Interview with Chertoff (from July 2006)
Aug 16, 2006, 5:32 pm
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Interview with Chertoff (from July 2006)
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200608u/chertoff-full
Interesting excerpt, especially considering what's going on now:
What are your proudest accomplishments at this stage of the job?
The thing that I thought was most important, and I hope I have achieved to some extent, is an honest and straightforward conversation with the American people that says there's always going to be risk and that, if we really wanted to eliminate risks, we would have to [create] a society so autocratic and encumbered by security that we would have neither our liberty nor our prosperity.
We've got to find a place in the world of homeland security that does allow us to have a free society and does allow us to have prosperity and doesn't just smother us with security. But that means that we have to be honest about the fact that we will be accepting some level of risk if we do that. The extent to which we've incorporated that philosophy into Homeland Security is the thing I'm proudest of.
Interesting excerpt, especially considering what's going on now:
What are your proudest accomplishments at this stage of the job?
The thing that I thought was most important, and I hope I have achieved to some extent, is an honest and straightforward conversation with the American people that says there's always going to be risk and that, if we really wanted to eliminate risks, we would have to [create] a society so autocratic and encumbered by security that we would have neither our liberty nor our prosperity.
We've got to find a place in the world of homeland security that does allow us to have a free society and does allow us to have prosperity and doesn't just smother us with security. But that means that we have to be honest about the fact that we will be accepting some level of risk if we do that. The extent to which we've incorporated that philosophy into Homeland Security is the thing I'm proudest of.
Aug 16, 2006, 5:43 pm
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Originally Posted by bdschobel
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200608u/chertoff-full
Interesting excerpt, especially considering what's going on now:
What are your proudest accomplishments at this stage of the job?
The thing that I thought was most important, and I hope I have achieved to some extent, is an honest and straightforward conversation with the American people that says there's always going to be risk and that, if we really wanted to eliminate risks, we would have to [create] a society so autocratic and encumbered by security that we would have neither our liberty nor our prosperity.
We've got to find a place in the world of homeland security that does allow us to have a free society and does allow us to have prosperity and doesn't just smother us with security. But that means that we have to be honest about the fact that we will be accepting some level of risk if we do that. The extent to which we've incorporated that philosophy into Homeland Security is the thing I'm proudest of.
Interesting excerpt, especially considering what's going on now:
What are your proudest accomplishments at this stage of the job?
The thing that I thought was most important, and I hope I have achieved to some extent, is an honest and straightforward conversation with the American people that says there's always going to be risk and that, if we really wanted to eliminate risks, we would have to [create] a society so autocratic and encumbered by security that we would have neither our liberty nor our prosperity.
We've got to find a place in the world of homeland security that does allow us to have a free society and does allow us to have prosperity and doesn't just smother us with security. But that means that we have to be honest about the fact that we will be accepting some level of risk if we do that. The extent to which we've incorporated that philosophy into Homeland Security is the thing I'm proudest of.
Aug 16, 2006, 5:55 pm
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What he said in July makes perfect sense -- and was expressed eloquently, too. What he did in August is totally insane and contradicts what he said the month before. Strange! 
Bruce
Bruce
Aug 16, 2006, 5:59 pm
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Originally Posted by bdschobel
What he said in July makes perfect sense -- and was expressed eloquently, too. What he did in August is totally insane and contradicts what he said the month before. Strange!
Bruce
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Don't know if you were alluding to my post, Bruce. Maybe I didn't say it right but you did. ^
Aug 16, 2006, 6:35 pm
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Originally Posted by bdschobel
What he said in July makes perfect sense -- and was expressed eloquently, too. What he did in August is totally insane and contradicts what he said the month before. Strange!
Aug 16, 2006, 6:52 pm
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Chertoff's a "loyalist" hardliner who wanted the USA PATRIOT Act before 9-1-1 meant anything under than an emergency services call. Even during his Latham & Watkins days and later in his days as a prosecutor, he was known for playing a standard game: "reluctant, but compelled". A dog and pony show that was too. Chertoff attracted the attention of "allied" countries' foreign intelligence agencies even before his current position.