First we have the news of president Bush's considerations of nuclear attacks against rouge states, then we have vice-president Dick Cheney's trip in the Middle East to enrol the local rulers in sustaining an American attack against Iraq, and now we have the homeland security advisory system which by the display of a coded colour will provide the public with 'a clearer sense of the nation's risk of a terrorist attack'.

This system seems to be more efficient than the announcement of periodic terrorist attacks by Radio, TV or the Internet. In fact, the homeland security advisory system will look like a traffic light stationed at the White House. President George Bush along with his advisor Condoleeza Rice will remotely push the right button to display the right colour and provide at the right time the risk for an expected terrorist attack.

The system has five levels: green denotes an expected low risk of terrorist attacks; blue a general risk; yellow for a significant risk; orange for a high risk; and red for a severe risk. The only draw back of the homeland security advisory system is that the right colour will not display in case of a blackout due to a terrorist attack.

Reference:
Ridge: Nation at Third Level of Five-Stage Alert System, by Bill Miller, Washington Post Staff Writer, March 12, 2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12745-2002Mar12.html