Question:  Do you feel that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano should be fired over a report warning that right-wing extremists could recruit U.S. veterans for violent anti-government activity?

This article reveals that a military affairs expert is calling for her to be fired-You Decide:

Military Expert Ralph Peters: Fire Napolitano for Smearing Veterans: Posted on NewsMax.Com-By Jim Meyers on April 16, 2009:

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/peters_fire_napolitano/2009/04/16/203701.html

These are pertinent excerpts from this article:

“Military affairs expert Ralph Peters is calling for the firing of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano over a report warning that right-wing extremists could recruit U.S. veterans for violent anti-government activity.

Peters, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army who is now a columnist and author, also called on President Barack Obama to apologize for the report.

Veterans groups are up in arms over a footnote in the report, which was released last week by Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, stating that violent acts could be committed by right-wing extremists concerned about illegal immigration, abortion, increasing federal power and restrictions on firearms ó and singling out war veterans as vulnerable to recruitment.

Napolitano apologized to veterans for the report in an interview with Fox News on Thursday, saying: To the extent veterans read it as an accusation . . . an apology is owed.

The last thing we want to do is offend or castigate all veterans. To the contrary let’s meet and clear the air.

If there’s one part of that report I would rewrite . . . after the fact it would be that footnote.

Also appearing on Fox News on Thursday, Peters declared: Let’s get right to it ó she needs to be fired for her bigoted attitude toward our military veterans. And then give her a job at the International House of Pancakes because she’s good with waffles.

Calling Napolitano Janet from Another Planet, Peters also said: I encourage all Americans to read the report:

http://api.ning.com/files/UNNlkOVukw8cXztJc4bDEq2ztrm9owekwvHofmLwYgxLlpwX8*h1av8amHehbYkmt3Qvxny16Gh1ob8gFYeRrw2HVq-joU7Y/hsarightwingextremism0904071.pdf

It repeatedly warns of our military veterans being terrorists. That’s the word she uses, terrorists.

It warns about people who oppose illegal immigration as being terrorist threats, people who may differ on right to life issues as terrorist threats. And it’s also racist because there’s no mention of minority violence, no mention of Muslim violence, of Islamist violence. Basically if you read it you get the idea that white Christians are a threat to the country.

And oh by the way, watch out for those vets because Hollywood and Harvard warned us they’re coming to move in next door to kill you and hurt your child. It’s disgraceful.

Peters said that in all his years of military service, I never, never met a right-wing extremist. We all got along just fine. This is a Hollywood and Harvard myth about how our military works.

They always bring up Timothy McVeigh. Look, Timothy McVeigh tried to get into Special Forces. He got the boot. And he’s the only person they can ever cite. My God, to assume that all vets are potential Timothy McVeighs is ugly.

This attack on our vets, you can’t just say, sorry. Why did she issue the report in the first place? She is responsible and the president needs to apologize to our vets.

Peter Hegseth, an Iraq veteran and chairman of Vets for Freedom, is also outraged. He said: It’s amazing that they would single out veterans as a threat to this country.

It underscores a pervasive belief that some are trying to spread that veterans are victims and we’re coming home as damaged goods.”

**This is a news release issued by DHS Secretary Napolitano on April 15, 2009:

Statement by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on the Threat of Right-Wing Extremism:

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1239817562001.shtm

Note: During a news interview session today with the Homeland Security Chief he was asked whether their office had ever issued a similar report for Leftwing Extremist groups and he replied that they had.  I took the time to conduct my own research and found the following Leftwing Extremist report issued on January 29, 2009, which definitely does not have the same deplorable tone and didn’t include Veterans or the race card as one of the reasons for the report -You Decide:

This is the DHS Leftwing Extremist Report:

(U//FOUO) Leftwing Extremists Likely to Increase Use of Cyber Attacks over the Coming Decade of January 26, 2009:

http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/Leftwing_Extremist_Threat.pdf

These are the Scope and Findings from this report for you to compare against the Rightwing Extremist Report below:

“(U) Prepared by the Strategic Analysis Group, Homeland Environment and Threat Analysis Division.

(U) Scope:

(U//FOUO) This product is one of a series of intelligence assessments published by the DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) Strategic Analysis Group to facilitate a greater understanding of the emerging threats to the United States. The information is provided to federal, state, and local counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks against the United States.

