WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- There can never be full and absolute security for potential terror targets in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says.
Speaking to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Chertoff said there had to be realistic expectations and people had to remember al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's strategy, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
"He (bin Laden) understood that one tool he had in waging war against the United States was to drive us crazy, into bankruptcy, trying to defend ourselves against every conceivable threat," Chertoff said. "We have to be realistic about what we expect and what we do. We do have limits and we do have choices to make."
Chertoff was challenged by Richard Falkenrath, the deputy commissioner for counter-terrorism at the New York City Police Department and former White House deputy homeland security adviser.
Falkenrath noted how Homeland Security spends $9 on security per airplane passenger but less than half a cent on each mass transit rider.
"There's something wrong with this," Falkenrath said. "Terrorists are attacking the subway system worldwide."
