Napolitano Splits GOP; Leaders Not Calling For Resignation

The Hill:

The White House and senior lawmakers on both sides of the aisle defended Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday as a cadre of Republicans continued to call for her resignation.

Read the whole story: The Hill

Comments

[Epiphany2b]

A recent thought -- Isn't it funny how people can be insulted even by the truth??

Example: One could say "some fat people eat too much," which not only is scientifically proven but personally attested to. The vast majority of "fat" people would be offended, with only a small percentage of them willing would acknowledge that even though the statement didn't apply to them personally, it was nevertheless true. So what is it about this report that has so many people upset?? That someone had the nerve to point out a truth?

[Epiphany2b]

Do people really forget so quickly, or is it because this new generation was born after the fact . . . doesn't anyone remember what happened when the Vietnam Vets returned?

I realize military training might be different now, but back then when you took teens and trained them for one thing . . . killing . . . and they returned to a jobless society with only one skill to market . . . killing . . . you would expect some of them use that skill. It is wise for law enforcement to be vigilant, and the politics of the veteran makes no difference. Those with high moral principals and mental stability one wouldn't worry about, but that isn't all of them. Perhaps if they were better provided for with job placement training after discharge the danger wouldn't exist. Perhaps now their military training provides that.

[Rivermont]

I'm glad to see you were on your knees apologizing for your foolish report.

[magic3400]

When I was on active duty, there were several programs that monitored anybody having a Top Secret clearance or above.

I'm sure those programs exist today, the names change over time but the mission is to "MONITOR" anyone that has access to national security information.

These programs monitor driving records, credit reports, and other things I won't go into, but my point is this, if the military has a need to monitor service members while ON active duty, why wouldn't they keep tabs on these highly skilled individuals once they leave the service.

I WANT to HSA to do their job to keeping us safe and if that means that veterans are "monitored" to some extent, it goes with the territory,

The reason why; I"ll give you two names, Robert Philip Hanssen and John Anthony Walker, Jr.

When you have guys that may have worked with nuclear weapons or worked on projects classified above Top Secret or maybe highly classified Special Forces operators, they don't just say "OK, I'm all done see ya later".

The only people "shocked" by the report are chicken hawks, "OMG, they're 'MONITORING vets", ----THAT'S BECAUSE THEY NEVER SERVED SO THEY CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THAT MAYBE A PRUDENT THING TO DO.

I support all my fellow vets, but some things have to happen just because they have to happen.

I would hate to find out one of our guys went bad and the first indication was a mushroom cloud!

[kimleehan]

Lets all put on our camouflaged fitigues and head to the gun -show, I 've got a copy of soldeir of fortune magizine to read.

[bassopotamus]

Me thinks some GOPers doth protest too much

[plooger]

Wow, is this article poorly thought-out.

> The outrage is in response to a Homeland Security report issued last week that said the agency was monitoring returning veterans for possible involvement in right-wing extremist groups.

No, the report didn't say the agency was monitoring returning veterans..­. or anyone else, for that matter. It was just a theoretical document, talking to possibilities given the changing political and economic landscape.

> Despite several members coming to her defense, a clear consensus has emerged on Capitol Hill that Napolitano should issue a more direct apology for the report.

Really? A "clear consensus"? With a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate, a clear majority of Congresscritters are calling for Napolitano to make "a more direct apology" for the release of the Bush-authorized report? I call bullsh*t.

> Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a veteran and former prisoner of war, called the report’s designation of veterans as potential extremists “insulting” earlier this week. “The last people on earth we need to worry about are our veterans,” he said on Fox News. “I think a real apology is owed throughout the administra­tion.”

Really? Does the name Tim McVeigh ring a bell, Senator McCain? How about Eric Rudolph? Both were former military men who evolved to right-wing extremists, and the most deadly domestic terrorists our country has known in recent years.

[huffingt]

Violence against beautiful charismatic career women.
Rethugs cannot take the hero Obama so take it on the female?
They will get a surprise from these wonder women..
Stop violence against Pelosi, Sebelius, , Napalitano and others.

[huffingt]

Violence against beautiful charismatic career women.
Rethugs thought that they cannot fight the hero Obama so take it on the female?
They will get a surprise.
Pass a bill soon. Stop violence against Pelosi, Sebalius, Napolitano

[MyGuyO]

The GOP has to keep slamming the Dems in one way or the other so this week they go after the women... .Janet Napalitano, Nancy Pelosi and Catherine Sebelious.

[Rivermont]

Yeah, right, pinhead.

[Ourrias]

Ah, the Republican Party these days: the sound and the fury signifying nothing.

[123Slivy]

If Michelle Bachman is against her then I say "Bravo Secretary Napolitano­."

[waverly]

Duh! It happened before and with the GOP feeding the flames it will happen again.

".....Then there's the still-astonishing "moral waiver" -- employed to produce more cannon fodder. In 2005, already desperate for fresh recruits, the Army started increasing, by nearly half, the rate at which it grants what it terms "moral waivers," permitting recruits with criminal records, emotional problems, and weak educational backgrounds to serve.

Afterward, if these recruits survive, they'll be called heroes and released back into society. One returned hero, who credited the military with having "properly trained and hardened me," was Timothy McVeigh. According to the Pentagon, waivers in 2001 totaled 7,640, increasing to 11,018 in 2005....."

I suggest you read the entire article to understand the problem.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/46922/

[avocats]

Exactly. I disagree with Napolitano on a lot of issues, but here was a report identifying a potential problem, which we have actual factual basis for (Tim McVeigh)--as opposed to the Bush administration's warmongering on pretext.
More Republican smokeblowing.

[plooger]

Right. Except this report has little to do with Janet Napolitano, since it was commissioned before her ever being in control of the agency.

McVeigh is one example; Eric Rudoph is another.

[hollybork]

Despicable conservatives cannot get Obama so they sme a fine public servant, Janet Nappolitano. She prosecuted McVee in the Oklahoma City bombings, and knows about domestic terror, that it can and will come as much from our own people as from outsiders. Hate is not the sole property of al Qaeda, it also lives and breathes among us and between us.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

once she regurgitated the totally bogus myth that the 911 terrorist came from Canada they realized they were kindred souls.

[somefool]

I'm not sure, are Repubs saying they don't want DHS to keep an eye on the Klan, Aryan Brotherhood, and people like McVeigh because they are all part of the Republican base?

[BarackstarObama]

Tragically and almost unimaginatively, this appears to be the case. Hey rethugs, you can't handle the truth!

[jazzycafe]

Isn't that why they are so offended?