Shays Says Color Coded Terrorist Threats Ignored
By Brian Dolan
WASHINGTON—Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4th, warned Tuesday that Americans are beginning to ignore the Homeland Security Department color-coded warnings of terrorism threats.
Shays said at a hearing the department needs to upgrade it’s terrorism alert system to provide the suspected time, place and nature of the perceived threats, as required by law.
“Seeing no difference between a perpetually ‘elevated’ state of risk—Code Yellow—and a ‘high’ risk of terrorism at Code Orange, Americans risk becoming colorblind to the signals that are supposed to prompt public awareness and action,” Shays said at a hearing before the National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations Subcommittee, which he chairs.
The Homeland Security alert system uses five colors to indicate the possibility of a terrorist attack. The threat levels are “Severe—Red,” “High—Orange,” “Elevated—Yellow,” “Guarded—Blue” and “Low—Green.”
The government created the system on March 12, 2002, and it never has been lower than “Elevated—Yellow.” The system has been raised to “High—Orange” five times, for a total of 87 days.
But the system puts the entire nation on alert and does not distinguish among regions of the country or economic sectors that are the most likely targets, Shays said.
“When a blizzard or hurricane is forecast, the public is not advised to be brave for America and stay in the eye of the storm,” Shays said. “But when the threat of terrorism is ‘elevated,’ citizens are advised to go about their lives as if no real peril approached. We need to make terrorism alerts at least as targeted and accurate as storm projections.”
Gen. Patrick Hughes, the Homeland Security Department’s assistant secretary for information analysis, said the alert system has evolved over the last two years into an effective warning device.
“Since March 11, 2002, the protective posture of our nation has increased based on our refined ability to respond to specific information with targeted actions and prevention measures,” Hughes said. “As a result, today’s Threat Condition Yellow is yesterday’s Orange….
“Although information is provided publicly regarding protective measures, it is important for the public to understand that DHS implements and recommends additional and more specific protective measures to state and local officials that are only disseminated to security professionals.”
Shays, however, said the warning system needs to evolve further. The Homeland Security Act, which Congress passed in 2002, requires the government to provide “specific warning information and advice about appropriate protective measures” to the public, he said.
“The lack of specificity as to the time, place or nature of the perceived threats provided no basis upon which to calibrate appropriate public or private responses,” Shays said. “As a result, governments and critical industries broadly increased security measures and incurred substantial costs. At the same time, exhortations to carry on as usual in the name of economic normalcy dulled any sense of urgency in the public at large.”
Charles Connor, spokesman for the American Red Cross, praised Americans for not allowing terrorist threats to disrupt their daily lives.
“We are a nation of resilient, optimistic individuals,” Connor said. “We have not let the increased threat of danger deter us from living our lives, and we applaud that spirit.”
Other witnesses at the hearing agreed with Shays that the warning system should provide more specifics.
The government should use a regional alert system to notify emergency workers about threats specific to their jurisdiction or state, said Michael Wermuth, a RAND Corp. expert on responses to terrorism. It also should provide training to first responders about what preventive actions are necessary at different threat levels. Finally, the Homeland Security Department should create a process for providing specific guidance to potentially affected regions when threat levels change, Wermuth said.
Shays said that sometimes the government should give Americans information about specific threats so that they can change their behavior. For instance, Shays previously said he would not venture into Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2003. He added in an interview that he knew what the public did not: the government had picked up word a dirty bomb might be detonated there.
“Whether due to an excess of caution about intelligence sources, or a reluctance to ask for changed public behaviors and sacrifices,” Shays said, “the codes and warnings in use today may be a better barometer of political realities than public safety risks.”
