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| Report citing veteran extremism is pulled |
| 2009-05-15 |
| A contentious "Rightwing Extremism" report that warned of military veterans as possible recruits for terrorist attacks against the U.S. was not authorized, has been withdrawn and is being rewritten, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Capitol Hill lawmakers. "The wheels came off the wagon because the vetting process was not followed," Ms. Napolitano told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. "The report is no longer out there," she said. "An employee sent it out without authorization." The report was shared with state and local law enforcement officials nationwide via the department's internal Web site on April 7, angering Republican lawmakers and military veterans who said it unfairly stereotyped veterans. Ms. Napolitano did not say when the report was taken off the "intel Web site" and all Homeland Security Department Web sites, but she said it is in the process of being "replaced or redone in a much more useful and much more precise fashion." Rep. Christopher Carney, Pennsylvania Democrat, said that as a veteran he "took offense personally," and his constituents were offended by the report as well. "It really hit home hard to me and in our district," Mr. Carney said. "It's not a good start when I go to town hall meetings and I hear people calling for your resignation." Ms. Napolitano said the report titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," is not the only report she has seen that says veterans are targets for recruitment by racist and other hate groups. "It was an assessment, not an accusation," Ms. Napolitano said. "It didn't say that," Mr. Carney interrupted That's right," Ms. Napolitano responded. "That is why it should not have gone out." Asked whether the person who wrote the report is still employed, Ms. Napolitano said, "Appropriate personnel action is being taken." Rep. Peter T. King, the ranking Republican on the committee, said the report "made an impression" in his New York district as well. "I don't think it reflects well on the department, and I know you want to address it," Mr. King said. David K. Rehbein, commander of the American Legion, said the withdrawal of the report "validates our objections." "It did not contain any evidence," Mr. Rehbein said. "It was an unfair and unsubstantiated stereotype based on Timothy McVeigh." The report also said "rightwing extremism" may include groups opposed to abortion and immigration, among several other threat assessments. In March, the department issued and recalled within hours, a lexicon of key terms and phrases used by Homeland Security analysts "that addresses the nature and scope of the threat that domestic, non-Islamic extremism poses to the United States." Whites and blacks, Christians and Jews, Cubans and Mexicans, along with tax objectors, were among several political leanings listed in the "Domestic Extremism Lexicon." Both reports were prepared by the department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. "Some things in my initial days have gone very well at the department, some things have not. And that was probably the worst thing," Ms. Napolitano told the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security on Tuesday. "It was not authorized to be distributed. It had not even completed its vetting process within the department. It has been taken off of the intel Web sites and the lexicon that went along with it was similarly withdrawn," she said. "Neither were authorized products, and we have now put in place processes. And it turned out there were really no procedures to govern what went out and what didn't before, and now there are. I do not want to see a replication of that," Ms. Napolitano said |
| Posted by:Hupamble Unaling5349 |
| #9 Sea is right on all counts except I don't think she's swimming against the RB mainstream. We must always stay vigilant. What Napolitano needs to understand is that when veterans take a smear, intentionally leaked or not, she will get a visceral response. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-05-15 14:05 |
| #8 Did they include Muslims [given 911 and numerous instances of 'going jihad' back to the ME] with the same broad brush stamp? /rhetorical question |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-05-15 12:26 |
| #7 The report is pulled. The predijuce remains. |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-05-15 11:48 |
| #6 Whites and blacks, Christians and Jews, Cubans and Mexicans, along with tax objectors, were among several political leanings listed in the "Domestic Extremism Lexicon." It strikes me that the brush strokes were so broad that the report would be useless as intelligence, but would provide cover for monitoring just about anyone. Instead of focusing on veterans congress should have grilled her on what law enforcement and homeland would be using the reports for. I seem to fall into several catagories, which concerns me. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2009-05-15 11:47 |
| #5 Buo quo dinky dau to leave number one GI off the list. |
| Posted by: bman 2009-05-15 11:36 |
| #4 veterans are targets for recruitment by racist and other hate groups. And disgruntled veterans DO go wacko and kill people. Of course those statements apply to Post Office workers too. And just about ANY group of Americans. Singling out veterans, and pretty much ONLY veterans, is not right though, and perpetuates an unfair, dangerous and incorrect stereotype. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-05-15 11:27 |
| #3 Thing is, they listed not named, formal groups such as ELF or PETA. Just broad categories--veterans, pro-life, and so forth. You'll note an article in the NYT yesterday about some BSA Explorers learning to take down a hostage situation. Interesting concept for the old "Be Prepared" crew. Anyway, the bad guy was supposed to be a disgruntled Iraq war vet. The meme is out there. Plus, it's insulting to Viet Nam war vets. They are apparently considered too old to cause mindless carnage any longer. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2009-05-15 11:04 |
| #2 I am going to swim against RB mainstream opinion here, and state that: I believe that a State (ie, the Government) has the right (technically, even the Duty) to discover who is plotting against it, what their ultimate aims are, and how they plan to achieve those goals. The President is sworn to defend the country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. His Administration would be derelict in its duty if they did not attempt to assess and catalog the potential threats. I do not like the ham-handed thuggish way this Administration is exercising its duties, but I recognize their authority to do so. And I think that too much caterwauling from the Right is not helping us advocate effectively for the veterans. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-05-15 10:56 |
| #1 Horses Escape, Still at Large Farm management announces new barn security initiative; doors to be locked at all times |
| Posted by: Mike 2009-05-15 10:32 |