Homeland Security Chief Defends Report On Right Wing Extremism Risk (AP)

[jefferson_dem]

Homeland Security Chief Defends Report On Right Wing Extremism Risk

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday a report warning that military veterans could be prone to joining right wing extremism was a routine assessment giving a "situational awareness" of potential threats.

Napolitano defended the internal agency intelligence report against a crescendo of criticism during a series of interviews on network news shows as she toured the troubled U.S.-Mexican border.

Asked about the report's assertion that some U.S. military veterans could be seen as potential converts to right wing extremism during a time of a down economy, Napolitano said the report was a routine form of guidance for state and local police and that it is a set of assertions, "not accusations."

"These are intelligence assessments. They are for situational awareness for law enforcement, indeed as the VFW said yesterday, this is an assessment not an accusation," she said. "I really want to stress to the veterans out there watching this today, that report did not, and we do not mean to suggest that veterans as a whole are at risk of becoming violent extremists."

"I really want to stress to the veterans out there that this report did not and we did not mean to suggest that veterans as a whole are at risk of becoming violent extremists."

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/homeland-security-chief-d_n_187613.html

[GoCubsGo]

1. Sad that she has to do this.

All anyone has to do is watch Lou Dobbs , Glenn Beck, and their ilk, and listen to the comments their audience makes to know that everything in those reports is true. They got caught red-hand, and now they're trying to play CYA.