Ridge hints at outline of homeland security strategy
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said Monday al Qaeda terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons, and if they succeed in their quest, "I don't have any doubt they would try to use" them.
In an address and question-and-answer session with publishers at the Associated Press annual meeting, Ridge said terrorism in America is a "permanent condition" and outlined goals for a long-term security strategy.
For the first time, Ridge reviewed plans to release this summer or fall a national strategy to rank the nation's homeland defense needs.
The plan will focus government resources where the risks are the highest, where most lives can be saved and most property can be protected, he said.
"It will reveal, in our judgment, what we need to protect. It will outline the resources available to us and point the way for their best use," Ridge said.
Bioterrorism, for example, poses one of the greatest threats of massive loss of life, "and our preparedness has historically lagged behind the threat," Ridge said.
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