WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, has had a firsthand view of the United States' response to terrorism from his spot on the intelligence panel looking into security breakdowns surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks.

        The Ohio Republican has participated in classified briefings from intelligence officials and closed-door hearings as lawmakers attempt to reconstruct what the United States knew — and didn't know — about what has been described as the worst intelligence failure in the country's history.

        In an interview after hearings this week, Mr. DeWine said the nation has made progress on security, but still has significant gaps to close before the government can confidently claim it is prepared for terrorism.

        Question: What is the most troubling thing you have learned so far?

Answer: One of the real challenges, I believe, is making sure we have a central place to do the analysis and that we have information flowing to one place.

        We have the FBI generating intelligence. We have the CIA. We have the other intelligence agencies, plus you have all the public information. It's important that there be one group of analysts who get all that information.

        Q: What is the value of having a cabinet-level homeland security czar?

A: It makes sense to have all the things that have to do with the airports, our ports and our borders all come under the same agency. That makes sense. What's going to be more difficult to fix is our intelligence community and the FBI. That's really where our focus needs to be. The other will get done, but we shouldn't think that creating a new department will fix all of our problems in the FBI or CIA.

        Q: Is there an insular or competitive culture at intelligence agencies that makes information sharing difficult?

A: Yes. In some respects that can be good, but ultimately you have to have somebody looking at the overall big picture.

        Q: Do you think the Bush administration has been too secretive about explaining what was known prior to Sept. 11 and in the aftermath of the attacks?

A: No, because I think what's happening, candidly, is that they weren't aware of everything that was available.

        In other words, they're hearing some of this information at the same time we're hearing it. And that tells you, I guess, what part of the problem is — part of the government may know something and it may never get shared with another part.

        A lot of this is basics. We have to give our intelligence people as good (a level of) technology as the private sector. They don't have that today.

        Q: You also serve on the Judiciary Committee, which oversees constitutional issues. Are you comfortable with how prisoners held since the attacks are being treated? The government has refused to release all their names, and some have been detained for months without being charged with a crime. What would our reaction be if Americans were held under similar circumstances in a foreign country?

A: I think you have to look at that on a case-by-case basis. I'm going to reserve judgment.

        I think that there is a distinction that is generally made, and should be made, between U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens.

        Q: Given that you have been privy to intelligence information since the attacks, what can you tell people back home in Ohio to reassure them — as President Bush claims — that we are making progress in the war on terrorism?

        A: I think this country is a lot more secure than it was prior to Sept. 11.

        We've learned a lot. We have already made many changes. But we have a lot of changes to make. We're part of the way there, but we have a ways to go.

        Q: Are states like Ohio prepared?

A: We are not as prepared as we should be. Again, there's no way to be totally prepared. The best way to be prepared is to stop the attacks and to break it up — that's why intelligence has to be our Number 1 priority.

        We are making progress. The first responders are always going to be the local fire departments, the local paramedics, the local police. It's important that they be integrated into any kind of plan.

        We're making progress, but we're not where we need to be.

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