It seems a failure to communicate played a role in the Sept. 11 tragedies.

Based on a congressional report released Thursday, America’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies had clues about the plot, but could not – or would not – share tips with one another.

Both the FBI and CIA officials claim their respective agencies have taken steps to correct related shortcomings. Nonetheless, the damage has been done.

Those attacks quickly became the foundation of all that’s happening in the world today. They were the catalyst that triggered President George W. Bush’s ‘war on terrorism.’ Now, more than 2-1/2 years later, America is embroiled in a deadly war against Iraq.

All this because of needless oversights and tight-lipped government agencies unwilling to divulge information with &uot;players&uot; that are supposedly on the same team.

Who knows? A little cooperation and sharing of data might have resulted in the capture of two particular Saudi hijackers and prevented – or at least minimized – the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Or maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference.

But if nothing else, at least our federal law enforcement agencies would look a little less silly and petty to the rest of the world today.