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 president has given me an extraordinary opportunity to serve my country in this incredible period since September 11th, 2001.
The quality of this intelligence, based on multiple reporting streams in multiple locations, is rarely seen and is alarming in both the amount and specificity of the information,
We could go back over the past two years and pick out threat reports of pretty much the same substance,
We've engaged the law enforcement community around this country, but there are also certain things we can do within this country outside of law enforcement that would be a deterrent to an attack, ... The president's strategy gives us a road map to accomplish that.
We think, based on the initiatives that we've announced today, that we can absorb that cost.
We think at the end of the day, a lot of this is going to be about turnout in the battleground states,
to date, there is no specific intelligence that tells us or indicates to us that the convention itself would be subject to an attack.
Today the United States government raised the national threat level.
to make North America more secure and more prosperous.
Yeah, we weren't certain, ... Still, in the context of everything else (intelligence chatter and a terror attack in Saudi Arabia), we could not set it aside and dismiss it as not credible.
I can't imagine a better place to begin the renewal of America's purpose than the cradle of American democracy,
If America has the opportunity to make a strategic investment that not only enhances security but makes us a better, safer, stronger, or healthier country, then we need to do that. If you secure every home town, then the homeland is secure.
I am going to step back a little bit, breathe deeply and then decide.
I am saddened that this job is even necessary. But it is necessary. So I will give it everything I have. The task is enormous.