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Nelson Mandela finally dropped from US terror watch list


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President George W. Bush has removed former South African president Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress from the US terror watch list, the White House said Tuesday.

The bill was sent to the White House last week and signed in time for the anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner's 90th birthday on July 18.

"Today the United States moved closer at last to removing the great shame of dishonoring this great leader by including him on our government's terror watch list," Senator John Kerry said after the bill was approved Friday.

When a similar bill passed the House of Representatives last month, Barbara Lee, a California Democrat who co-sponsored it, said she was "especially pleased we are taking this important step to finally right this inexcusable wrong."

Lee and others said the legislation introduced during the 1980s while Ronald Reagan was president was anachronistic and wrongfully labeled as heroes and freedom fighters as terrorists.

Lee recalled that under the legislation the ANC could travel to United Nations headquarters in New York but not to Washington, DC, or other parts of the United States.

In April, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged a Senate committee to remove the restrictions on the ANC party, calling it a "rather embarrassing matter that I still have to waive in my own counterpart, the foreign minister of South Africa, not to mention the great leader Nelson Mandela."
pigmonkey

56 responses // Nelson Mandela finally dropped from US terror watch list

  • "Happy Birthday; you're not a terrorist."

    I feel like this was done just because Mandela's birthday was going to generate press coverage and Bush didn't want to be criticized for the terror watch list.
    renbyrd
  • We have met the enemy and they are us!
    eldamon
  • bravo reagan administration. i heard that he was suffering from alzheimer's or possibly even dementia while being president which is terrible but it would explain some stuff

    if we wouldn't have been so concerned with the "domino theory" and being paranoid about every single other gov't then maybe the u.s. wouldn't have made so many stupid mistakes like this and also like helping saddam gain power and interfering in central america, etc etc
    thwayne92
  • Terrorist? I thought he was a equal rights activist. Like MLK
    Leonidis
    1 response to this
  • It will never cease to amaze me who our fearless leaders consider a terrorist. Just goes to prove, one person's freedom fighter is another person's terrorist.
    Another place,another time I guess George Washington and Ben Franklin would have been at the top of the list.
    bluestranger
    1 response to this
  • terror watch list...what a joke!

    "If the United States of America or Britain is having elections, they don't ask for observers from Africa or from Asia. But when we have elections, they want observers." Nelson Mandela
    merasyad
  • Wow! I thought nothing else would surprise me when it comes to government, I was wrong.
    uroborus8
  • Why would he be a threat in the first place.He is a man of peace.He has caused no threat to any country .Bush and his administration no wonder.
    powerup
  • Nelson Mandela is a nice intelligent guy. I'm glad he's no longer on the terror watch list thing, but, soon enough, we'll all be on the "terror watch list."

    And remember: war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength.
    FallenMorgan
  • what has S. Africa ever done for us here in the US ? what , diamonds ? Apartheid was just as brutal as the holocaust .
    malathion
    2 responses to this
  • Happy birthday Nelson!
    piperpicked
  • Bush took Mandela off the terrorist list so he could make room for the rest of America.
    Ricky84
  • I took a double take at that...Nelson? Nelson Mandela a terrorist? ....................no seriously it took them this long to get him off?? whatdefaak
    lulu81
  • Heres my "Terror Watch List."
    carligula
    2 responses to this
  • Oh, almost forgot....
    carligula
    7 responses to this
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S13FwCr4AuY
    The Colbert Report interviews a guy in the watch list.
    merasyad
  • if i never hear the word terror(ist)(ism)(ize) it'll be too soon
    keeshii768
  • Now they just have to drop me, and anyone else who likes their privacy.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • I'm astounded. This kind of mistake is just too ridiculous for words. Nelson Mandela, a terrorist? NEVER.
    NinthVoice
    1 response to this
  • i agree with carligula
    furryjenn
  • Nelson Mandela should be on his "heros" list rather then the "terrorist" list!!Taking this long to realize something so obvious is more of a shame no??
    Azucena
  • http://www.aclu.org/privacy/spying/watchlistcounter.htm...
    Now if we could just get Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and Saddam Hussein off the list, we'd be golden.
    nkovach
  • http://current.com/items/89062697_stars_pay_tribute_to_...
    Britain puts on a massive birthday gig for him in Hyde Park, America takes him off the terror list.

    Happy 90th Mr. Mandela.
    mattbrawn
  • Crikey, could you imagine the outrage if they had tried that rendition trick on Nelson Mandela.

    Happy Birthday Nelson, congratulations on making it to 90 and taking S Africa this far forward.
    Purdey
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here and here
    I can't believe he was even still on the list. That's a joke in itself. How is a 90 year old man gonna cause any one any threat bar a chiropractor.
    subsequent
  • Mandela has done more for freedom that Bush could ever dream of doing! It is absurd that Mandela has been on such a "list".
    unclepete
  • His socialist ideas got him on the list to begin with. He is who is today, but wasn't always. Why it's taken so long to remove him from the list...well, government like all organizations is full of people who get paid to say, I thought 'you' had it covered!
    Neghie
  • Now, now, let's give Bush some credit -- at least it took him less time than it took the Popes to pardon Galileo... lol
    shelchak
  • Maybe they saw things we didn't about him?

    Anyhow, they must of realized that 90 years old isn't really a threat....to them.
    Amber_Doll2011
  • It's not what you say, it's how many people hear you that they care about.
    eli_redsnail
  • Good news but is George W. still at the top of the list?
    themanwithadog
  • About damn time.
    radiovolume
  • Isn't the defamation of Mandela and the ANC a further proof of the mind-boggling foolishness of these crackheaded and delusional Americans?
    thegloryboy
  • Is Cat Stevens still on the list?
    Brendan_M
  • It's like that...
    We terrorist now for havin an opion on matters lik this.
    in other coutries we'd get hunted and beheaded.

    America can say whoeva that want to be TERRORIST Bush passed them laws a while back...
    natdagod
  • I think the whole thing is rediculous! After all of the adversity Mandela overcame 15 years ago or so, this whole situation was like a kick in the face. Thank the lord it's all over!
    Educated_Guesser
  • Hey! Don't let his peace strike terror within you!
    ipodrulz
  • Roman Polanski is on that list
    janam
  • i could never imagine a man like nelson mandela being on the terrorist watch list. he has never posed any threat on the US, but i am glad that he is off that list now.
    ix3bumblebeetuna
  • Not a surprise they funded the Inkatha Party when Aparthied was present and Bush's daddy supported the Racist South African government.
    gemenilaidback