Dear Editor:
As a recent (Jan. '03) retiree from legacy INS, I take exception to the statement that INS was held responsible for the issuance of visas to the 9/11 hijackers thus leading to the creation of DHS. The last time I checked, the State Department and their consular offices abroad issued the visas, while INS did the actual 'admitting' at a port of entry. And, "yes" INS did admit the hijackers based on the validity of their travel documents. Unfortunately, other government agencies that had some of the hijackers on a "watch" list, failed to pass that information on to INS. Had they done such, those individuals would have been turned around at the port of entry. The finger-pointing on the tragic events of 9/11 needs to stop now. What was lacking prior to that date was information sharing between the agencies charged with protecting this country. Sadly, the turf battles continue as the recommendations from the 9/11 commission are already being eroded by several agencies fearing they will lose their exclusivity over certain intelligence data. I may be naive, but it strikes me that battles are won by teamwork and, unless we get serious about terrorism, our lack of teamwork is going to cost us again and again.
(Mr.) Lynn M. Ligon
Dallas, TX
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