Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridgeis an American politician who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. Prior to this, Ridge was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 and the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth26 August 1945
CityMunhall, PA
CountryUnited States of America
The bottom line is that homeland security is not about one department, one level of government or one organization, ... It is a national call to action, a philosophy of shared responsibility, shared accountability, and shared leadership.
For every level of threat there will be a level of preparedness, ... It is a system that is equal to the threat.
Your characterization of it as being a significantly different threat environment, based on what we historically have heard, is absolutely correct, ... So there certainly is a diminution, reduction in the amount of intelligence, and the decibel level is lower.
In the meantime, as on the other occasions when the national threat level has been increased, we encourage members of the public to continue their daily work, family and leisure activities with a heightened awareness,
compared to previous threat reporting, these intelligence reports have provided a level of detail that is very specific.
The bottom line is they were going after a national icon, and if you struck one or the other, the horror, the death and destruction, coupled with the notion of vulnerability to either the executive or legislative branch, would have accomplished their means of adding another level of anxiety or fear in this country.
might require an added level of protection, an added layer of safety.
The homeland is secure when the hometown is secure.
Every single day since September 11, we've made ourselves safer, stronger and more secure, ... We still have a lot of work left to do. We're making progress every day.
are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan.
Clearly, Canada is not going to send troops to Iraq. That's just a fact and you've made that decision ... so that's off the table. But maybe we re-engage on softwood, re-engage on missile defense. It's an opportunity.
I think they moved as quickly as they could,
It may take a little longer, it may, ... But again, I think knowing the generosity of Americans ... there will be enough people that want to memorialize that sacrifice and their courage.
the ultimate protection of public safety is to cancel the flight.