I would prefer to see the Federal Government leave the Law Enforcement to the states...
Expansion of federal powers bother me.. a lot..
If I had my "druthers", I would reduce all fed LEO responsibilities to one organization, say, the U.S. Marshalls Service..
The FBI would return to investigation of federal crimes, and state crimes when requested by local authorities..
But they would have no LEO powers, therefore, no "personal interest" in how the case turned out.
There only function would be to provide accurate, concise information on evidence gathered..
Likewise, DOJ, DEA, etc.. would be placed in investigative, information-gathering capacities..
The matter of drug smuggling would be handled by Coast Guard, Border Patrol, and Customs...
All other drug cases would be handled by state LEO, or U.S. Marshalls, respectively...
If the Federal Government wants to do something to help combat Terrorism, Illegal immigration, and Gang Activity, they can do so by providing a national database accessable by all State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies..
This would be a true help..
The Feds, however, are not interested in helping solve the problem, however...
They are far more interested in amassing personal (federal) powers..
They are far more interested in interfering with, intimidating, and intruding upon the lives of the average, ordinary citizen..
They simply want power over every citizen in every aspect of their daily lives..
The more I see of our so-called War on Terrorism, the more I am reminded of the War on Drugs, which has cost Millions in funding, destroyed the lives of countless people, (much like the drugs they are supposedly combatting) and destroyed the rights of every citizen, without ever making a dent in the problem for which it was created..
As long as this "initiative" can remain within the confines of an "information sharing system", I would approve of it..
Problem is, I don't think that's the way it's gonna go..