CHINA> Anti-terror Cooperation
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CHINA> Anti-terror Cooperation
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Colors could disappear from US terror alert system
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-15 08:13 Scrapping the colors needs to be done in a way that doesn't leave the administration vulnerable to ridicule or criticism that it's being soft on terrorism, Carafano said. Fran Townsend, a former White House homeland security adviser for George W. Bush and once a key intelligence aide to Democratic Attorney General Janet Reno, is co-chairing the review panel with William H. Webster. Webster is the only man ever to head both the FBI and the CIA, the first in a Democratic administration and the second in a Republican one. Townsend called it a no-win assignment, but an important one. "This is a system that was devised in the immediate aftermath of the most horrific attack on American soil that we've ever suffered," she said. Reviewing the system nearly eight years later is an opportunity. "You need a warning system," but there might be a more effective way to communicate with the public, Townsend said. No system will give everyone all the details about threat information that they might want, she said. But as a mother, she sees a need to have enough detail to make an informed decision about protecting her family. "Maybe there is no better way," she said. But Napolitano "is right to ask the question and have us take a look at it." Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge also thinks now is a good time for review. Ridge was traveling and could not be reached Tuesday, but an aide said Napolitano told him about the review before she announced it. The alert level has not been changed since 2006 when it was raised from yellow -- an elevated or significant risk of terrorist attack -- to red then lowered to orange in the aviation sector after terrorist plans to blow up jetliners en route to the US from Britain were discovered. The nation has never been below yellow since 2001, but the warnings have been revised so that they can address a specific region or sector, as opposed to the entire country. The United States hasn't been attacked since 2001, though plots have been disrupted. The Homeland Security Department will accept public comment on the system by e-mail to hsasreview(at)dhs.gov.
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