(U//FOUO) This assessment examines the potential threat to homeland security from cyber attacks conducted by leftwing extremists, a threat that DHS/I&A believes likely will grow over the next decade. It focuses on the more prominent leftwing groups within the animal rights, environmental, and anarchist extremist movements that promote or have conducted criminal or terrorist activities (see Appendix). This assessment is intended to alert DHS policymakers, state and local officials, and intelligence analysts monitoring the subject so they can better focus their collection requirements and analysis.

(U//FOUO) The key assumptions underpinning this report include:

—   (U//FOUO) Cyber attack capabilities will continue to proliferate and be readily available. 

—   (U//FOUO) Some cyber attack capabilities will continue to outpace countermeasures.

—   (U//FOUO) Leftwing extremists will continue to focus on what they consider economic targets.

—   (U//FOUO) Economic enterprises and other organizations will become more dependent on advanced information technologies.

(U) Source Summary Statement:

(U//FOUO) This assessment reflects primarily intelligence reporting from federal, state, and local agencies at the Unclassified//For Official Use Only level. Key judgments are based largely on field agent reporting considered highly reliable and on law enforcement finished intelligence. By design, the judgments use an estimative analytic approach. DHS subject-matter experts in the areas of domestic leftwing extremism and cyber technologies provided support for threat and trend analysis. 

In addition, DHS/I&A examined leftwing extremist media for evidence pointing to ideological shifts or changes in motivation and intent. Government crime data specific to leftwing extremist cyber attacks are unavailable, but DHS/I&A assesses that open source and other data accurately frame leftwing extremist goals and motivations, although some of the sources may have provided information intended to deceive or mislead. Other open source information included business journals and research institute reports.

(U) Key Findings:

(U//FOUO) DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) judges that a number of emerging trends point to leftwing extremists maturing and expanding their cyber attack capabilities over the next decade with the aim of attacking targets in the United States.

—   (U//FOUO) The potential for economic damage, the individually-initiated and anonymous nature of cyber attacks, and the perception that cyber attacks are nonviolent align well with the ideological beliefs, strategic objectives, and tactics of many leftwing extremists.

—   (U//FOUO) The increasing reliance of commercial businesses and other enterprises on cyber technologies, including interconnected networks and remote access, creates new and expanding vulnerabilities that technically-savvy leftwing extremists will exploit.

—   (U//FOUO) The proliferation of cyber technologies and expertise as well, as the public availability of online hacking tools and “hackers-for-hire” offer leftwing extremists incentives to adopt a cyber attack strategy.”

This is the DHS Rightwing Extremist Report:

(U//FOUO) Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment of 7 April 2009:

http://api.ning.com/files/UNNlkOVukw8cXztJc4bDEq2ztrm9owekwvHofmLwYgxLlpwX8*h1av8amHehbYkmt3Qvxny16Gh1ob8gFYeRrw2HVq-joU7Y/hsarightwingextremism0904071.pdf

These are the Scope and Findings from this report for you to compare against the Leftwing Extremist Report above:

(U) Prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division. Coordinated with the FBI.

(U) Scope:

(U//FOUO) This product is one of a series of intelligence assessments published by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch to facilitate a greater understanding of the phenomenon of violent radicalization in the United States. The information is provided to federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials so they may effectively deter, prevent, preempt, or respond to terrorist attacks against the United States. Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship.

(U) Key Findings:

—   (U//LES) The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific information that domestic rightwing* terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues.The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment.

—   (U//LES) Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts. Nevertheless, the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn—including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit—could create a fertile recruiting environment for rightwing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past.

—   (U//LES) Rightwing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members, mobilize existing supporters, and broaden their scope and appeal through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning.

—   (U//FOUO) The current economic and political climate has some similarities to the 1990s when rightwing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs, and the perceived threat to U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers.

—   (U//FOUO) During the 1990s, these issues contributed to the growth in the number of domestic rightwing terrorist and extremist groups and an increase in violent acts targeting government facilities, law enforcement officers, banks, and infrastructure sectors.

—   (U//FOUO) Growth of these groups subsided in reaction to increased government scrutiny as a result of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and disrupted plots, improvements in the economy, and the continued U.S. standing as the preeminent world power.

—   (U//FOUO) The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.

* (U) 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.

—   (U//FOUO) Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of rightwing extremist groups, as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government. The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by rightwing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement. 

—   (U//FOUO) Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to rightwing extremists. DHS/I&A is concerned that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to boost their violent capabilities.”

“Food For Thought”

“God Bless Our USA”

  Semper Fi!