WASHINGTON, July 2, 2007
Homeland Security Chief: "We Are Safe"
Terror Level Orange At Airports; U.S. Homeland Security Chief Warns Nation Must Remain Vigilant
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Play CBS Video Video Chertoff On U.S. Security Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff speaks with Harry Smith about security measures being taken in the U.S. following terrorist threats in the U.K.
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U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Monday: "I think we've been saying for some period of time that we need to be looking not only at homegrown terrorism, but that international terrorism might come to the United States through Europe." (AP Photo/Don Heupel)
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Interactive America On Guard The Homeland Security Department, the terror alert system, preparedness quiz and more.
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Photo Essay London Bomb Scare Police thwart apparent terror attack, defusing car bomb in heart of city.
"We are safe, but we are safe because we continue to pay attention and we continue to add security measures," Chertoff told CBS's The Early Show.
The homeland security chief noted that it appears no suicide bombers were involved in the incidents over the past several days in Great Britain and said that sends the message that would-be terrorists have a wide variety of ways to attack.
"If you look back at all the plots, you've seen a wide variety of techniques," he said. But Chertoff said authorities in the United States must prepare for a wide variety of threats, even though the suicide attacks often are the most spectacular.
He also said the country needs to be especially vigilant about how and under what circumstances the threat increases.
"I think we've been saying for some period of time that we need to be looking not only at homegrown terrorism, but that international terrorism might come to the United States through Europe," Chertoff said.
The United States' terrorism alert for airports is at orange, the second highest level, and yellow, the midlevel stage of the alert status, for the rest of the country as a whole. Red is the highest alert level.
Chertoff said the decision was made to leave the terror alert where it is for now, "based on what we've seen so far."
At the nation's airports, security measures have been increased, with more attention paid to vehicles inside the airport and more U.S. Sky Marshals placed aboard international flights, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity while the investigations were ongoing, said Sunday that American authorities were running the names of the suspects in Britain through their databases to look for links to the United States.
Those checks would include watch lists such as the no-fly list; any clue that the suspects had shared an address with people in the U.S.; intelligence indicating the suspects made calls into the U.S.; and other similar types of investigative work.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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- Safe?! Fire Michael Chertoff for not following his departments own rules. That color-coded threat chart says the we will be safe at the "Green" terror level, not "Orange".
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- Censoring is wrong and the constution is the regs that we live by. So you say we are safe. No cos it is a nanny nation so under Bush and his leaders we are not as he wants to run everything.
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- NOT UNDER BUSH. We have a right to have our say and that does not mear censorship.What happened to a free press which Mr.Franklin set up ,
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- NOT UNDER BUSH.
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The terrorist that we must most concern ourselves with in this article, is U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.- Reply to this comment
- Hey chertoff...I'm interested in knowing why you won't acknowledge your israeli citizenship???? Are we safer because israel says so? Is that it mr. dual American/israeli citizenship? *** is the deal with the American government having it's collective nose so far up israels A *SS?????
BTW...you look like Boris Badinoff from Rocky & Bullwinkle show...only you are much creepier... - Reply to this comment
- ***Chertoff*** ***looks*** ***like*** ***a*** ***zombie***. ***He*** ***reminds*** ***me*** ***of*** ***the*** ***guy*** ***on*** ***that*** ***old*** ***horror*** ***film*** ***with*** ***the*** ***flying*** ***ball*** ***that*** ***has*** ***an*** ***internal*** ***drill***.
- Reply to this comment
Unless I'm wrong, Aren't these the same people that said everything in New Orleans was under control a year or so ago during hurricane season?
I'm just overflowing with confidence.- Reply to this comment
- Hey chertoff...I'm interested in knowing why you won't acknowledge your israeli citizenship???? Are we safer because israel says so? Is that it mr. dual American/israeli citizenship? *** is the deal with the American government having it's collective nose so far up israels A *SS?????
BTW...you look like Boris Badinoff from Rocky & Bullwinkle show...only you are much creepier... - Reply to this comment
- ***Hey*** ***chertoff***...***I***'***m*** ***interested*** ***in*** ***knowing*** ***why*** ***you*** ***won***'***t*** ***acknowledge*** ***your*** ***israeli*** ***citizenship***???? ***Are*** ***we*** ***safer*** ***because*** ***israel*** ***says*** ***so***? ***Is*** ***that*** ***it*** ***mr***. ***dual*** ***American***/***israeli*** ***citizenship***? ********* ***is*** ***the*** ***deal*** ***with*** ***the*** ***American*** ***government*** ***having*** ***it***'***s*** ***collective*** ***nose*** ***so*** ***far*** ***up*** ***israels*** ***A*** ****SS***?????
***BTW***...***you*** ***look*** ***like*** ***Boris*** ***Badinoff*** ***from*** ***Rocky*** &***amp***; ***Bullwinkle*** ***show***...***only*** ***you*** ***are*** ***much*** ***creepier***... - Reply to this comment
- Chertoff says the US is safe, from an undisclosed location.
- Reply to this comment
- Chertoff says the US is safe, from an undisclosed location.
- Reply to this comment
- Hey chertoff...I'm interested in knowing why you won't acknowledge your israeli citizenship???? Are we safer because israel says so? Is that it mr. dual American/israeli citizenship? *** is the deal with the American government having it's collective nose so far up israels A *SS?????
BTW...you look like Boris Badinoff from Rocky & Bullwinkle show...only you are much creepier... - Reply to this comment
- With the exception of the economic front, I'd agree we're safe. Which is terrific.
But what can we do to better protect our jobs and investments? Other mainstream news sites (such as M**BC)are talking of problems. Why not CBS? - Reply to this comment
- How can he say "We are safe" when we have thousands of miles of open border on either side of the country and millions of people entering the country unchecked and unmonitored on a yearly basis? Sometimes, I think Chertoff is on crack.
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- "We are safe?", Don't Jinx us!
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- No terrorist on earth can ever destroy America and our freedom, but the government sure can.
History's greatest killers agree:
An unarmed victim is an easy victim!
www.a-human-right.com
www.packing.org - Reply to this comment
- This clown is such a jerk. All he's has ever done is make excuses for not doing his job. Like our border fence. And I am sure when we are attacked again he'll say it was someone elses fault.
- Reply to this comment
- Hey chertoff...I'm interested in knowing why you won't acknowledge your israeli citizenship???? Are we safer because israel says so? Is that it mr. dual American/israeli citizenship? *** is the deal with the American government having it's collective nose so far up israels A *SS?????
BTW...you look like Boris Badinoff from Rocky & Bullwinkle show... - Reply to this comment
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