The 'Ready Campaign'
By Wolf Blitzer
CNN
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Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announces a terrorism preparedness campaign Wednesday in Cincinnati.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has unveiled a new ad campaign to help Americans prepare for the possibility of additional terror attacks. He has offered some practical advice for jittery people across the country. You can go to the Homeland Security Department's Web site for specific details: www.ready.gov.
In reviewing their recommendations, which are useful, I thought it would also be useful to take a look at what the Israeli government is recommending for its citizens. The Israelis have a long history of being the targets of terror attacks. They also had 39 Iraqi Scud missiles launched against them during the 1991 Gulf War a dozen years ago. Many of the Israeli recommendations are similar to what the U.S. government is suggesting.
For example, they suggest every household should have a first-aid kit, fire-fighting equipment, emergency lighting, battery-powered radios, a portable fan in case it gets hot, ready-to-eat food and drinks, including lots of bottled water, and toys, games and books, especially if children are around. They also recommend protective gas masks.
But the Israelis also advise that every Israeli house and apartment building have a lower level bomb shelter or access to what they call a "sealed room" to deal with chemical or biological attacks. A shelter, they say, should be professionally built and sealed tight with specially-installed blast doors and blast windows. "You must be able to reach the shelter within two minutes after hearing the siren," the booklet recommends.
As far as a sealed room in a house or apartment, the Israelis pointed out that even a few hours in a sealed room could potentially spell the difference between life and death.
Secretary Ridge, for his part, agrees. He put it this way: "Experts tell us that a safe room inside your house or inside your apartment can help protect you from airborne contaminants for several hours, and that could be just enough time for that chemical agent to be blown away. That's the reason it is included on the web site and included in the emergency support kit. Probably you won't need it, but in case you do, you'll have it available. We would not recommend these measures if they did not make a difference. All the same, we hope you never have to use them."
