Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoffis an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under Presidents George W. Bush andBarack Obama, and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He succeeded Tom Ridge as United States Secretary of Homeland Security on February 15, 2005...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
Date of Birth28 November 1953
CountryUnited States of America
known
Well, I'm not excusing the fact that planning and preparedness was not where it should be. We've known for 20 years about this hurricane, this possibility of this kind of hurricane.
borne july katrina month work
Well, I said in July before Katrina that we had a lot more work to do in preparedness. And I think that was borne out, obviously, a month later.
accurate clear condition failure ground information lack physical
Well, I think first of all there was a failure to have real, clear information at our disposal. There was a real lack of situational awareness. We didn't have the capabilities on the ground to give us real-time, accurate assessments of the physical condition of the city.
address border control decided distressed problem public rightly security situation solve stand
We have decided to stand back and take a look at how do we address this problem (of border security) and solve it once and for all, The American public is rightly distressed about a situation in which they feel we do not have control of our borders. ... We need to have a comprehensive solution.
access almost border borders card carry citizens cross daily integral license northern pass people regularly security simple southern system talking useful
This new People Access Security Service, or PASS system card, will be particularly useful for those citizens in border communities who regularly cross northern and southern borders every day as an integral part of their daily lives. We're talking about essentially like the kind of driver's license or other simple card identification that almost all of us carry in our wallets day in and day out.
aligned certainly closely closer department job learned lessons positive rita
We've certainly learned a lot of lessons from Katrina, from Rita. Rita was better than Katrina. We're doing a better job planning. We're closer - more closely aligned with the Department of Defense. These things would be positive things if we were to have another attack.
hurricane prepared prior season
We're going to be better prepared for this hurricane season than any other prior year.
caught found hiding maybe people remains scene ugly uncover whose
We're going to uncover people who died, maybe hiding in houses, got caught by the flood, people whose remains are going to be found in the streets, ... It is going to be about as ugly of a scene as I think you can imagine.
address challenges continue enormous fact ongoing people seriously
We are still in the emergency. People must take seriously the fact that we have enormous ongoing challenges which we have to address right now or we're going to continue to have serious problems,
forward giant risk step taking
We are taking a giant step forward in implementing this risk-based strategy.
behave ethically govern laws mindful people
We are very mindful of this. We haven't suspended the laws that govern the way in which people have to behave ethically and legally.
deeply engaged involved personally process
was deeply and personally engaged in the process from before the hurricane. I was deeply and personally involved in the process from before the hurricane.
fruits seeds starting strategy talking year
We're now starting to see the fruits of seeds that were harvested when we started talking about this strategy a year or so ago.
picked roof shelter sitting top totally understand worried
We totally understand what it's like to be sitting on top of a roof or to be sitting in a shelter where it's hot, where you're worried about when you're going to be picked up, where you're thirsty, where you're hungry,