Janet Napolitano Spins DHS Report

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is spending the day spinning.

She's failing miserably at dealing with the anger generated by the Department of Homeland Security's report, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."

From the DHS report:

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

The last sentence clearly refers to political beliefs and ideology.

But today, Napolitano denied that the government would monitor people based on political beliefs and ideology.

From the Associated Press:

"We are on the lookout for criminal and terrorist activity but we do not -- nor will we ever -- monitor ideology or political beliefs," Napolitano said in a statement amid charges that the department had done just that.

That is as lame as Robert Gibbs and others in the Obama administration claiming that Obama didn't bow before King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

It's ridiculous.

Either the report should be withdrawn and redone, or Napolitano should just admit the government does indeed intend to monitor citizens based on their ideological and political beliefs.

Because the report disgracefully identifies returning war veterans as potentially dangerous to the public, veterans organizations have understandably reacted to the DHS report with outrage.

...American Legion chief David Rehbein on Tuesday blasted the report as "incomplete, and, I fear, politically-biased" and took special aim at its warning that returning veterans having difficulties reintegrating society could be recruited by right-wing groups for possible terrorist attacks.

In a letter to Napolitano, Rehbein underlined the document's mention of Oklahoma City bombing author Timothy McVeigh's US Army background and called it "as unfair as using Osama bin Laden as the sole example of Islam."

Great point.

"The American Legion is well aware and horrified at the pain inflicted during the Oklahoma City bombing, but Timothy McVeigh was only one of more than 42 million veterans who have worn this nation's uniform during wartime," said Rehbein, who group comprises some 2.6 million members.

Napolitano said she accepted Rehbein's request for a meeting and stressed: "I will tell him face-to-face that we honor veterans at DHS and employ thousands across the department, up to and including the deputy secretary."

The report said that fears of possible new restrictions on firearms, as well as troubled veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, "could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks."

Rehbein said the accusation, levelled in an April 7 document designed for local law enforcement officials, was "without any statistical evidence."

The Obama administration is making misstep after misstep.

This is a big one.

I think Obama himself should comment on this outrageous report. He should clarify that his administration retracts the offensive accusations made in the report and that local law enforcement officials should disregard it.

That's what he would do if he disagrees with what is in the report.

Obama's silence means he's signing off on what the report contains, including monitoring citizens based on ideological and political beliefs, as well as deeming returning war veterans a potential danger to the public.