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
ahead days people scene tough ugly witnessed
It is going to be about as ugly a scene as we've witnessed in this country, ... I really want to tell people that we have got some tough days ahead of us.
basically break challenges conducting context create dangerous days discovered effort existing few flood last massive might model national requires resources tremendous unusual using
I think we have discovered over the last few days that with all the tremendous effort using the existing resources and the traditional frameworks of the National Guard, the unusual set of challenges of conducting a massive evacuation in the context of a still dangerous flood requires us to basically break the traditional model and create a new model -- one for what you might call kind of an ultracatastrophe,
again awareness coming couple days eyes ground lack media opposed position reports terms uncertain unhappy waiting
I was very unhappy with the lack of situational awareness I had in the couple of days after Katrina. I never want to be in the position again where I don't have real eyes on the ground to tell me what is going on in no uncertain terms as opposed to waiting to get reports coming through the media or inconsistencies from the field.
address bottom build criticism days hurricane line next season time waste
But I think the bottom line right now is to take the constructive criticism and use that to build toward, as I say, the hurricane season that is 100 days away. And we don't have a lot of time to waste before we start to address that next set of challenges.
days focusing hurricane next ourselves
And one of the things I want to say, Wolf, is we're 100 days from hurricane season, and we've got to start focusing on what we're going to do to make ourselves ready for the next hurricane.
added challenge level prepared second seen
We were prepared for one catastrophe. The second catastrophe, frankly, added a level of challenge that no one has seen before.
added challenge level prepared second seen
We were prepared for one catastrophe, ... The second catastrophe, frankly, added a level of challenge that no one has seen before.
against assist border both continue ourselves patrol people portion protecting sneak terrain tools
We have to continue to use both low-tech and high-tech tools to assist our Border Patrol in patrolling this portion of terrain and protecting ourselves against people who want to sneak across.
tolerate
We will not tolerate lawlessness, or violence, or interference with the evacuation,
aid citizens ensure fellow lives necessary reclaim support sustained work
We will work tirelessly to ensure that our fellow citizens have the sustained support and the necessary aid to reclaim their homes, their lives and their communities,
certainly fema fill level ranks senior terms
We certainly have to fill out the ranks of FEMA in terms of its senior level with experienced staff.
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.
hurricane prepared prior season
We're going to be better prepared for this hurricane season than any other prior year.
address attempt avenue border certain control demand difficult fact high illegal kinds people perform
It would be enormously difficult if we were to attempt to control illegal immigration at the border without having some legal avenue to address the fact that there is a high demand for non-U.S. people to come in and perform certain kinds of jobs,