The Department of Homeland Security is junking its color-code terrorism threat alert system after eight years of mockery.
The system, put in place by the Bush White House a few months after the 9/11 attacks, ranged from a safe green to “severe” red warning of imminent attack — but was largely scrapped years ago for confusing the public.
“The goal is to replace a system that communicates nothing with a partnership approach with law enforcement, the private sector and the American public that provides specific, actionable information based on the latest intelligence,” said a senior Homeland Security Department official.
DHS and its Transportation Security Administration have been reeling in controversy since airport screeners began intrusive physical patdowns after Al Qaeda’s Yemen group almost blew up two U.S.-bound cargo planes last month with bombs disguised as printer toner cartridges.
The DHS color code – which has been at an Orange “elevated” risk of attack for the aviation sector for years – has not been raised or lowered while the agencies dealt with threats since last X-Mas Day’s near-destruction of a flight over Detroit by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula underwear bomber Farouk Abdulmutallab.
The threat code was raised to Red only once for two days in August 2006 – though only for air travel between the U.S. and U.K. after a liquid explosives plot to take down a dozen trans-Atlantic flights was foiled – and never dropped below a yellow “elevated” threat level.
The last national Orange Alert was just before the 2004 presidential election, when detailed Al Qaeda casing reports of New York City and Washington financial sector targets were found on a laptop during a raid in Pakistan.
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