Tom Ridge Based Quotations

We're going to have an entry-exit system based on a machine-readable passport, so we'll be able to verify and validate they are who they claim to be,

We think, based on the initiatives that we've announced today, that we can absorb that cost.

Our goal is to deter any potential attack with multiple layers of security and, based on what I have seen and heard, I can tell you that the security plans and arrangements and commitment of federal, state and local officials is very, very strong,

Terrorists are strategic actors, ... They choose their targets deliberately, and they choose them based on the weaknesses they observe in our defenses and in our preparations. They use speed and surprise to terrorize.

The quality of this intelligence, based on multiple reporting streams in multiple locations, is rarely seen and is alarming in both the amount and specificity of the information,

Your characterization of it as being a significantly different threat environment, based on what we historically have heard, is absolutely correct, ... So there certainly is a diminution, reduction in the amount of intelligence, and the decibel level is lower.