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WFED Exclusive: A View from Tom Ridge
As the Department of Homeland Security turns six years old, FederalNewsRadio asks former Secretary, Tom Ridge, to take a look back and forward at the accomplish...
By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com
As the Department of Homeland Security turns six years old, FederalNewsRadio asks former Secretary, Tom Ridge, to take a look back and forward at the accomplishments and challenges of the agency.
The former Pennsylvania Governor, and now CEO of Ridge Global LLC, tells the Federal Drive that the agency is pretty much what he’d envisioned.
I think it continues to be a work in progress. I think that Secretary Chertoff, and now Secretary Napolitano, continue to build on, I think, a pretty sturdy foundation, but there still remains quite a bit of work to be done.
In order to succeed at the mission, Gov. Ridge says the keys will be a combination of cooperation and technology. Ridge points to security along the border with Mexico as an example. “If you have the capability,” says Ridge, “to run contraband, drugs and illegals across the border, then you certainly have the capability to run terrorists or weapons across the border.”
But, says Ridge, the current security and political climate on the border is changing.
For the first time in a long time, at least in my memory, the Mexican government has committed federal police and troops to certain areas in that region to help stem the violence, and I think a natural progression from that is to keep many of them along the border to help us preserve the integrity of our borders. I mean, for the longest time, they kind of looked the other way.
While “a little help from our friends” would be nice, Ridge says that addresses only part of the overall problem.
I do think, and I know this is very controversial, but until we develop a system whereby people who live south of us, Mexico and Central America, come back and forth across the border lawfully to take some of these jobs, to be employed in America, we’re going to continue to have this problem.
In terms of a practical example of a system that’s working, Ridge points to the Registered Traveller program. “People flying commercially,” says Ridge, “generally feel a lot better than they did pre-9/11.”
That’s not to say the system can’t be improved.
I would like to think that one of these days we’d have some kind of program where people can pre-register and you could keep your shoes on, your computer in your case, and keep your coat on. Maybe that’s wishful thinking but at some point in time, I’d like be able to think that America could accept just a minimum level of risk, it’s all about risk-management, and that way the TSA screeners could concentrate on the people they know nothing about and the baggage that belong to those people.
Railroads (are a) slightly different situation. There you need different kinds of security. Think more surveillance. You’re never going to develop a security protocol for railroads quite the same as airlines, but, again, I think more personnel and a little more technology would assist our railroads as well.
Ridge says since the system would be voluntary, concerns about privacy are lessened, and lines would be shorter for everyone.
Again, it’s all about risk-management. The question becomes: would you get on an airplane where every passenger has been vetted and voluntarily released information about themselves and they’ve had their iris scanned or fingerprints to verify who they are and check it against a database… I mean, again, you can’t guarantee 100%, but if you had a third party doing that, and you say to yourself you still have to go through whatever technology we have. You keep the shoes on, you keep your coats on… We’re still a ways away from it, but I like to think that one of these days we’ll get there.
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On the Web:
Ridge Global – Tom Ridge bio
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