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
Today the United States government raised the national threat level.
Bush is willing to tackle the tough issues -- the ones some leaders refuse to touch, ... Issues such as real education reform, national security and defense, preserving Social Security and restoring America's values to government.
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.
It's a national effort grounded in the knowledge that states and local agencies play the primary role in emergency response.
The bottom line is they were going after a national icon, and if you struck one or the other, the horror, the death and destruction, coupled with the notion of vulnerability to either the executive or legislative branch, would have accomplished their means of adding another level of anxiety or fear in this country.
The bottom line is that homeland security is not about one department, one level of government or one organization, ... It is a national call to action, a philosophy of shared responsibility, shared accountability, and shared leadership.
God forbid, there may come a time when the local authorities or national authorities will tell you that you've got to use them. But for the time being, we just don't want folks sealing up their doors or sealing up their windows,
I hope that in a post-9/11, post-Katrina world, there wouldn't be a mayor in the nation who wouldn't go back to the drawing board and say, 'What have I done in terms of communication systems?'
In the meantime, as on the other occasions when the national threat level has been increased, we encourage members of the public to continue their daily work, family and leisure activities with a heightened awareness,
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,
These credible sources, ... suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland around the holiday season and beyond.
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,