States could provide anti-terrorism help

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, one of the frequently asked questions was why U.S. intelligence agencies didn't have better information that might have been used to prevent such deadly mayhem.

While finger pointing does little to assuage the aftermath of those attacks, it does cast a spotlight on what might be considered some weaknesses in the way information is shared among the intelligence gatherers and law-enforcement agencies.

One example helps focus on the problem. In Florida, the Department of Law Enforcement requested two months ago that the Immigration and Naturalization Service provide a list of people whose nonimmigrant visas had expired and of people who had obtained visas listing Florida as their destination.

Florida has a keen interest in such matters. Of the 19 hijackers responsible for the terrorism on Sept. 11, 15 had connections to Florida. Three were in the United States on expired visas.

The issue of who should have this information will have to be resolved at the federal level. Currently, INS contends that it doesn't know if it would be appropriate to share such data with state and local law-enforcement agencies.

This reluctance, along with lingering uncertainty about the appropriateness and legality of sharing INS information, underscores a part of the problem. Two months after Florida made its request, these issues still haven't been resolved. Obviously, there were no clear-cut guidelines in place before the terrorist attacks, and there still aren't any.

Beyond the issue of who can have vital security information about foreigners living in this country, and beyond the purely legal issues involved, it would seem that law-enforcement agencies across the nation could be enlisted by federal intelligence gatherers. It is clear there simply are not enough INS or FBI agents to expeditiously track down the thousands of leads regarding the Sept. 11 attacks. Using state and local authorities to assist would seem to be a good use of available manpower without jeopardizing anything more than turf issues that exist among the various law-enforcement entities.

Now, more than ever, Americans want reassurances that they are safe and that their safety is vigilantly being guarded. Allowing officials in Florida -- and other states as well -- to do some basic legwork regarding illegal aliens who might be a terrorist threat seems prudent.