The U.S. Homeland Security Department has created new, tougher guidelines for raising the color-coded terrorism alert level, the New York Times reported Saturday (see GSN, Aug. 19).

The alert level, which currently stands at yellow or “elevated” risk, will now only be raised if there is credible and detailed intelligence of an imminent terrorist attack within the United States, officials said.  The new guidelines represent a belief that the United States is now better prepared to respond to terrorism threats, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Friday.

“The fact is that our level of security at yellow today is better than it was a year ago, and our level of security at yellow will be better a year from now.  So the threshold to go from yellow to orange will be higher.  That does make a difference,” Ridge said.

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who has often criticized the terrorism alert system, welcomed the new guidelines, according to the Times.

“Any changes DHS makes to its Crayola-colored threat system should be an improvement over the current one,” Lautenberg said.  “The system has caused financial hardships, fear, panic and confusion among Americans,” he said (Philip Shenon, New York Times, Sept. 13).

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