The Homeland Security Department will review the multicolored terror alert system created in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has created a task force to determine in 60 days how effective the current system is. The system could get an overhaul—or could be eliminated entirely.
The five-tiered system that goes from green, which signals a low danger of attack, to red, which signals a severe threat of attack, has proven confusing at times. And critics say the colors are too vague to deliver enough information to be useful. The 17-member task force will be chaired by former FBI Director William Webster and the former White House homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend. (More United States stories.)