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
While there are no indications that terrorists are planning similar attacks in the United States in the near term, we have asked train and rail operators in the country to be on a heightened state of alert,
An emergency is not the time to plan; it's the time to react, so be informed, ... The actions you would take in a conventional attack may be counterproductive if you took them in response to a different kind of attack.
These credible sources, ... suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland around the holiday season and beyond.
It was an attack against us all, because it sought in its violence to divide us by the color of our skin and the nations of our ancestors.
Our goal is to deter any potential attack with multiple layers of security and, based on what I have seen and heard, I can tell you that the security plans and arrangements and commitment of federal, state and local officials is very, very strong,
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.
We know they have the capability to succeed and they also hold the mistaken belief that their attacks will have an impact on America's resolve,
Effective firefighters in every community are critical to America's homeland security, ... We want to help the fire service to move quickly to develop and acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and equipment to respond to all emergencies, large and small.
The airlines and aviation today are far better prepared,
I'm not sure we're ever going to be able to say that because we raised it from Yellow to Orange or because we modified, changed or enhanced security at this facility, at this bridge, at this tunnel, that it deterred a terrorist from acting,
I'm not trying to condone the sloppiness or inaccuracy of the work that was done, ... We saw that ourselves.
I'm honored to join the extraordinary team you've assembled to lead America. The size and scope of this challenge are immense ... an extraordinary mission. But we will carry it out.
It needs to be discussed, and we will continue to discuss it,
It's a national effort grounded in the knowledge that states and local agencies play the primary role in emergency response.