The Bush administration sounds alarm bells, playing on deep-rooted fears of terrorism. Anayat Durrani reports from Washington As America remains orange, the Bush administration has sought to calm fears while at the same time preparing Americans for a possible terrorist attack. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge urged Americans never to surrender to fear, "because fear is the terrorists' most effective weapon", he said in a nationally televised address to the American Red Cross chapter in Cincinnati. With those words Ridge launched his "Ready Campaign" which shows Americans how to prepare for a possible terrorist attack. Ridge said that although an attack cannot always be predicted, people can always be prepared. "The threat of terrorism forces us to make a choice: we can be afraid, or we can be ready," Ridge said. "And today America's families declare that we will not be afraid and we will be ready." The secretary recommended three main steps for families to take: prepare an emergency kit, make a communications plan and always be informed. Suggested items for an emergency kit would include three days' worth of non-perishable food and water, flashlights, a battery-powered radio, extra batteries, a first aid kit and medication. Ridge also advised purchasing duct tape and plastic sheeting to seal off rooms in the event of an attack using biological or chemical weapons. "Experts tell us that a safe room inside your house or inside your apartment can help protect you from airborne contaminants for several hours, and that could be enough time for that chemical agent to be blown away." He also said it was important for families, workplaces, schools and communities to have an emergency communications plan, and it was vital that all members know how to get in touch with each other. Families should remain informed at all times so they know how to react in various situations. Different types of attacks require different reactions, he said. He recommended visiting the Homeland Security Department's new Web site at www.ready.gov, or calling 1-800-BEREADY for more information on how best to respond in emergencies. "Whatever the threat level may be on any given day, every family and every citizen will know that they have done their job if they take the time to be prepared," Ridge said. On 7 February Ridge announced that the terrorism threat level had been raised from elevated to high risk -- the second-highest level -- as a result of intelligence information suggesting the possibility of an attack by Al- Qa'eda against the United States. The orange alert originally created a lot of anxiety among many citizens causing them to rush out to their local hardware stores to purchase supplies for their emergency kits. With the launching of the Ready Campaign, Ridge said he wanted Americans to be alert and prepared, saying "a nation of citizens who refuse to panic, well, that's a terrorist's greatest fear". In a recent weekly radio address, President George Bush told Americans to go about their lives as normal and assured them that the government has responded to the threat of terror at every level. Bush called the orange alert "primarily a signal to federal, state and local law enforcement to take additional precautions and increase security measures against potential terrorist attacks". Bush added that raising the threat level up a notch also served to inform Americans, "to be more alert to their surroundings and prepared for possible emergencies in the event of an attack". The president said the new Department of Homeland Security had issued strategic plans to direct local officials in securing the country's dams and power plants, electrical goods, computer networks and communications systems. Efforts to guard the homeland include tighter security at the borders and ports of entry, and the addition of more than 50,000 newly trained federal screeners at airports. "The [Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency], Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defence are working together as never before to assemble and analyse the threat information so we can act before our enemies can strike us," he said. Bush said joint terrorism task forces have united federal, state and local officials in the fight against terrorism. He noted that the FBI is expanding its terrorist identification system, making it possible for 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies to identify known or suspected terrorists. Bush said he is establishing the nation's first early warning network of sensors to detect a biological attack. He is also asking Congress to spend close to $6 billion to make available effective vaccines and treatments against smallpox, anthrax, botulinum toxin, ebola and the plague. "Our nation is preparing for a variety of threats we hope never will arrive," he said. "Many of these dangers are unfamiliar and unsettling. Yet the best way to fight these dangers is to anticipate them, and act against them with focus and determination." For now it appears the terror alert will remain at "orange". Federal officials raised it to orange because intelligence revealed increased "chatter" that suggested the increased likelihood of a terrorist attack. According to reports, the government later determined that some of the information which originally led to raising the terror alert to high risk was, in all likelihood, fabricated. This was determined by following polygraph tests given to terrorist suspects by the government. Ridge said it is likely the orange terror alert would be lowered but did not specify when this would happen. The five level alert system was created following the 11 September attacks. Since its creation the system has remained mainly at the yellow or elevated level. It was raised last April and again for two weeks at the time of the 11 September anniversary. Red is the highest level on the colour-coded, five-level alert system.
