US Homeland Security chief resigns

Tom Ridge was apointed after the September 2001 attacks.

WASHINGTON - US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, who headed President George W. Bush's efforts to build up domestic security following the September 11 attacks, has resigned.

In the latest shake-up of Bush's second-term Cabinet, Ridge, known for his colour-coded security alerts and suggesting the use of duct tape in home security kits in case of attack, announced his decision at a news conference on Tuesday after submitting his resignation letter to the president.

"The president has given me an extraordinary opportunity to serve my country in this incredible period since September 11, 2001," said Ridge, the first head of the newly created department.

"I just want to step back and pay a little more attention to some other personal matters."

Ridge told Bush he would stay in his position until February or until his successor is confirmed.

"After more than 22 consecutive years of public service, it is time to give personal and family matters a higher priority," Ridge said in his resignation letter.

The department, which merged all or parts of 22 federal agencies, was created in January 2003 in the biggest government revamping in 50 years. The new agency was charged with preventing future attacks on the United States and minimising damage from any that do occur.

"There will always be more to do, but today, America is significantly stronger and safer than ever before," Ridge wrote.

The administration was criticised for giving the department too little money to properly implement a strong domestic security system.

Ridge was criticised by civil rights groups and some foreign governments for a program to photograph and fingerprint most foreign visitors entering the United States as part of an effort to toughen security at the borders.

Some also said he timed his raised security alerts, particularly during this year's bruising presidential campaign, to boost support for Bush. Ridge said politics had no place in his department.

Ridge was ridiculed for the five-tiered, colour-coded terror alert warning system created to help Americans understand the alert level in the country. And his suggestion that worried citizens stockpile duct tape as protection against chemical attack caused a run on hardware stores but provided seemingly endless fodder for humour columnists and late-night comedians.

Critics said often the government could not give enough specifics when it raised the alert level, stalled inexorably at yellow for elevated risk or orange for high. State and local governments complained that each increase brought far too many higher security costs.

Ridge, 59, resigned as governor of Pennsylvania in October 2001, at Bush's request, to become the president's homeland security adviser. He was later named the first homeland security secretary.

Bush's current homeland security adviser, Frances Townsend, is one of the leading candidates to succeed Ridge. Another possible successor is Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson, analysts said.

- REUTERS