The General Accounting Office's call for the development of a national strategy that improves national preparedness and increases partnerships between Federal, State, and local governments to guard against terrorist attacks is reiterated. The creation of the Office of Homeland Security under the leadership of Tom Ridge is an important and significant first step. Key aspects of a strategy to protect against terrorism include the following: (1) A definition and clarification of the appropriate roles of Federal, State, and local entities--the GAO’s previous work found fragmentation and overlap among Federal assistance programs-- found over 40 Federal entities have roles in combating terrorism, and past Federal efforts have resulted in a lack of accountability, a lack of a cohesion effort, and duplication of programs; (2) the establishment of goals and performance measures to guide the Nation’s preparedness efforts--Congress has recognized the need to objectively assess the results of Federal programs--yet for the Nation’s preparedness programs, outcomes of where the Nation should be in terms domestic preparedness have yet to be defined, and given the recent and proposed increases in preparedness funding as well as the need for real and meaningful improvements in preparedness, establishing clear goals and performance measures is critical to ensuring a successful and fiscally responsible effort; and (3) a careful choice of the most appropriate tools of government to best implement the national strategy and achieve national goals. The choice and design of policy tools, such as grants, regulations, and partnerships, can enhance the Government’s capacity to target areas of highest risk to better ensure that scarce Federal resources address the most important needs; promote shared responsibilities by all parties, and track and assess progress toward achieving national goals. In conclusion, the challenge now is to build upon this initial response to further improve the Nation’s preparedness in a sustainable way that creates short-term and long-term benefits.