The failure to share information is blamed for letting two Sept. 11 hijackers board a plane even as they were being hunted that fateful day, and a report obtained by ABCNEWS suggests terrorists could do the same thing today.
Nawaf Al Hazmi and Khalid Almihdhar were known to the CIA, and slipped into the United States on valid visas anyway. Then, even after the CIA alerted the FBI, they managed to board a plane on Sept. 11, 2001.
The failure of aviation officials to spot the men has been blamed on the failure of federal agencies to coordinate information. But, according to a new congressional report obtained by ABCNEWS, the U.S. government still lacks a consolidated terrorism watch list that is easily accessible to all law enforcement 20 months after the 9/11 attacks.
According to the report, nine different federal agencies run at least 12 different watch lists, and frustrated local police fear the same sort of information breakdown could happen again.
"I truly believe that we are not getting the information that's needed to protect our community members," said Michael Chitwood, the police chief in Portland, Maine, one of the nation's busiest seaports and the place where Mohamed Atta and another 9/11 hijacker boarded a plane to attack the World Trade Center.
"It's outrageous. It does not make any sense," said Chitwood, who worries his city remains vulnerable because he doesn't believe the federal government is sharing everything it knows.
Chitwood's concerns appear to be well-founded, based on the report.
Are Turf Battles to Blame?
The report suggests there is no guarantee that a police officer who stops someone suspicious can tap into one database and be certain to be looking at all the available information.
"Ninety-five percent of the criminal arrests in this country are made by state and local government, said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Finance Committee. "It's just common sense that everything the federal government knows about potential terrorists ought to be available to state and local government."
"A lot of turf battles continue today, and I think that's the major issue," said Chitwood.
"It's agonizing that more hasn't been done," said Grassley.
Bush administration officials say they are racing to create standardized information sharing.
"Our first priority is to consolidate these watch lists, so that the people at the borders, people at the airports and the respective agencies have access to that broader list of names," said Tom Ridge, secretary of the Homeland Security Department.
Homeland security officials predict that a uniform watch list will be completed in two months. When it is done, local police have access to eight times the number of terrorism suspects as currently have.
Chitwood worries about what could happen in the meantime.
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