Bill Press is a syndicated columnist, CNN political commentator and author of the newly-published book Spin This!

Bill Press: I'm a terrorist -- color me purple

WASHINGTON (Tribune Media Services) -- Phone wires are color-coded. So are smog alerts. And now, thanks to Homeland Security czar Tom Ridge, even terrorist alerts are color-coded.

It's the latest phase of the administration's war against terror and the silliest so far. Even sillier than the shadow government -- and that's saying something.

In order to identify the general level of danger we're facing at any one time, Ridge has promulgated a new federal alert system based on five colors ranging from green, the least dangerous, to red, or high alert. Each color would demand a different response from law enforcement.

Green, according to the White House, means a "Low" threat: Check facilities for vulnerability to terrorist attack and train personnel. Blue means "Guarded" and calls for a review of emergency response procedures and giving the public information. Yellow, or "Elevated," means it is time to increase surveillance of critical locations and implement contingency and emergency plans.

Orange signals a "High" threat and calls for coordinating security with armed forces, restricting access to threatened sites and taking additional precautions at public events. When the red, or "Severe" alert is sounded, law enforcement officials are directed to close public and government facilities, monitor or close airports, and increase or redirect emergency personnel.

It seems so neat and logical, until you stop to think about it. Are there, indeed, varying degrees of terrorism? If real, shouldn't every terrorist alert be red?

The idea of a green, or harmless, threat is hard to imagine. We surely don't expect them to attack with water balloons. Until we know all terrorist threats have been eliminated, the security measures Ridge outlines should be in place at all times, not turned on and off from one day to the next.

Despite that inherent contradiction, Ridge insists the rainbow warnings would make the war on terror less confusing. Is he serious? It will make things more confusing.

True, the armed forces have long employed a similar system of color-coded response. But what works in the contained, secret world of the military won't work for the entire country --especially since these codes are to be announced to the general public, and not just to law enforcement.

Until Monday, March 11, according to Attorney General John Ashcroft -- who shares with Ridge the job of setting appropriate levels -- we were on maximum, red alert. The very next day, Ridge announced we were downgraded to yellow. What changed overnight? What were we supposed to do differently? And what happens when, someday, it drops from yellow to blue?

Talk about confusing. We deserve a citizen's handbook. Is it OK to walk the dog when it's green, blue, yellow and orange -- but not red? When we see a strange car in the neighborhood, do we dial 911 when it's red but only give it a dirty look when it's blue? Do we dare take a flight when it's red? Go bowling when it's orange? Weed the garden when it's yellow?

Nobody knows, except Tom Ridge. The day he announced the country had changed from red to yellow, he headed for Florida to play a round of golf. At least we know what one color means: When it's yellow, head for the greens!

The truth is, nothing will change in our daily lives. We won't notice or know the difference from blue to orange. But terrorists will. They'll know at any moment how prepared we are for whatever evil acts they're trying to pull off.

That's the biggest weakness of the Ridge plan. Tell the public and you're telling the terrorists, too. For us, a green light may mean relax. For them, it will mean full speed ahead, the coast is clear, attack. Where is the wisdom in broadcasting our moves to the enemy?

When examined closely, Tom Ridge's color scheme is nothing more than public relations, designed to give the appearance of action, without doing anything.

It's been six months since September 11. Yet not one al Qaeda cell in this country has been discovered and shut down. Nobody's been charged with mailing those anthrax-laced letters. Only 2 percent of closed containers arriving at U.S. ports are inspected. Our borders are full of loopholes. And only 5 percent of checked luggage is screened before being loaded on planes.

There's a lot of work to be done before we're safe from terrorism. A pretty, color-coded alert system won't help.