Editorial: Bush’s turnaround was right decision

Friday, June 7, 2002 | 5:12 a.m.

President Bush surprised nearly everyone when he announced Thursday that he wanted to create a new Cabinet department that would promote homeland security. Bush's new position, which is the correct one, was a sharp break from his previous stance that Cabinet-level status wasn't necessary for Tom Ridge, the White House adviser on homeland security. But Ridge just hasn't had the power necessary to make the budget decisions and other administrative changes to carry out his mission: securing our nation's borders and helping prevent another terrorist attack like that which occurred Sept. 11.

Ridge, if he is tapped to head the new Cabinet department that Congress certainly will approve, will have to work hard to make sure that all his divisions and employees, who previously worked in different departments, will leave old turf battles behind. And homeland security is more than a reshuffling of agencies within government. What really matters is getting all government employees and division chiefs to work together in defeating a common enemy: terrorists.