LEVEL ORANGE
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James Joyner | Tuesday, May 20, 2003 |
Shockingly, we are now back to ORANGE. Question: Am I going to change how I conduct my life one scintilla of an iota? I mean, aside from hiding under my desk covered in plastic wrap while holding a roll of duct tape? (Or was that Level Yellow? I can never keep that straight.)
Update: I have now familiarized myself with the DHS Scaredy Cat Decoder and have not slaked my thirst for insight.
For one thing, they haven’t gotten around to updating their web site:
Following a review of intelligence and an assessment of threats by the intelligence community, the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Homeland Security Council, has made the decision to lower the threat advisory level to an elevated risk of terrorist attack, or “yellow level.”
Maybe they don’t update except when it’s Level RED? Or, perhaps, they stop updating after it gets to YELLOW because they’re too busy protecting us.
Also, they inform me that:
The world has changed since September 11, 2001. We remain a nation at risk to terrorist attacks and will remain at risk for the foreseeable future.
Actually, I don’t think the world has changed a lick since 9/11, but certainly our perception of it has.
Regardless, a useful insight follows:
At all Threat Conditions, we must remain vigilant, prepared, and ready to deter terrorist attacks. The following Threat Conditions each represent an increasing risk of terrorist attacks. Beneath each Threat Condition are some suggested Protective Measures, recognizing that the heads of Federal departments and agencies are responsible for developing and implementing appropriate agency-specific Protective Measures. . .
So, I’m supposed to be not only vigilant, but also prepared and ready. I need to acquaint myself with the nuances in those terms, as they all mean the same thing to me.
At any rate, if you look at the detailed list, you’ll see that we as citizens actually don’t have anything to do based on changing rainbow colors. It’s just the various government agencies that have to vary their levels of vigilance, preparation, and readiness.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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I know run all my students through a metal detector before entering class.
Crud! You beat me by eight minutes! Of course, I suspect that two young children didn't come jump in your lap whilst you were trying to post.
You are correct, sir.
Although, if memory serves me correctly, kids recently coming out of surgery aren't supposed to do any lap-leaping, especially during increased levels of terrorist alert.
{spelling maven voice}
Shouldn't that be "scarEdy" cat decoder?
{/spelling maven voice}
Could be. I was going to add an E some place but couldn't decide where. Not sure there's even such a word.
Not actually a dictionary word, but a school-yard insult of some use IIRC. But the spelling that you had earlier would have more likely been pronounced with a soft "a", like Scar -dee Cat.
Thanks for the info. I was beginning to wonder how much more Vigilant, Prepared and Ready I could get. I think I'm about ready to consign "The World Has Changed Since 9/11" to the cliche bin as well. It's kind of like "Things will never be the same as they were before 9/11." Oh, yeah. people would be surprised how much things are *exactly* the same as they were before 9/11.
Of course, one must mention that NOWHERE to be found is any mention of those departments having any competence.
"Actually, I don't think the world has changed a lick since 9/11, but certainly our perception of it has. "
Spot on!
Also, what MommaBear said, with the caveat that the agencies that may not be competent include our beloved agency of "Homeland Security".
(We should have gone orange days ago, IMAO.)
Is it just me, or should we be that worried about
an organization, that is at best doing 1995 level
stunts (against poorly secured targets): By that
I mean, the attack against another Saudi National
Guard/Vinnell facility, not Khalid & Ramzi's dozen airliner plot out of Manila.The Casablanca
& Riyadh bombings, notwitstanding; (What is the
point of our outposts in Jiddah & Riyadh; they
don't gather intelligence, and until recently
they were providing Visa Express for the next
crop of sleeper cells
Narciso,
I think that our government should indeed be worried, since the aforementioned stunts are killing lots of people. I just don't think the population as a whole should worry because
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