Special to The Hoya Tuesday, September 12, 2006 Lindsay Anderson/The Hoya Homeland Security Secretary ichael Chertoff discussed terror prevention efforts in Gaston Hall on Friday.

The United States is better equipped to prevent a terrorist attack now than it was five years ago, Homeland Security Secretary ichael Chertoff said in a Gaston Hall speech on Friday, three days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Dozens of students critical of Chertoff’s record in office gathered in Red Square and outside Gaston to protest the speech, which addressed the U.S. response to the attacks. Chertoff began the speech by praising America’s response to the terrorist attacks five years ago. “The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 were a senseless campaign of murder that resulted in the death of nearly 3,000 men, women and children of all backgrounds and all faiths,” Chertoff said. “But in the face of that horrible evil, we witnessed tremendous courage, valor and sacrifice.” Chertoff outlined steps his department has taken to address the threats of weapons of mass destruction and terrorists crossing U.S. borders. He said that the government is working in partnership with federal, state and local authorities to secure the border, using new technologies like fingerprint screening and a more complete database of international terrorists. “Five years ago, we weren’t able to screen all passengers coming into the U.S.,” Chertoff said. Chertoff also credited improved cargo screening over the past five years, noting that the government has invested over $10 billion in port security and is working to screen nearly all cargo. Still, he said there remains work to be done. The government must continue to centralize information on passengers and regulate acceptable forms of identification, Chertoff said. He said that the department is developing a wallet-sized identification card with a biometric security feature. “We want to deploy 10 fingerprint readers to all visa issuers overseas by 2008,” he said. Chertoff said that continued work with both the public and private sectors will help the United States to realize these goals. “We need to work with federal, state and local jurisdictions to create a level of trust,” he said. “We must remain partners with the American-Muslim community.” Certain students objected to the vision that Chertoff offered. Dozens of disgruntled students gathered in Red Square prior to the speech to protest the university’s decision to invite Chertoff to speak on campus. Jack Mahoney (COL ’08), one of the leaders of the student protest, said that Chertoff has continually failed in his duties since being appointed in 2005. “Chertoff is at the center of so many of the hard issues that Americans are angry about right now, including the passage of the Patriot Act and the mismanagement of Katrina,” Mahoney said. “A lot of us were pretty mad that Georgetown would honor him at a fancy 9/11 speech in Gaston Hall.” The event was sponsored by the Center for Peace and Security Studies.