U.S. Govt should not fund transit security; the states should, claims head of Homeland Security

Chertoff: States Foot Transit Safety Bill

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
28 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The federal government can provide only limited help to states and local governments to protect transit systems from terror attacks, and local officials must be largely responsible for the costs of improved subway, train and bus security, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.

His comments, one week after the bombings on London's subway and bus systems, prompted criticism from Senate Democrats who represent large metropolitian areas.

Chertoff said attacks that could produce the most casualties are his highest priority. He said the federal government should financially support the nation's commercial airlines because the aviation system is largely a federal responsibilty, while mass transit systems are mostly owned and operated by state and local authorities.

"The truth of the matter is, a fully loaded airplane with jet fuel, a commercial airliner, has the capacity to kill 3,000 people," Chertoff told Associated Press reporters and editors. "A bomb in a subway car may kill 30 people. When you start to think about your priorities, you're going to think about making sure you don't have a catastrophic thing first."

Asked if this meant communities should be ready to provide the bulk of the protection for local transit systems, Chertoff said, "Yep."

Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., later said Chertoff's statements "just make one's jaw drop" and demanded an apology.

"To say that the federal government has much less of a responsibility for mass transit systems because only 30 people might be killed on a subway bombing is one of the most appalling things that we've heard from any government official from any party in a very long time," Schumer said in an interview.

[...]

State and local officials are grappling with how to pay for upgrades to protect commuters and other mass transit riders in their communities. Technology to protect mass transit systems in the nation's 30 largest metropolitan areas could cost an estimated $6 billion, according to industry representatives.

[...]

Chertoff drew a comparison between lifestyles and attitudes in the United States and Europe that he said play a part in preventing terror attacks.

"I'm not going to single out particular countries, but in continental Europe, there are generations where you have these second, third-generation persons, descendants of immigrants, who are not considered to be truly in the fabric of the country," he said.

"One of the great things about this country is there is a lot of social mobility," Chertoff added. "It's hard to imagine a country that is more welcoming and more willing to accept people in which people can rise. And I think that tends to reduce the amount of frustration."

He also acknowledged that "we're never going to have people who are disaffected, you know, we've had all kinds of people historically who do bad things and commit acts of terror." Still, Chertoff said, but that "our welcoming social fabric, our civil liberties and our sense of equality and openness is still one of the very powerful tools we have and something we want to be careful not to diminish..."

Dubya-appointee in being incompetent partisian and parroting conservative mindset talking points shocka