Tom Ridge Claims Pressure To Raise Terror Level

[FSTargetDrone]

From The Boston Globe:

Ridge accuses Bush White House of political use of terror alert system

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor August 20, 2009 04:21 PM

In his new book, the first Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge, accuses top aides to President George W. Bush of pressing him to raise the terror alert level to influence the 2004 presidential election.

Ridge, a former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, says that he refused the entreaty from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to a summary of the book from publisher Thomas Dunne Books.

"After that episode, I knew I had to follow through with my plans to leave the federal government for the private sector," Ridge, who resigned soon after the election where Bush defeated Democrat John F. Kerry, writes in "The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege ... And How We Can Be Safe Again."

Ridge's book will only fuel Bush critics, who have long said that his White House used terror threats to distract the public from the unpopular Iraq war.

"In this probing and surefooted memoir, Ridge takes us through the challenges he and his new department faced, including Anthrax scares and reports (both real and false alarms) of new Al-Qaeda operations sprouting up in the United States," says the publisher's summary of the book, scheduled to be out on Sept. 1.

"Ridge writes with refreshing candor on both the successes and missteps of the DHS. He details the obstacles faced in his new post -- often within the administration itself -- as well as the failures of Congress to provide for critical homeland security needs, and the irresponsible use of terrorism by both parties to curry favors with voters," the summary continues.

It says that Ridge also reveals in the book how the department was "pressured to connect homeland security to the international “war on terror;” and how he had "pushed for a plan (defeated because of turf wars) to integrate DHS and FEMA disaster management in New Orleans and other areas before Hurricane Katrina."

Asked about the allegation about the election, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs noted today that current Homeland Security Janet Napolitano launched a study whether to scrap the color-coded system, which critics say is ineffective and confusing.

"Decisions regarding the terror threat should be made based on the rise and fall of that threat, not based on anything else," Gibbs told reporters.

[Zixinus]

I'm not closely following American news, so I apologize for asking: did it work? Was the terror level actually raised? Did it effect the elections?

[Knife]

I'm not closely following American news, so I apologize for asking: did it work? Was the terror level actually raised? Did it effect the elections?

Kind of the whole point of the article.

Yes, the Terror level was raised periodically.

Did it effect the elections; you can make the charge but I'll be damned if I can prove it. You can sure as shit make that allegation.

[Duckie]

I'm not closely following American news, so I apologize for asking: did it work? Was the terror level actually raised? Did it effect the elections?

The following graph suggests they at least tried.



Also, note that only orange and red alerts are displayed because the alert has never been below yellow, ever, since its inception. (;Green- Low Risk, Blue- General Risk, Yellow- Significant Risk, Orange- High Risk, Red- Severe Risk; are the alert levels)

After 2004, the alert level has stayed at yellow basically forever. Red Alerts stopped happening right after the election. Orange has happened a few times in 2005 and once in 2006 I believe, but after the 2006 election (with 0 more elections remaining until Bush was out of office) the terror alert system has stayed at Yellow.

[FSTargetDrone]

Has anyone in the US ever actually seen a terror alert change on TV, heard it on the radio or otherwise been made aware of the current alert status via some kind of official announcement? I can't say I've ever known what the current level is unless it was mentioned on the news. And I bet most people couldn't even explain the various levels other than perhaps the extreme ends of the scale.

On DHS's site, the current level is displayed down in the lower right corner. If it's so important, why isn't it at the top of the page?

[Duckie]

Has anyone in the US ever actually seen a terror alert change on TV, heard it on the radio or otherwise been made aware of the current alert status via some kind of official announcement? I can't say I've ever known what the current level is unless it was mentioned on the news. And I bet most people couldn't even explain the various levels other than perhaps the extreme ends of the scale.

On DHS's site, the current level is displayed down in the lower right corner. If it's so important, why isn't it at the top of the page?

Yes. The red alerts in pre-election 2004 were plastered all over the TV, blaring about how New York might be under threat and how subway transit had a heightened advisory and so did airline travel, as did the 2nd anniversary of 9/11 and so forth.

Post 2004 it stopped being very significant to the media machine, whose Paranoia: BE AFRAID stories about terrorism were losing steam and people stopping caring/being manipulated by it. They stopped changing it entirely post-2006.

I don't see how anyone can look at that history and say it wasn't just a Bush era propaganda tool.

[Zixinus]

I have to wonder: has it ever entered a level below yellow or even green?

[Samuel]

I have to wonder: has it ever entered a level below yellow or even green?

Also, note that only orange and red alerts are displayed because the alert has never been below yellow, ever, since its inception.

[Losonti Tokash]

I have to wonder: has it ever entered a level below yellow or even green?

Also, note that only orange and red alerts are displayed because the alert has never been below yellow, ever, since its inception.

After 2004, the alert level has stayed at yellow basically forever.

[Jaepheth]

Has anyone in the US ever actually seen a terror alert change on TV, heard it on the radio or otherwise been made aware of the current alert status via some kind of official announcement? I can't say I've ever known what the current level is unless it was mentioned on the news. And I bet most people couldn't even explain the various levels other than perhaps the extreme ends of the scale.

On DHS's site, the current level is displayed down in the lower right corner. If it's so important, why isn't it at the top of the page?

From my latest stint of traveling, I can say it's part of the announcements loop at several airports.