TuTu Monroe
A Realist
Napolitano shot herself in the foot with this one and it isn't going away. Seriously, does anyone feel safe with this idiot in charge? This is a disgrace.
By JOE MURRAY, The Bulletin
Friday, April 17, 2009
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano was forced to rethink the wording of a controversial government report after veterans groups and Republican lawmakers charged it suggested veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars could easily turn into right-wing extremists. This, they said, was offensive.
The report, published April 7, detailed what DHS called a resurgence of “right-wing extremism brought about by the current economic downturn and the election of the nation’s first black president.” It was prepared by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
The report also described those who belong to groups that advocate for conservative perspectives on issues such as immigration reform, gun rights and abortion were extremists.
Among the most prominent groups raising an objection was the American Legion. The group’s president wrote a letter to Ms. Napolitano reminding the DHS Secretary American veterans should not be considered the enemy.
“I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are,” David K. Rehbein wrote in the letter.
Earlier in the week Ms. Napolitano defended the report and argued DHS was monitoring risks, not ideology.
“Let me be very clear — we monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in the United States,” Ms. Napolitano said in a statement Wednesday. “We don’t have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism, whether foreign or homegrown, and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence.”
Ms. Napolitano’s tone, however, changed remarkably Thursday after public pressure started to mount and more mainstream media outlets started covering the story.
“I know that some veterans groups were offended by the fact that veterans were mentioned in this assessment, so I apologize for that offense. It was certainly not intended,” she told CNN’s “American Morning.”
Ms. Napolitano said she plans on meeting with veterans groups next week and pointed out some recognized the importance of the assessment.
A statement released Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, acknowledged the assessment “should have been worded differently,” but nonetheless acknowledged the report’s intended purpose.
“A government that does not assess internal and external security threats would be negligent of a critical public responsibility,” he said.
Critics, however, pounced on the “assessment” and claimed the report was not meant to assess a threat because no credible evidence to show such a threat existed. Opponents argue the report was meant to marginalize those who disagree with the Obama administration’s policies.
“This is an outrageous ‘assessment’ of extremism, and it gives the appearance that the administration is politicizing homeland-security issues to generate fear about people and groups that disagree with their policies,” said U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas. “Genuine threat assessments are one thing, but there is a line that distinguishes between an actual threat versus citizens simply exercising their constitutional right to free speech in speaking out against this administration’s reckless public policies.”
In releasing the report, a DHS spokesperson admitted it did not possess specific information that domestic right-wing terrorists were currently planning acts of violence, but justified the assessment by arguing right-wing extremists may be gaining new recruitments by playing on their fears about several emerging “issues.” All issues listed were conservative.
But the fact that the report cited Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, a veteran, raised concern that DHS was basing its assessment on an outdated stereotype.
“Timothy McVeigh was only one of more than 42 million veterans who have worn this nation’s uniform during wartime,” wrote Mr. Rehbein. “To continue to use McVeigh as an example of the stereotypical ‘disgruntled military veteran’ is as unfair as using Osama bin Laden as the sole example of Islam.”
Others believed the report was more sinister in nature.
“There is not one instance they can cite as evidence where any of these right-wing groups have done anything,” popular conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show. “You have a report from Janet Napolitano and Barack Obama, Department of Homeland Security portraying standard, ordinary, everyday conservatives as posing a bigger threat to this country than al-Qaida terrorists or genuine enemies of this country like Kim Jong Il.”
Some lawmakers called on President Barack Obama to distance his administration from the report and make a pledge to engage a public-policy debate, not equate dissenters with terrorists.
“Political opponents have no business being labeled ‘extremist’ or ‘radical’ unless solid studies and evidence prove that to be the case,” Mr. Carter said. “I hope that the president will demand answers from DHS concerning the production of this obvious political document masquerading as a homeland security report and will take the necessary steps to guarantee that a debacle like this will not occur in the future.”
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
By JOE MURRAY, The Bulletin
Friday, April 17, 2009
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano was forced to rethink the wording of a controversial government report after veterans groups and Republican lawmakers charged it suggested veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars could easily turn into right-wing extremists. This, they said, was offensive.
The report, published April 7, detailed what DHS called a resurgence of “right-wing extremism brought about by the current economic downturn and the election of the nation’s first black president.” It was prepared by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis.
The report also described those who belong to groups that advocate for conservative perspectives on issues such as immigration reform, gun rights and abortion were extremists.
Among the most prominent groups raising an objection was the American Legion. The group’s president wrote a letter to Ms. Napolitano reminding the DHS Secretary American veterans should not be considered the enemy.
“I think it is important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are,” David K. Rehbein wrote in the letter.
Earlier in the week Ms. Napolitano defended the report and argued DHS was monitoring risks, not ideology.
“Let me be very clear — we monitor the risks of violent extremism taking root here in the United States,” Ms. Napolitano said in a statement Wednesday. “We don’t have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group; we must protect the country from terrorism, whether foreign or homegrown, and regardless of the ideology that motivates its violence.”
Ms. Napolitano’s tone, however, changed remarkably Thursday after public pressure started to mount and more mainstream media outlets started covering the story.
“I know that some veterans groups were offended by the fact that veterans were mentioned in this assessment, so I apologize for that offense. It was certainly not intended,” she told CNN’s “American Morning.”
Ms. Napolitano said she plans on meeting with veterans groups next week and pointed out some recognized the importance of the assessment.
A statement released Glen M. Gardner Jr., the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, acknowledged the assessment “should have been worded differently,” but nonetheless acknowledged the report’s intended purpose.
“A government that does not assess internal and external security threats would be negligent of a critical public responsibility,” he said.
Critics, however, pounced on the “assessment” and claimed the report was not meant to assess a threat because no credible evidence to show such a threat existed. Opponents argue the report was meant to marginalize those who disagree with the Obama administration’s policies.
“This is an outrageous ‘assessment’ of extremism, and it gives the appearance that the administration is politicizing homeland-security issues to generate fear about people and groups that disagree with their policies,” said U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas. “Genuine threat assessments are one thing, but there is a line that distinguishes between an actual threat versus citizens simply exercising their constitutional right to free speech in speaking out against this administration’s reckless public policies.”
In releasing the report, a DHS spokesperson admitted it did not possess specific information that domestic right-wing terrorists were currently planning acts of violence, but justified the assessment by arguing right-wing extremists may be gaining new recruitments by playing on their fears about several emerging “issues.” All issues listed were conservative.
But the fact that the report cited Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, a veteran, raised concern that DHS was basing its assessment on an outdated stereotype.
“Timothy McVeigh was only one of more than 42 million veterans who have worn this nation’s uniform during wartime,” wrote Mr. Rehbein. “To continue to use McVeigh as an example of the stereotypical ‘disgruntled military veteran’ is as unfair as using Osama bin Laden as the sole example of Islam.”
Others believed the report was more sinister in nature.
“There is not one instance they can cite as evidence where any of these right-wing groups have done anything,” popular conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show. “You have a report from Janet Napolitano and Barack Obama, Department of Homeland Security portraying standard, ordinary, everyday conservatives as posing a bigger threat to this country than al-Qaida terrorists or genuine enemies of this country like Kim Jong Il.”
Some lawmakers called on President Barack Obama to distance his administration from the report and make a pledge to engage a public-policy debate, not equate dissenters with terrorists.
“Political opponents have no business being labeled ‘extremist’ or ‘radical’ unless solid studies and evidence prove that to be the case,” Mr. Carter said. “I hope that the president will demand answers from DHS concerning the production of this obvious political document masquerading as a homeland security report and will take the necessary steps to guarantee that a debacle like this will not occur in the future.”
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
