DHS released rightwing extremists report despite objections by their civil rights officials (+Napolitano, Hoekstra, Harman, Boehner)

From this:

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.

...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.

On Fox News, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano defended the report and only back-peddled slightly, saying:

"We do not mean to suggest that veterans as a whole are at risk of becoming violent extremists... I apologize for that offense. It was certainly not intended...

...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 [the footnote defining rightwing extremism; see the second link above.]"

The Veterans of Foreign Wars defended the report, but those speaking out against it include the American Legion, Vets for Freedom, and Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who's asked the director of national intelligence's ombudsman to investigate the Homeland Security report for "unsubstantiated conclusions and political bias."

And:

(Rep. Jane Harman) 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."

Also, John Boehner wants the DHS to apologize to veterans (link).

Fri, 04/17/2009 - 06:57 · · Importance: 4