to the point, how many well-positioned Americans?

None you say? Hot-dam*!

[totaldisbelief]

Why shouldn't the Administration have Mandela on a "terrorist" watch list.....they hate every honest truthful person in the whole universe........and just how do we get rid of these A holes in Washington anyway ???

[Jonahson]

USA is the most insecure nation in the World. It is the only nation where private ownership of guns are allowed so that their citizens can protect themselves against each other. It carries out the most covert activities internationally and has a list of enemy nations. The only country at the moment to attack, invade and occupy countries thousands of miles away from its shores. The only country that practice pre-emptive strike against another nation and list nuclear strike as an option.
Why so many enemies? Can't you learn to live in peace?

[awcbuddy8]

Actually, in Switzerland, it is required of every household to have a full-auto weapon on the premesis. So there you go.

And your other complaints are just ridiculous. If you don't think England, France, China, Iran, Israel, Russia, or any other country with a military for that matter carry out "secret missions" then you are incredibly ignorant. Please name a country besides the Vatican that does not consider itself unfriendly to at least one nation. We practice pre-emptive strikes because it is our duty as the world's only remaining superpower to protect its inhabitants. Every country with a nuclear weapons program (USA, Great Britain, France, Israel, China, Russia, Pakistan, and India) has the annihalation of the world as an option, don't kid yourself.

What world do you live in? It sounds nice.

[Jonahson]

I think you may have to recheck your facts on Swiss owning full automatic weapons. They have strict laws on that, when a Swiss end his national service he has the choice of retaining his weapon or returning it. In case of retention, the full automatic function of the gun is then removed and the gun is given to him. Basically they are encouraged to keep their guns as an obligation to protect their country. As for carrying their guns around they have to have a permit and the conditions for this permit is very strict.
As for covert activities, US tops the list. Most countries have nuclear weapons as a deterrent not as a threat. Which country is so stupid to want to annihilate their own existence? Although most Asian countries appreciate the US for ending the Japan aggression, the fact that US is still the only country to nuke another country and the death were mostly civilians.
Who did the pre-emptive strike in Iraq protected? Pre emptive strike is simply arrogance and disrespect to a sovereign country. Pre emptive strike was used on Iraq for fear that they possess WMD. Now that there is no WMD, then who is responsible for the destruction and deaths. Don't kid yourself. What kind of World do you live in?

[leavesofgrass]

We can add to the list that it is the only country to enslave its citizens, commit genocide of naitive peoples, and the only country to drop two nuclear weapons on a sovereign nation because they were "waterboarding" (!not toruture according to this Adminsitration) American troops and now US waterboards and it is ok..it is the only country to continually threaten GLOBAL stability.

What world do you live in?

[awcbuddy8]

I mean, this is just a disgustingly ignorant statement that you have just made.

[awcbuddy8]

OH MY GOD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Hold on a second....HAHAHAHAHAHA! Its citizens? First they came from Africa and I'm fairly certain every civilization since the dawn of man has hade slaves.

Also, you should apologize to the people of the Phillipines, Guam, Korea, and China. Empirial Japan was one of if not the most bloodthirsty regime ever. Just ask the people of Nanking. About 300,000 non-combatants were intentionally and gruesomleymurdered. http://prion.bchs.uh.edu/~zzhang/1/Nanking_Massacre/index.html

I hope you realize just how horribly wrong you are.

[mystic]

Rice calls Mandela's listing as "embarrassment" that has to be corrected. She would say that since she is black, but this is NO ACCIDENT: Mandela's listing is purely out of revenge because he was one of the ONLY world leaders to be brave enough to criticise the Bush administration when it invaded Iraq: Here is what he said:

"It is a tragedy, what is happening, what Bush is doing. But Bush is now undermining the United Nations." He urged the people of the U.S. to join massive protests against Bush and called on world leaders, especially those with vetoes in the UN Security Council, to oppose him. "What I am condemning is that one power, with a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly, is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust." He attacked the United States for its record on human rights and for dropping atomic bombs on Japan during World War II. "If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don't care."
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela

[leavesofgrass]

Actually it isn't out of revenge....but their is a connection between when he got on this list and who in the adminsitration put him there. In the 1980's when this country was in bed with South Africa and its apartheid system, Cheney referred to Mandela and the ANC as a terrorist organization; seems like he hasn't changed his mind.If it were up to him apartheid would still be the norm in SA.

[awcbuddy8]

If it were up to you the barbarism of the Japanese during WWII would be erased from the history books and Japan quite possibly would be in conrtol of Asia.

