WASHINGTON (AP) - The Homeland Security Department will review and possibly replace the often-ridiculed multicolored terror alert system created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Since it was created in 2002, the system has been confusing and became the butt of jokes by late-night television comics.
Critics have said assigning different categories to different colors is too vague an approach to deliver enough information to be useful. And Democrats said the Bush administration used it for political manipulation.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appointed a task force Tuesday to determine in 60 days how effective the current system is.
"My goal is simple: to have the most effective system in place to inform the American people about threats to our country," Napolitano said in a statement.
The 17-member task force consists of Democrats and Republicans and will be chaired by former FBI Director William Webster and the former White House homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend.