Battling Terror, Chertoff Felt 'Invisible Burden'

Jan. 9, 2009— -- With his tenure nearly over, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff now openly talks about the pressures that have come with his job keeping America safe from the world's terrorists -- and what he calls the "invisible burden" of being on edge at all times.

"I've never taken a vacation where I haven't held my breath waiting for the call to come," he said. "And I've never had a family event where I didn't half expect a tap on the shoulder to go outside and take an emergency phone call."

That's how he summed up the challenge at the center of the war on terror when ABC News asked him in an exclusive interview for any advice he has for Janet Napolitano, the Arizona governor who has been nominated to replace him.

In 11 days, Chertoff will leave a job that many believe is one of the more difficult and, perhaps, thankless in government.

Ironically, he said his worst moment had nothing to do with terrorism.

"I think Katrina was a very dark moment," he said, reflecting upon "the frustration of seeing people who had been rescued from their houses but then were in the convention center or were in the Superdome and we were not able to get them out as quickly as we wanted."

Asked if he felt like quitting in the days after the devastating 2005 hurricane, in which the government took heat over slow response and poor organization, he simply said, "You know, deserting under fire is not in my playbook."

From frustration to fear, 2006 brought Chertoff's scariest moment: The disruption of the August 2006 plot based out of London, which would have targeted U.S.-bound planes for mid-flight attacks with liquid explosives.

"The scale, had it been successful, would have been equal to 9/11," he said, "and it would have been devastating to not only our country, but to Britain, as well."

Chertoff said the fear sprung from "the uncertainty and the real live concern that it [an attack] could be imminent" -- and then that perhaps not all the potential terrorists had been identified.