Former Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge has said politics played a role in the color-coded terror alerts. It sure seemed that way. Then again, it’s always easy to play it safe and raise the color code. The color code was immediately raised whenever the administration learned of a terrorist threat, even if it was several years old.
By Chris Strohm
Congress Daily
WASHINGTON — Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Thursday said politics was never a factor in determining whether the nation’s color-coded terror-alert level should be raised.
“Politics never entered into raising the alert during my tenure in any way, shape or form,” said Chertoff, who led DHS from 2005 until last January.