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, HSO Contributor
The Test of Our Times
By Tom Ridge with Larry Bloom
Shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, President George Bush created the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) and asked Tom Ridge, then the Governor of Pennsylvania, to be the director. Ridge accepted the position; this book is his personal history of that time, from the inception of the department until he resigned from the post after the presidential election in 2004. Those looking for a tell-all expose will come away disappointed. While Ridge has plenty to say about the creation of the department and the difficulties of administration, he remains, mostly, loyal to his party, those who worked for him, and George Bush. The account is not without interest, however, but a more objective analysis of this particular era will have to await a completely unbiased observer.
Ridge was a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, after which he returned to Pennsylvania, became a lawyer, served as an Assistant District Attorney, and was elected to six terms in the House of Representatives. He then ran for Governor of Pennsylvania as a pro-choice candidate, won election in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998. He states that he loved being a governor, but felt that it was his patriotic duty to take the job with Homeland Security when his friend, the President, offered it to him. (For a brief time Ridge had been considered as a Bush Vice-Presidential running mate.) As a political insider, Ridge knew that creation and administration of an entirely new agency would be difficult, especially because of the politics-as-usual attitudes endemic to Washington: turf battles, funding fights, political jockeying, jealousy and back-stabbing. On top of this, he was also going to have to figure out how to battle Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist henchmen.
A few days into his new job, five letters containing refined Anthrax powder were put into the US mail. When the first victims began to die, the administration debated the possible source of the poison. Was it an isolated incident, or the work of Al Qaeda? Was the attack connected to 9/11, or was it a criminal act? It was the first, and one of the most difficult, investigations Ridge and his new department would face during his tenure, one that would not be completely solved until after his resignation. The longer the investigation went on, the more Ridge realized how unprepared our nation was and how difficult it was for federal agencies--the CIA, Department of Defense, CDC, and others--to cooperate with one another and share information. It was this experience, and running into many other potholes and pitfalls, that convinced Ridge and other government officials that the OHS would work far better as a cabinet level department, which was eventually achieved with Ridge as its first Secretary.
Some of the more interesting topics Ridge tackles:
- The Duct Tape fiasco.
- Choosing the colors for the terror alert system. (White was rejected because it wouldn't show up on television, and it was the color of surrender.)
- Passage of the Patriot Act.
- The difficulties of advertising and receiving credit for your successes. Ridge quotes the British scholar Paul Wilkinson: Fighting terrorism is like being a goalkeeper. You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot people remember is the one that gets past you.
- Securing the country's borders.
- Problems with the FBI. It was a constant battle to convince them we weren't the enemy. We had a need to know.
- Problems with the State Department.
- Katrina, though Ridge was no longer with the department when the storm hit.
- The last straw: Bush administration officials trying to get DHS to raise the national threat level shortly before the presidential election. It had been shown that every time the threat level was raised President Bush's approval ratings rose.
Ridge concludes with personal information about his resignation, his life since then, and a number of Homeland Security suggestions for the current administration.
All in all, a nicely written account, easy to read, mildly informative, but with a slightly nostalgic, already dated feel.
The HSO takeaway: Those involved in these early days will read the account with interest. Those more concerned with the present will find that simply thumbing to the back of the book and perusing Ridge's suggestions for the future should suffice.
Allen Appel is a book and media reviewer who lives and works in Washington, DC. He specializes in reviewing thriller fiction and homeland security and terrorism issues. See his literary book blog at The Thriller Guy.
State of Play
Directed by Kevin Macdonald, Universal Studios*
Reviewed by Rick Mele
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