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The Honorable Thomas Ridge is President and CEO of Ridge Global LLC. From January 2003 to February 2005, he served as the nation’s first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Before becoming Secretary, he served as President Bush’s Homeland Security Advisor, and in that capacity developed and coordinated a comprehensive national strategy to strengthen protections against terrorist threats in the United States in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Between 1995 and 2001, he was twice elected Governor of the State of Pennsylvania.

In July, he spoke with Journal editor Ilan Berman about the current state of U.S. homeland security and the challenges that lie ahead.

You were the President’s point man on homeland defense immediately after the attacks of September 11. In that capacity, you oversaw a dramatic overhaul of the U.S. national security establishment to better combat the threat of transnational terrorism. Is that process complete? If not, what else needs to be done?

The process will never be complete. To combat the threat of transnational terrorism, future administrations must sustain and improve our global military, intelligence and law enforcement relationships. This must be accompanied by enhanced horizontal and vertical information sharing within our federal system of government. We have made significant progress on many fronts, but we are far from complete.

Today, there is considerable debate over how we are faring in the War on Terror. Some cite al-Qaeda’s plummeting popularity and improving conditions in Iraq as proof we are succeeding. Others, however, point to ongoing problems in Pakistan and Afghanistan and argue the opposite. What is your view?

We have enjoyed success against the extremists around the world, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. In spite of the positive effects of the surge in Iraq, the military situation remains fragile and the long-term political stability of the region remains tenuous. Close attention must be paid to the troop reduction timetable. Conditions could change rapidly. NATO must be encouraged to deploy more war-fighting troops to Afghanistan and we must have substantially greater cooperation from Pakistan to solidify our modest gains there as well.

The United States is in the midst of a presidential election that will hold momentous implications for how the United States wages the War on Terror. What do you think is the greatest foreign policy and national security challenge that the next president will need to deal with once he takes office?

Iran! A nuclear Iran that threatens the extinction of the only democracy in the region, Israel, and that supports Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, extremists in Iraq and ignores the United Nations with impunity will be the greatest and most immediate challenge facing the new president.

To its credit, the Bush administration has put a premium on international cooperation to combat terrorism. The next administration will need to do the same if it is serious about confronting the contemporary terrorist threat. What advice would you give to the next president about how to strengthen and expand these links?

The next president must solicit international cooperation to combat terrorism on several new fronts. He must explore new diplomatic, social and economic initiatives to undermine the terrorists and to diminish the appeal of their radical, violent ideology.

A growing number of experts have become convinced that a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction is only a matter of time. The U.S. government is now giving serious attention to this issue throughout the federal bureaucracy. But what more can and should be done?

We must accept the notion, as difficult as it may seem, that if terrorists acquire such a weapon, they will use it. Obviously, pre-empting such an attack through intelligence gathering is priority number one. However, continual investment in the technology of detection is equally critical. We cannot ignore the possibility that in spite of our best efforts to thwart such an attack one might occur. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that we also prepare in every way possible for that eventuality.