Homeland Security Advisory System

In the United States, the Homeland Security Advisory System is a color-coded terrorism threat advisory scale. The different levels trigger specific actions by federal agencies and state and local governments, and they affect the level of security at some airports and other public facilities.

History

The system was created by Presidential Directive six months after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, to provide a "comprehensive and effective means to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts to Federal, State, and local authorities and to the American people." It was unveiled March 12, 2002, by Tom Ridge, then the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, but responsibility for developing, implementing and managing the system was given to the U.S. Attorney General.

In January 2003, the new Department of Homeland Security began administering the system. The decision to publicly announce threat conditions is made by the Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, according to Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5.

Description

The scale consists of five color-coded threat levels, which, at least in theory, reflect the probability of a terrorist attack and its potential gravity.

Severe (red): severe risk
High (orange): high risk
Elevated (yellow) significant risk
Guarded (blue): general risk
Low (green): low risk

The specific government actions triggered by different threat levels are not always revealed to the public, although the government does provide general guidance for civilians and federal agencies. Typical actions include increasing police and other security presence at landmarks and other high-profile targets, more closely monitoring international borders and other points of entry, ensuring that emergency response personnel are ready, and, in some cases, deploying members of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement on security details.

Some actions, such as systematic forced searches of automobiles without probable cause near airports, are questionable under the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment. No court has yet ruled on a specific search triggered by this threat advisory system.

The published terror alert notices have urged American citizens, especially those traveling in the transportation systems, to be vigilant, take notice of their surroundings, and report suspicions items or activities to local authorities immediately. In addition, people have been warned to prepare an emergency preparedness kit and a family emergency plan.

Criticism of the system

There is no published criteria for the threat levels, and thus no independent way to tell whether the current threat level is accurate. The evidence cited to justify changes in threat levels has been stated vaguely (see below) and its sources have seldom been revealed. This makes the system vulnerable to manipulation by government officials. These attributes have been criticized by cartoonists, journalists, entertainers, civil libertarians, and security experts.

The alert level was raised once in 2004, an election year, leading some critics to speculate that the Bush Administration used them for political rather than strictly security reasons.

In December 2004, the Homeland Security Advisory Council voted to review the color-coded system. One panel member suggested that it has outlived its usefulness. In a public forum, Ridge conceded the system had invited "questions and even occasional derision." Ridge also said that he had not always agreed when others pushed to raise the threat level. "Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment," Ridge said. "Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on ^*. ... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?'"

Observers have also pointed out that the colors are out of correct sequence, as green is between yellow and blue in the spectrum of visible light.

Comedian David Cross suggested on his 2004 CD, It's Not Funny that rather than a legitimate means of alerting Americans about risks, the Terror Advisory system is instead a means of diverting the attention of the public from questionable acts from their elected leaders, as he refers to the hypothetical situation of the terror alert being "juiced" up to red after the President "eats a baby." He also references several controversial political events that occurred around the times that the terror alert level has been elevated since its inception.

Threat level changes

Although the system in theory consists of five levels, the threat level has never been lowered to blue or green, nor elevated to red. The threat level has stood at yellow for most of its existence. In New York City it has stayed at orange since the start of the system, and is intended to remain so.

On a blanket, nationwide level, it has been raised to orange five times:

September 10 - September 24, 2002, around the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001.
February 7 - February 27, 2003, near the end of the Muslim religious holiday Hajj. Intelligence reports suggested the possibility of terrorist attacks against "apartment buildings, hotels, and other soft or lightly secured targets."
March 17 - April 16, 2003, around the beginning of U.S. and Coalition military action in Iraq.
May 20 - May 30, 2003, "The U.S. Intelligence Community believes that Al Qaeda has entered an operational period worldwide, and this may include terrorist attacks in the United States." - Tom Ridge
December 21, 2003 - January 9, 2004, citing intelligence information suggesting large-scale attacks around the holiday season.

In addition, the alert has been raised to orange on a select or partial basis twice:

August 1 - November 10, 2004, for specific financial institutions in northern New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C., citing intelligence pointing to the possibility of a car or truck bomb attack, naming specific buildings as possible targets.
July 7, 2005 - August 12, 2005, for mass transit systems only. The DHS secretary announced the level after the 7 July 2005 London bombings despite the absence of "specific, credible information suggesting imminent attack" in the United States.

Other official terrorism warnings issued without raising the threat level above yellow:

May 28, 2004, citing "credible evidence" of terrorist intent to affect upcoming elections.
July 8, 2004, again citing "credible evidence" of terrorist intent to affect upcoming elections.

References

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