[awcbuddy8]

Nobody said nice people couldn't be very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very wrong. His statements about "holocaust" (we're not nuking anything) and the atomic bombs are just ridiculous.

[leavesofgrass]

Yes we can add JPII to the list of "nice people" that oposed Iraq as well as the new Pope Ratzinger who has been vocal in his condemnation of this country's illegal invasion. Gee somehow the Pope wasn't banned from coming....hey, wsn't he just here and greeted at the airport by Bush himself (apparently lots of time on his hands these days).

Let's substitute "nice people" for "sane and thinking people"....only insane morons support this war.

[awcbuddy8]

I welcome opposition to my beliefs. The Pope is a shephard for all humanity and does not want to see anyone die. But he is not stupid enough to compare American actions in Iraq to the Holocaust. These are the statements that create more terrorists. Anybody who fuels terrorism is in fact...a moron.

[StillIRise]

What's ridiculous about his statement about atomic bombs? We're the only country in the world who's actually used an atomic bomb! And it was used when we dropped bombs on Japan during World War II. Which is exactly what he said. Even now, it has been reported that Bush is preparing for war in Iran. Bush has very little restraint when it comes to wars, and his inclination to bomb other countries with whose leaders he disagrees could indeed create a holocaust!

When left unchecked, history has a habit of repeating itself.

[awcbuddy8]

How could you honestly look yourself in the safe and believe the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wrong? Would you rather there have been an invasion of the mainland? And you think the Iraqis are fanatical about sacred land? In the taking of Okinawa, over 90% of the Japanese defenders were killed and many of the natives committed suicide because Japanese propoganda officers told them the Marines were barbarians coming to rape them. To take the island of Japan would result in millions of dead Japanese and hundreds of thousands of Americans. The soviets had just declared war on Japan so they to would want a piece of the action...and you know how they treat civilians.

Are you kidding? I think Saddam did a little more than "disagree" with Bush. He disagreed with humanity and was at war with its people.

[mystic]

The word "holocaust" when used to denote the Nazi slaughter of Jews, was only used since 1950. But the word also has a general meaning of "destruction or loss of life on a massive scale", although many feel, as you do, it has to be by nuclear means (the Jews were not thus slaughtered).No one could dispute that the killing of over a million Iraqis falls into the latter definition, and I resent highly the hijacking of the definition as to apply only to Jews, just as the Jews themselves have hijacked the definition to them and not to also gays, gypsies etc. What parsing does is to diminish the tragedy as applies to everyone except for the Jews (and I am Jewish).Your opinion however is moot, because whether you are right or wrong is not the point I was making: My point was that revenge was the motivation for maintaining Mandela on the terrorist watch list. That's all.

[awcbuddy8]

The murder of a hundred thousand Iraqi civilians is a disgusting act. I think you would find that a vast majority of these people have been murdered by insurgents, not American forces. To state that the United States is purposefully murdering people for their religion or race is irresponsible and dangerous. Mandalla is obviously not a terrorists but this is the type of rhetoric that fuels their actions and gives them cause. He should be ashamed of himself.

[jubo]

Mandela? What a farce. Was Mother Theresa deemed a terrorist threat as well?

[MinneapolisBob]

Why should this be a surprise? This is the administration led by richard "The Dick" cheney who wanted to keep Nelson Mandela in prison.

It's time for Condi Rice to resign and make a speech after she does, to denounce the administration and distance herself. Just kidding, her finger prints are all over this debacle as much as the rest of this disastrous bunch of thugs.
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[totaldisbelief]

Did Colin Powell do that ???

[MizFlagPin]

It requires an act of congress to fix this for Mandela? The average citizen whose name is mistakenly placed on the list is screwed.

[VOTER]

More proof: IT IS TIME FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!

[V4Vigilance]

Condoleezza Rice? Embarrassed?

I wouldn't think that anything would embarrass a war criminal that used to chair meetings in the White House on who to torture and how.

OBAMA 08

[Marlyn]

The USA should put itself on the list.

[awcbuddy8]

HArdy-har-har-har-har-har-har-har-har. They're missing you right now in Tehran.

[the964kid]

Welcome to Dick Cheney's America.

Who else is on the list?? The Pope?? U2's Bono??! I hear Hanna Montana is really stirring up the kids too...

[luvthelaw]

This is really shameful. And this has been going on since the 70's and 80's? And nobody in our government, in all this time, has bothered to fix it? How is that possible? (And if Nelson Mandela can't get taken off the watch list, how is an ordinary citizen supposed to do it?)

[Mark01]