The nation's first secretary of homeland security said local law enforcement should get better intelligence from federal authorities fighting terrorism.
In an interview airing Sunday with radio host John Catsimatidis on "The Cats Roundtable," former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said "the global scourge of terrorism . . . is going to be a permanent condition."
The remarks start at the 11:10-minute mark.
"The reach of these jihadis, these radical Islamists, is global. . . . But let's just not be breathless about it. Let's accept it, be smart, be aware," he said. "We need to do a better job at using the 700,000 men and women in blue all over our country, keeping them better informed and engaged as we try to identify these . . . lone-wolf actors."
Ridge said communication between federal government agencies has been steadily improving over the past several years, but still could be better.
The United States alone "will never eliminate the global scourge of radical Islam" until the "broader global community decide[s] to work together," he added.
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