The independent commission studying the September 11 terror attacks is considering recommending changes in US intelligence, including creation of a domestic spy agency modeled after Britain's MI5.

　　James b. Steinberg, deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration, said he advocates the creation of two new entities: an independent director of national intelligence and a domestic security service like MI5.

　　In an interview on Monday on the eve of his testimony, Steinberg said US counterterror efforts remain hampered by decades-old walls separating the work of the FBI, which operates domestically and traditionally has focused on catching people who break laws, and the CIA, which works abroad and focuses on learning secrets.

　　"The beauty of the MI5 model is it breaks down both those walls," said Steinberg, director of foreign policy studies at the Washington think-tank Brookings Institution.

　　Mi5 describes itself as Britain's defensive security intelligence agency. It cannot detain or arrest its targets but seeks to "to gain the advantage over (them) by covertly obtaining information about them, which we can use to counter their activities."

　　Homeland security Director Tom Ridge visited MI5 headquarters during a trip to Britain last year. He later said he doubted the Bush administration would create a similar domestic intelligence agency, because MI5's powers would be unacceptable under the US Constitution.

　　Fbi director Robert Mueller also opposes the idea of an American MI5, saying such a proposal is based on "a faulty understanding of counterterrorism that sees a dichotomy between 'intelligence operations' and 'law enforcement operations."'

　　The 10-member, bipartisan commission has until May 27 to submit a report that also will deal with law enforcement, diplo-macy, immigration, commercial aviation and the flow of assets to terror organizations.

　　Commission chairman Thomas H. Kean said the panel is considering several ideas to make US intelligence more effective, "including the question of whether the United States should establish a Director of National Intelligence."