When our nation called, Tom Ridge answered. Appointed by the
President to head up domestic security, Ridge established
the Department of Homeland Security. In this probing and
surefooted memoir, Ridge takes us through the challenges he
and his new department faced, including Anthrax scares and
reports (both real and false alarms) of new Al-Qaeda
operations sprouting up in the United States.
A “law
and order” Republican who was on the shortlist to be John
McCain’s running mate in 2008, Ridge writes with refreshing
candor on both the successes and missteps of the DHS.
He details the obstacles faced in his new post—often
within the administration itself—as well as the failures of
Congress to provide for critical homeland security needs,
and the irresponsible use of terrorism by both parties to
curry favors with voters. Ridge also reveals:
• How
the DHS was pressured to connect homeland
security to the international “war on terror”
• How
Ridge effectively thwarted a plan to raise the
national security alert just before the 2004
Election
• How Ridge had pushed for a plan (defeated
because of turf wars) to integrate DHS and FEMA disaster
management in New Orleans and other areas before
Hurricane Katrina
Finally, Ridge offers
a prescriptive look to the future, advocating ways that
America may reaffirm its safety—including his provocative
support for a national ID card program and for comprehensive
immigration reform—without sacrificing personal liberty.
Television captures every word and
every expression. I was reasonable to think that our enemies
would look for any sign of weakness in the person who in a
few days would be responsible for protecting America against
them. At that moment, I experienced a royal flush of
emotion—after all, I was leaving the state I loved, a loyal
staff, many friendships developed over a lifetime, the
frustration of work unfinished, to head into the unknown and
the undoable. In normal times, I might have shed a tear at
such thoughts. But I was determined not to do so as I said
my farewell. If I needed any reminding, I glanced down at
the note I had written for counsel.
“The
bastards are watching.”
We can never guarantee
we will be free from another attack. We must also understand
that every day thousands and thousands of our fellow
citizens work here and abroad to take us to a new level of
readiness and security. For in the end, Americans do not
live in fear. We live in freedom. And we will let no one
take that freedom away.
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