WASHINGTON – The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center celebrated a major milestone last week when the nation’s terrorist watch list reached one million members.

The nation's terrorist watch list boasts a healthy CAGR of 38.4% since May 2005

To mark the event, the FBI and the ODNI are planning celebrations and media events throughout the remainder of the year, including commemorative memorabilia, such as stationery, coffee cups and apparel, and highly visible signage at airports and border crossings that will center around the program’s new tagline: The U.S. Terrorist Watch List: One Million Strong … and Growing.

Featured heavily in the promotion will be Saif Abu Abd al-Shibh al-Masry bin al-Ouda, who has been honored by the agencies with official recognition as the watch list’s one millionth member.

“Some of the best and brightest brands in the world have recently commemorated their millionth customer – from Singapore Airlines to Verizon,” noted Throaty Midge, a non-managing director of information for ODNI’s civil liberties and customer retention unit. “We thought, ‘Why not us?’ It’s a great way to personalize the government’s anti-terrorist efforts – to put a warmer, human face on them.”

Abu Abd al-Shibh al-Masry bin al-Ouda, a tuk tuk cabbie in Peshawar, Pakistan, said through an interpreter that he was unaware of how he gained admission to the list, but was happy to accept the agencies’ invitation to participate in the marketing blitz. As part of the agreement, he will undergo cosmetic beautification and a photo shoot and receive a transferrable “Get out of Gitmo Free” card, which he says he plans to auction on EBay.

Since members of the list are often banned from flying and have difficulty crossing the border when detected, Abu Abd al-Shibh al-Masry bin al-Ouda will not make any promotional appearances in the U.S., but will serve as the watch list’s “international spokesperson,” according to Midge.

“We think Saif will be a great ambassador to the program. He will serve as a living witness to the world that anyone can make the list – even a tuk-tuk driver who hasn’t committed any perceptible act of aggression against the West. It’s just a really fun way of keeping people on their toes, and our children safe.”

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