According to the Justice Department, which finally released some numbers after a request of the Associated Press, of the 765 people detained by the Government after September 11, only six remain in custody.

What's in the numbers?

"Almost 500 of the foreign nationals arrested on immigration charges during the FBI's Sept. 11 probe have been deported to their home countries, officials said. An additional 281 were released in the United States and are free or are awaiting determination of their immigration status, authorities said."

"In addition to the 765 people detained on immigration charges, 134 others were arrested on criminal charges and 99 were convicted, according to the new figures. A separate group of more than 300 were taken into custody in the early months of the campaign by state and local law enforcement agencies, the department said."

What's not in the numbers?

The Justice Department won't say how many people have been held or are still being held on material witness warrants. These arrestees are those the Government says it can detain indefinitely while investigating them for terrorism activity without charging them with a crime. Like Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi, and who knows how many others.

"Federal officials, citing grand jury secrecy rules, have refused for 15 months to say how many material witnesses have been taken into custody, or to reveal their names or which courts are supervising the cases."

"A review of such cases by The Washington Post last month found that federal authorities had arrested and jailed at least 44 people as material witnesses in connection with the Sept. 11 probe. "