One more relic of the Bush administration may be about to go by the wayside. The Department of Homeland Security is giving very serious thought to scrapping the color-coded terror alert system.
"The goal is to replace a system that communicates nothing with a system that communicates precise, actionable information based on the latest intelligence to law enforcement, the private sector and the American public," a senior homeland security official said.
The threat level has been stuck at yellow (elevated) since 2006--even after TWO attempted bombings. Pretty telling how far it's fallen out of the national consciousness.
The possible replacement? A new system that will be based around two broad categories--"elevated" and "imminent." Whenever an "imminent" threat is detected, any alerts will be accompanied by specific information on the threat. Contrast that to the nebulous statements that accompanied instances when the threat level got jacked up to orange.
The alerts will likely also involve a good deal of interagency coordination.
"It could come in the form of a DHS-FBI bulletin to local law enforcement; a briefing to cargo carriers" or a statement from public officials "to residents of a particular metropolitan area," a Homeland Security official said.
Hmmm--so nobody in the Bush administration figured out this would be a good idea?