TOPICS
TOPICS
Exiting Secretary Ridge acknowledges mistakes
Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday admitted mistakes during his tenure and offered his successor suggestions for future homeland security missions.
Ridge said the incoming secretary should focus on integrating information technology, procurement, research and development and creating a streamlined personnel system. The advice comes on the heels of President Bush's announcement Tuesday of his nomination of federal judge Michael Chertoff to replace Ridge.
During a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Ridge said he "erred" last year by communicating directly with the airlines about potential threats. Subsequently, Air France canceled several flights to the United States.
"The primary means of communication must be government-to-government," said Ridge, adding that a 24-hour point of contact for such situations between governments was then established. Ridge said he learned from negotiations with the European Union about sharing sensitive passenger information.
"This measure of security will not come at the expense of privacy," said Ridge about an eventual compromise.
Ridge said the new secretary must work to develop international biometric standards for travel documents, such as fingerprints or iris scans, to confirm identities. He also said the department should make information sharing between governments more transparent.
Ridge this week plans to announce a pilot program allowing frequent fliers to undergo pre-flight security checks for travel between the Netherlands' Schiphol Airport and Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to an E.U. official. Ridge also said his successor and Congress should understand that Europeans view some U.S. laws as discriminatory because U.S. citizens can travel to all E.U. countries without visas, but only foreign visitors from certain E.U. countries can travel without visas to the United States. Ridge advised his successor to "be aggressive" and "take the lead" on international security initiatives, specifying the United States should require all 10 fingerprints to be imbedded into its passports.
"It's a lot easier to negotiate with our allies if you've already done what you're asking for," said Ridge.
COMMENTS
- You do have to wonder just what Ridge was talking about. Sounds like typical management mumbo-jumbo to me. Here's the deal: Someone needs to be accountable and fix the mess at ICE. It can't be Garcia, who is bereft of management skills and long ago got a "no confidence" vote from the field. And it won't be any of the apparatchiks under Garcia. Speaking of Garcia, how much bad press can he/ICE survive? It's amazing to me that the man still has a job. special agent Posted January 13, 2005 5:34 PM
- Really Tom. That is what we need? Are you just now figuring it out? I echo the same sentiments of the previous comments. This man is an idiot and the people he put in charge are idiots. Period. But hey, maybe he is just suffering from misinformation (I'm sure Garcia has told him that one). The list of problems is alot longer Tom and you're ashamed to even admit them. I've stopped complaining about the immigration bit b/c it's here to stay, but I'm not gonna stop about the authorities that we have lost b/c this guy is a wimp. Throw them all in jail for what they've done. Or, maybe I'm just overreacting due to the anxiety that some of us in the field are experiencing or believing in too much misinformation. Special Agent DHS/ICE Legacy Customs GovExec.com reader Posted January 13, 2005 2:08 PM
- "Ridge said the incoming secretary should focus on integrating information technology, procurement, research and development and creating a streamlined personnel system..." What in God's name is Ridge talking about? Why mess with a functioning personnel system when DHS is rife with so many other, more pressing problems. Like what? Like the fact that the FBI (which wins all its battles with DHS) has taken on much of the role for vulnerability assessments and domestic information analysis (an intended core DHS function)... Like the fact that DEA is curbing DHS' efforts to conduct narcotics investigations... Like the fact that ICE is so screwed up financially that we can't travel, send FedEx packages, etc... Like the fact that... Oh, to heck with it. DHS is a mess. GovExec.com reader Posted January 12, 2005 11:00 PM
