'Fusion Centers' Erode Civil Liberties Not Terrorism: Senate Study

Two year study by Senate subcommittee says regional information-sharing centers have done more harm than good

- Common Dreams staff

Following an exhaustive two year study on the impact that the creation of so-called 'fusion centers' have had on counter-terrorism efforts in the US, a report released on Tuesday showed that hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the information-sharing effort between local and federal law enforcement agencies yielded no practical results.

The findings of the investigation, conducted by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, were presented in a 146-page report on Tuesday said that the review of intelligence documents from from regional fusion centers between April 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010,"could identify nothing that uncovered a terrorist threat, nor could it identify a contribution any fusion center made to disrupt an active terrorist plot."