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The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to replace its widely pilloried color-coded warning system for terrorism threats in favor of more targeted alerts to the public, a senior lawmaker said Wednesday. The five-level system of colors and matching threat levels was adopted months after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, when critics said government warnings were insufficient. But over the years, it also has been repeatedly panned as being ineffective. "It sounds to me like the changes they are proposing make sense. We will have to wait and see how they implement this new, more targeted system," said Peter King, Republican chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers were briefed about the new system Wednesday. "The old color-coded system taught Americans to be scared, not prepared," said Bennie Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. "I applaud the secretary for her decision to create a common sense approach to alerting the public when credible threats arise," he said. Comedians have had a field day mocking the system as a poor way to alert people about serious issues such as terrorism, so much so that it is widely viewed as irrelevant. The system runs from green (low) to red (severe). Currently, it is set at orange (high) for the aviation system. Reuters |
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