Does there need to be some public education program for preparing for a disaster?
Chertoff: The basics of preparedness, having a plan, should be the kind of thing we teach in school, in the same way that you were taught in fire drills to stop, drop, and roll. Everybody should have those basics down. I think Katrina shook people up. A lot of messaging and a lot of education, particularly at the local level, is the key. NJ: What’s the most underrated threat right now? Chertoff: We put a lot of resources into nuclear, radiological, biological countermeasures. That doesn’t get a lot of media attention, because the media tend to focus on plots that have already occurred — aviation, rail. The problem is, the return on investments may never be visible. Maybe terrorists will never get their hands on a nuclear bomb. But if they did, the consequence of not being ready would be catastrophic. NJ: What’s a criticism you most often hear about the department, and how do you respond? Chertoff: A typical criticism is contract management. Part of that is we get inconsistent signals.
