Foreign Terrorists, US Criminals

This morning, The Washington Post reports that a stunning number of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Cape of Africa have criminal records in the U.S. Obviously, that information is highly relevant to our efforts to protect ourselves by denying suspected terrorists entry to this country.

The piece points out that the revelations "reflect the power of sharing data across agencies and even countries, data that links an identity to a distinguishing human characteristic such as a fingerprint." Indeed.

Yes, well, that's the data-sharing that didn't happen when, during the Clinton administration, there were "walls" between different law enforcement agencies. That's data-sharing that won't happen if Barack Obama dismantles such programs because of "privacy" concerns.

Don't get me wrong -- I share the frustration of those who have been unhappy about John McCain's approach to illegal immigration. But before anybody starts asserting that his policies and Barack's will be essentially the same, keep in mind that the kind of program reported on this morning is one that McCain would most likely applaud . . . and Barack, most likely, would not.