10 Questions for Michael Chertoff

By Brian Bennett

He gave up a lifetime appointment as a federal judge to take Washington's most thankless job, Director of Homeland Security. But Michael Chertoff, 51, has big plans to streamline the department, allocating aid for states more wisely and informing the public of possible threats without alarming them. He sat down with TIME's Brian Bennett for his first extensive interview.

THERE ARE STACKS OF BOXES ALL OVER YOUR OFFICE. YOU HAVE BEEN ON THE JOB FOR A MONTH NOW, AND YOU HAVEN'T UNPACKED? It's all the stuff from my chambers. A lot of knickknacks accumulated over many years of public service. At some point I will move them somewhere or unpack them. They are kind of getting in the way of sitting down.

YOU HAD A LIFETIME APPOINTMENT AS A JUDGE--YOU COULDN'T BE FIRED. YOU HAD TIME TO JOG IN THE MORNINGS AND SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY. WHY LEAVE THAT? There is no question I left behind a very enviable professional situation. But for me, after living through 9/11, I really think [securing our country] is the most important challenge of my generation.

ISN'T IT A HUGE RISK TO BE AT THE HEAD OF THIS AGENCY? IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, YOU GET BLAMED. IF NOTHING HAPPENS, YOU GET BLAMED FOR FRIGHTENING EVERYBODY. I don't think you can do this job because you are seeking to obtain glory or you think you are going to wind up getting a pat on the back. It is the nature of the job that success is not really noticeable.

HOW DO YOU KEEP PEOPLE ALERT BUT NOT SCARED? We do want people to be alert and mindful but we don't want them to say, "My God, should I stop leading my daily life?" We have to guard against crying wolf. And I think that is why when we put details out, we should be more accurate about it. We want to explain our reasoning behind it so they don't feel we are either hyping something for no reason or that our practice seems kind of mysterious and obscure.

IS IT USEFUL TO KEEP AMERICANS A LITTLE ON EDGE? There is a value to having people be a little bit more vigilant. As with the shoe bomber or some more recent occurrences I am aware of, plots have been stopped because somebody noticed something about the kinds of things people were purchasing or how they were behaving. They reported that to police officers, and that gave us an opportunity to prevent another attack.

WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU ISSUE A WARNING AND THEN NOTHING HAPPENS? Sometimes the precaution stops the plot. It is like a vaccine. If I tell you to take a vaccine to protect yourself and you take it and nothing happens, do you say, "Well, I shouldn't have taken the vaccine because I never got sick?"

IS THE JUSTICE SYSTEM EQUIPPED TO TRY TERRORISM CASES, OR WILL PEOPLE HAVE TO LANGUISH IN DETENTION INDEFINITELY? We face a challenge when we do identify somebody and we have very good, solid evidence that that person is a terrorist, but it's not admissible in court because its either highly classified or it comes from a foreign source. It is a challenge, and at the worst it is helping the enemy.

SO HOW DO YOU HANDLE AN INDIVIDUAL STILL CONSIDERED A THREAT? Sometimes we could deport them. Sometimes we have the ability to charge them with a lesser crime. How to deal with these people is a serious challenge that I know the Department of Justice is focused on and is part of the landscape that we have to deal with.

YOU GREW UP THE SON OF A RABBI. HAS THAT INFORMED YOUR THINKING IN THE WAY YOU APPROACH THIS JOB? My parents always taught me two things: Do the difficult and unpleasant things first, and always admit your mistakes if you make them. Don't try to shave the truth. You are much better off if you come out up front and say, "Hey, I messed up."

YOU HAVE SAID SECURING THE HOMELAND IS NOT A SPRINT, IT'S A MARATHON. EVER RUN A MARATHON? No, I've never run a marathon. Generally I run four to six miles. I have kind of been toying with the idea of doing a marathon, but I don't quite understand why I would want to do it. I guess I should have said, "It's not a sprint, it's a middle-distance run." o