LOL! Ya think Dick???
(LOL Again!!) On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 8:54 PM, dick thompson <[email protected]>wrote: > Why Keith, I believe every word in this article. It is the total and > absolute truth. I am sure of it. Would AP lie to you? > > Keith In Tampa wrote: > > 04/16/2009 4:34:07 PM > By EILEEN SULLIVAN Associated Press Writer > > > http://start.verizon.net/vznisp/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?ArticleID=D97JS0QG0&CatID=TopHeadlines > > Civil liberties officials at the Homeland Security Department did not agree > with some of the language in a controversial report on right-wing > extremists, but the agency issued the report anyway. > > The intelligence assessment issued to law enforcement last week said some > military veterans could be susceptible to extremist recruiters or commit > lone acts of violence. That prompted angry reactions from some lawmakers and > veterans' groups. > > Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said the report was issued before > officials resolved problems raised by the agency's civil rights division. > Kudwa would not specify what language raised the concerns. > > Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano defended the report Thursday, > but she said the definition of right-wing extremism that was included in a > footnote should be changed. > > In the report, right-wing extremism was defined as hate-motivated groups > and movements, such as hatred of certain religions, racial or ethnic groups. > "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, > such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the report said. > > "If there's one part of that report I would rewrite, in the word-smithing, > Washington-ese that goes on after the fact, it would be that footnote," > Napolitano said Thursday on Fox News. > > The same definition was included in the agency's March 26 report on > domestic extremism. Both reports were marked "For Official Use Only." > > The report on right-wing extremists cites the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by > military veteran Timothy McVeigh as one instance of a veteran becoming a > domestic terrorist. > > Several lawmakers, the American Legion and Vets for Freedom took offense to > the intelligence review. The Veterans of Foreign Wars defended it as an > assessment, not an accusation. > > Napolitano said, "We do not mean to suggest that veterans as a whole are at > risk of becoming violent extremists." > > She also said: "I apologize for that offense. It was certainly not > intended." > > The top Republican on the House intelligence committee, Michigan's Pete > Hoekstra, has asked the director of national intelligence's ombudsman to > investigate the Homeland Security report for "unsubstantiated conclusions > and political bias." > > The senior Democrat of the House committee with oversight of the department > said the report raises privacy and civil liberty issues. "This report > appears to have blurred the line between violent belief, which is > constitutionally protected, and violent action, which is not," Rep. Bennie > Thompson, D-Miss., wrote in a letter to Napolitano. > > The department's definition of left-wing extremism in the March 26 report > includes a reference to violence, stating these groups that embrace > anticapitalist, communist or socialist beliefs seek "to bring about change > through violent revolution rather than through established political > processes." > > These reports are part of the department's routine analysis of intelligence > information to give to law enforcement agencies guidance on possible > security threats. > > In February, the department issued a similar warning about possible cyber > attacks from left wing extremists. In September, the agency reported that > right-wing extremists over the past five years had used the immigration > debate as a recruiting tool. > > Since September, the agency issued several reports on individual foreign > and domestic extremist groups such as al-Qaida and Hammerskin Nation, a > skinhead organization. The Hammerskin assessment said many of the group's > members received military training and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. > > The latest report has turned into a "political football," said Rep. Jane > Harman, D-Calif. Harman, who chairs a House subcommittee on intelligence and > information sharing, said the report could have been written more artfully, > but added that "it was a well-intended effort to describe to law enforcement > what things to look for." > > "If the result is to dumb down intelligence products that could prevent the > next attack to the homeland, we will all lose," she said. > > (This version CORRECTS to show that DHS would not specify which language > raised concerns.) > > > > > ------------------------------ > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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