Tom Ridge Threat Quotations

We'll want them to pull in all that information and sort it out between rumor and suspicion and fact and speculation and misinformation and do an assessment, do an analysis and then communicate it -- if it's a real threat -- communicate that to state and local governments,

We could go back over the past two years and pick out threat reports of pretty much the same substance,

Today the United States government raised the national threat level.

We are confident they are taking this threat seriously,

The tapes are new, the threat is not,

compared to previous threat reporting, these intelligence reports have provided a level of detail that is very specific.

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.

For every level of threat there will be a level of preparedness, ... It is a system that is equal to the threat.

In the meantime, as on the other occasions when the national threat level has been increased, we encourage members of the public to continue their daily work, family and leisure activities with a heightened awareness,