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U.S. Homeland Security Chief Sworn In After Announcing Review of Department’s Structure, Policies By Joe Fiorill WASHINGTON — Ex-judge Michael Chertoff was sworn in here today as the second secretary of the U.S. Homeland Security Department, telling an audience of emergency responders and federal officials that defending the country against terrorism “has become the challenge and the calling of our generation” (see GSN, Feb. 16). The former federal judge and Justice Department Criminal Division chief struck a tone of continuity between predecessor Tom Ridge’s tenure and his own time atop the department. Ridge and his advisers did “a superb job,” Chertoff said. “My new leadership team and I will be standing on their shoulders and building on what they have accomplished,” he said. On the eve of the ceremony, however, Chertoff yesterday announced a “comprehensive review of the department’s organization, operations and policies.” “The terrorists who seek to attack us are not ready to concede defeat,” Chertoff said in testimony on the fiscal 2006 budget before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee. “Rather, they appear determined to adapt their methods to create new threats to our homeland. In order to meet this evolving threat, we must be willing and eager to think anew as well.” Homeland Security must “think creatively” about future terrorist attacks, Chertoff told the subcommittee. He stressed the importance of using “analysis of threats and risks” to “drive the structure, operations, policies and missions of the department” — an agency that has frequently been accused of acting, and particularly of spending, in a disorganized and haphazard fashion. “We will analyze the threats and define our mission holistically and exhaustively, then seek to adapt the department to meet those threats and execute that mission,” Chertoff told the subcommittee. “We need to look at the entirety of the threat picture when calculating risk and implementing protections. … Our philosophy, our decision-making, our operational activities, and our spending must be grounded in risk management.” President George W. Bush introduced Chertoff at today’s ceremony, calling him an “able successor” to Ridge. “All of you in the department and the members of the Congress can be proud of the accomplishments and the progress that we have made” under Ridge, Bush said. Bush broadly outlined an agenda for the department that included further integration of its component agencies; more work to reduce the country’s vulnerabilities and to prepare for responding to attacks; faster development of “21st century” vaccines and treatments against the effects of chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons; more cooperation with state and local officials; and a general continuation of “our historic investment in homeland security.” “Mike’s the right person to lead this department in this vital work,” Bush said. Bush also cited reports that terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden may have instructed al-Qaeda’s leading operative in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to plan attacks in the United States (see GSN, March 1). “Mike Chertoff knows we cannot afford to become complacent,” the president said.
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