"There is broad consensus that the (federal alert) system just isn't effective," Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske says. '"It isn't working."
Some officials, questioning the value of the federal alerts, are designing their own regional warning systems that kick into gear only when there is a specific threat to their area.
"When the federal government put (its alert) system together, they did it in a hurry,'' Phoenix Police Chief Hurtt says. ''I agreed with what they did in the beginning. But we need . . . to be able to determine what level (of) threat we are confronting. We don't want the system to lose credibility with the public. You could bankrupt the country if we do nothing but depend on direction based on terrorist chatter.'"
Who was it who said the Republicans were better on homeland security?