We're joined now by the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano. Madam Secretary, it's good to see you this morning. Thanks for being with us.
NAPOLITANO: Thank you.
ROBERTS: So, this new counterterrorism strategy, you want to involve the public to a greater degree than ever before -- how do you get the public involved in protecting this nation against the threat of terrorism?
NAPOLITANO: Well, one way is being on shows like this one and just saying, "Look, we want to make the country safe, keep the country safe, every individual has a role." Cities, counties, towns, they all have a role -- all of the federal government, of course, is involved, and then, even our international partners. So, it's a multilayer strategy for how to get at this problem.
ROBERTS: You know, if you ride the subway here in New York City, and I do quite often, you see signs all over the place that say, "See something, say something," you know, everybody has to participate. But many people might wonder, you know, will this become a case of, you know, neighbors reporting on neighbors, spying on neighbors? And how do you prevent, you know, an increase of suspicion, particularly across ethnic and religious lines?
NAPOLITANO: Well, I think you're right to point out that there's a balance to be struck. But what we're asking people to do is when they see something unusual, a package left unattended on a subway platform -- we've had incidents even during my short tenure as secretary where an individual seeing a gun being passed in an airport that had been screened that would have gotten onboard but for that passenger sounding the alert. Those are the kinds of things that individuals can help us with.
Public Events
1:30 PM EDT
Assistant Secretary David Heyman will participate in a blogger roundtable at the NAC to discuss the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review
DHS Headquarters
Nebraska Avenue Complex
3801 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, D.C.
3 PM EDT
Management Directorate Acting Chief Procurement Officer Rick Gunderson will testify before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security about eliminating wasteful contractor bonuses
342 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.