Now They Said It, Now They Don't
First Tom Ridge said the color-coded terror alert system had been politicized. Then he said it hadn't. Now Michael Chertoff is saying they definitely hadn't. I know it's important to figure out if the program was misused, but at this point I'm more interested in finding out if they had any demonstrable effect on anyone's behavior at all. If it turns out they're just useless, we can get rid of them and have the political arguments later.
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Government Executive Staff Correspondent Alyssa Rosenberg takes a look at news affecting the management and operations of the massive federal bureaucracy.
There is a vast difference in the terms WARNING, Alerting, Prediction, Notification, etc. as established by both academic research and doctrine in the EM and HS communities. Cheyenne Mountain was closed because it had turned into a notification operation not a warning operation. One of the countries leading experts on the principles behind "Warning" is Professor Denis Mileti, PhD, who is expert on issues involving warning and the principles behind it after a life time of study. There was a comprehensive study of issues related to WARNING and Homeland Security (HS) post-9/11 that produced an excellent National Warning Strategy. Called the Partnership for Public Warning that report should be studied with interest by those modifying the color coded "Warning" system which under the research and doctrine might not have been effective "Warning" at all but something else.
William R. Cumming Posted Tuesday, September 8, 2009 7:02 AM"... we can get rid of them and have the political arguments later." That works right up to the point when something bad happens and then the finger pointing and blame game begins. In light of the current political climate, expect a security Plainfield Syndrome to continue.
Lane Narrows Posted Tuesday, September 8, 2009 7:06 AM