AMONG THE FIRST THINGS MICHAEL CHERTOFF did after he was sworn in as secretary of the Homeland security Department in February was to announce his plans to better manage national security. Central to his approach would be a sharper focus on what he termed "risk management."

In a March speech at The George Washington University in Washington, Chertoff said: "Risk management is fundamental to managing the threat, while retaining our quality of life and living in freedom. Risk management must guide our decision-making as we examine how we can best organize to prevent, respond and recover from an attack."

Chertoff's emphasis on risk management addresses criticism of grants to states and localities for preventing and responding to terrorist threats. Through these grants, the department (following orders from Congress) distributed billions of dollars without first making sure the funds were directed toward likely terrorist targets. Large amounts were used to subsidize local police and fire departments. Other funds went toward equipment that responders didn't need or weren't trained to use.