Protect the right turf

Until precisely one month ago, Tom Ridge never imagined he would not today still be governor of Pennsylvania. That he now has a job that did not even exist one month ago – director of the Office of Homeland Security – is but one example of how much has changed since Sept. 11.

Mr. Ridge was sworn in for this difficult new Cabinet-level position Monday. As a measure of just how difficult, consider one of the first statements this newest member of the administration felt compelled to make: “The only turf we should be worried about protecting is the turf we stand on.”

This was in reference to the intra-governmental squabbles and naysaying that broke out immediately after President Bush announced Mr. Ridge’s appointment in his post-Sept. 11 address to the nation and that have continued unabated ever since. The nattering seems to consist of two basic points: the task of coordinating the efforts now spread out over some 46 agencies to gather intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks, to enhance protection of the borders and of likely terrorist targets, and to respond immediately in the event of another attack is simply too big for any one person; and giving an outsider control over how an agency develops and uses its budget simply isn’t done in Washington.

But these natterers miss the most basic point: Creating this position and naming his longtime friend and trusted advisor to fill it was the first policy act Mr. Bush committed after the attacks. Whether Mr. Ridge is a full-fledged Cabinet member or the holder of a Cabinet-level position, whether the 46 agencies like his intrusion into their affairs and whether the fully understands every detail of their inner workings are irrelevancies. The capable Mr. Ridge has the full backing of the president and, with a West Wing office just a few doors down from the Oval Office, he has the president’s ear.

The responsibilities Mr. Ridge takes on are challenging enough without him a having to battle every bureaucrat with a job description to protect. The priorities he must set for enhanced security will make for some tough decisions. Every domestic asset – airports, train stations, bus terminals, power plants, dams, office towers, shopping malls, water systems, schools, hospitals, the list goes on – deserves protection, yet the number of potential targets is simply too enormous for any umbrella. In the event of another, more widespread, attack, the decisions he will have to make on the deployment of rescue and relief resources will be wrenching.

To a degree second only to that of the president, the call for the many sacrifices large and small, the inconveniences and alterations of routine Americans must make in the months and years ahead will come from the Office of Homeland Security. When Mr. Ridge said, “The task before us is difficult, but not impossible,” he was talking about defeating terrorism, not about forcing”

46 federal agencies to cooperate.