国际英语新闻：U.S. to review 5-color terror warning system

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government on Tuesday formed a bipartisan task force to review the nation's five-color terror warning system.

    Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the task force will spend the next 60 days assessing the effectiveness of the system in informing the public about terrorist threats and in communicating protective measures within the government and throughout the private sector.

    She appointed Fran Townsend, former assistant to former president George W. Bush for Homeland Security, and Judge William Webster, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to co-lead the efforts.

    "My goal is simple: to have the most effective system in place to inform the American people about threats to our country," Napolitano said in a statement.

    Findings of the review will be first presented to Napolitano, who will then discuss them with other members of the cabinet, before making any recommendations to the White House.

    Under current five-color terror warning system, the threat rating is now at orange, or "high risk," for the aviation industry, and yellow, or "elevated risk," for the rest of the country.

    In the order from highest terror threat to lowest, the five colors are red (severe risk), orange( high risk), yellow (elevatedrisk), blue (general risk) and green (low risk).

    However, the system has been criticized as vague since its creation, after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.