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Was Ridge Pressed to Raise Threat Level?

By DEB RIECHMANN and EILEEN SULLIVAN

posted: 6 HOURS 21 MINUTES AGO

comments: 1424

filed under: National News

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WASHINGTON (Aug. 21) -- Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says pressure from fellow Cabinet members to raise the nation's terror alert level just before the 2004 presidential election helped convince him it was time to quit working for President George W. Bush.

In a new book, Ridge says that despite the urgings of former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft he objected to raising the security level, according to a publicity release from the book's publisher.

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Ron Edmonds, AP

Former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge wrote that just before the 2004 presidential election, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft urged him to raise the terrorism alert level. The level wasn't raised.

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In the end the alert level was not changed.

Bush's former homeland security adviser, Frances Townsend, said Thursday that politics never played a role in determining alert levels.

Two tapes were released by al-Qaida in the weeks leading up to the election — one by terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the other by a man calling himself "Azzam the American." Terrorism experts suspected that "Azzam the American" was Adam Gadahn, a 26-year-old Californian whom the FBI had been urgently seeking.

Townsend said the videotapes contained "very graphic" and "threatening" messages.

Townsend said that anytime there was a discussion of changing the alert level, she first spoke with Ridge and then, if necessary, called a meeting of the homeland security council comprising the secretaries of defense and homeland security, the attorney general and CIA and FBI directors. The group then made a recommendation to the president about whether the color-coded threat level should be raised.

"Never were politics ever discussed in this context in my presence," she said.

Asked if there was any reason for Ridge to have felt pressured, Townsend said: "He was certainly not pressured. And, by the way, he didn't object when it was raised and he certainly didn't object when it wasn't raised."

Ridge's publicist, Joe Rinaldi, said Ridge was out of town and was not doing interviews until his book, "The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege ... and How We Can Be Safe Again," is released on Sept. 1.

In 2004, Ridge explained why he didn't feel the alert should be raised. "We don't have to go to (code level) orange to take action in response either to these tapes or just general action to improve security around the country," he said then.

In 2005, months after he resigned, Ridge said his agency has been the most reluctant to raise the alert level. "There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?'" he said during a panel discussion in May 2005. But his book appears to be the first time he publicly attributes some of the pressure to politics.

The Homeland Security Department, which Ridge was the first person to lead, faced criticism in 2004 from Democrats who alleged that raising the alert level was designed to boost support for the Bush administration during an election year.

Ridge, who resigned on Nov. 30, 2004, said the episode convinced him to follow through with his plans to leave the Bush administration.

A former Republican congressman and governor of Pennsylvania, Ridge was widely named as a potential running mate to John McCain in 2008 before the GOP candidate chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2009-08-21 06:26:29

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Cecil Joy

03:19 PMAug 21 2009

Jradio22man03:14 PMAug 21 2009Cecil Joy===Ooooops you forgot Tucker FAG Carlson,Dennis ( NOT FUNNY) Miller and Huckleberry>>>>>>>>>>>>>You're right. Dennis Miller bombed on Monday Night Football. The only one who laughs at Miller's shtick are the people who listen to FOX and his mother.

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kickdadoordown

03:19 PMAug 21 2009

JUSTBEDS01 03:14 PMAug 21 2009 glenn beck....the way he acts ...is the way alot of people in this country feel right now...........-------------------------------------------------------bec k acts like a damn ignorant jackass...so what exactly are you saying...

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GOPDAMAGE

03:19 PMAug 21 2009

This proves that Fox News is ANTI-AMERICAN.. Yes. Tom Ridge was a Pimp for the Bush Administration.

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Jradio22man

03:19 PMAug 21 2009

Bbrockp====HEY BONEHEAD Its NOT our fault you lost your job.May i suggest you go back and get your GED because you will have a better chance of landing a real job and not have to compete with the illegals

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GFRATI8

03:19 PMAug 21 2009

JUSTBEDS01 03:14 PMAug 21 2009 glenn beck....the way he acts ...is the way alot of people in this country feel right now...........==============ACTUALLY A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE DISSAPPOINTED WITH OBAMA FOR NOT HOLDING TO WHAT HE RAN ON..................IT TAKES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO SCREAM AT HIM TO PUSH THROUGH HEALTH CARE REFORM WHICH HE IS ABOUT TO DO..........ON THE OTHER HAND BUSH LAUGHED AS HIS NUMBERS DROPPED CALLING YOU PEOPLE IDIOTS FOR VOTING HIM INTO OFFICE A SECOND TIME

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Hugh Jassol III

03:19 PMAug 21 2009

Jradio22man 03:15 PMAug 21 2009 I bet they fire Beck and put Palin in his slot.YOU BETCHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then that would be three don't-miss comedies: Stewart, Colbert and the Alaskan Airhead! Hahahahaha (wink wink).

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APLUSIMAGING

03:18 PMAug 21 2009

JUSBEDS; THE WAY BECK ACTS IS THE WAY WE FEEL??? DO YOU MEAN SCHIZOPHRENIC????

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HoustonFirstSBC

03:17 PMAug 21 2009

Hey fool Bbrockp you already pay for the people without Insurance thru your Premiums; the ER visits by Illegals and Homeless as well poor is added into your Premium, so thank you for taking care of those who you love to hate!--------Bbrockp 03:11 PMAug 21 2009 If you want me to pay for your healthcare: BITE ME. I have insurance.

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KarmaCzar1

03:17 PMAug 21 2009

JUSTBEDS said....glenn beck....the way he acts ...is the way alot of people in this country feel right now...........===============Just the Crazy, Whacko, Lunatic Right-wing that are losing their minds along with their power....

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GFRATI8

03:17 PMAug 21 2009

Jradio22man 03:15 PMAug 21 2009 I bet they fire Beck and put Palin in his slot.YOU BETCHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!===========I BETCHA SHE GETS THE PEOPLE AROUND HER TO HOLD HANDS SO SHE CAN PRAY AWAY THE GAY ON TV HOPING TO BAND BOOKS

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