http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23303-2003May21.html
The federal government’s decision to raise the terror alert level to Code Orange seemed not to generate the same sense of urgency in Washington, D.C., brought on by similar warnings in the past, says the Washington Post.
The U.S. Capitol remained open to visitors, as did the sidewalk in front of the White House. Washington area police departments, which threw themselves into 12-hour shifts and extra patrols during the last orange alert several weeks ago, increased security, but with more restraint. The main reason is the lack of any specific threat against Washington.
Orange fatigue is likely to be a continuing dilemma, said Randy Larsen of the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security, a research group. Although the color-coded system offers five possibilities, he said, political considerations make three of them unlikely. “You are never going to see blue or green in your lifetime, okay?” Larsen said, referring to the colors below yellow. “Red is going to be five minutes after the next attack. We have a two-color system, yellow and orange.”
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23303-2003May21.html