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
These credible sources, ... suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland around the holiday season and beyond.
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,
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.
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,
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,
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.
We do not know how long it will take to defeat the scourge of terrorism or how many Americans will give their lives for the cause. But we do know one thing with absolute certainty: The passengers and crew of Flight 93 won the first battle,
And they are constantly evaluating procedures, both in the United States and elsewhere, to find gaps in our security posture that could be exploited.
Everything we do is designed to keep planes flying, bring loved ones closer, enable sports fans to gather, help businesses stay open; in other words, to keep the country moving,
Protecting this information is critically important. Shut them down and you shut down America as we know it,
Our approach at this point is to think big but begin implementing on a small scale, ... We want to get it right.
Biometrics not only accurately identifies and cross-checks travelers and potential terrorists before they enter our countries, but they also provide increased travel document security and important personal identity protections.
Be wary and be mindful, ... Let's make sure that every individual citizen who sees something suspicious reports it,