How The Political Right Bullied The US Government Into Ignoring The Threat of Right-Wing Extremism

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/story/152033/how_the_political_right_bullied_the_us_government_into_ignoring_the_threat_of_right-wing_extremism?page=entire

Alternet / By Rania Khalek

How the Political Right Bullied the US Government Into Ignoring the Threat of Right-Wing Extremism

After right-wingers freaked out about a report detailing the rise in right-wing extremism, Homeland Security effectively dismantled a unit tasked with tracking it.

August 15, 2011  

- snip -

For six years, Darryl Johnson headed a Department of Homeland Security team tracking domestic extremist groups. Now Johnson, who is no longer with DHS, says that conservative furor over the report's findings pressured Homeland Security to abandon reporting on and monitoring the rising threat of right-wing extremism for the past two years. 

In April 2009, DHS issued an intelligence assessment, co-authored by Johnson, titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." The document was one of many threat assessments shared between DHS and state and local law enforcement agencies to keep them apprised of potential and looming threats, and warned of a surge in right-wing extremism due to the election of the country's first black president and the economic recession.

- snip -

DHS initially defended the report, but within days caved to political pressure and practically disowned it, with Secretary Napolitano apologizing to the American Legion for the report's mention of military veterans. But DHS did more than just publicly buckle under the political weight of conservative critics. According to Johnson, the department effectively dismantled his intelligence team following the right’s uproar.

In an in-depth interview published in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report, Johnson reveals the level of sway the political right had in thwarting intelligence work on right-wing extremism. He says DHS deliberately mischaracterized the report as unauthorized, even though it had passed through proper channels and instituted restrictive policies that brought the important work of his unit to a virtual standstill. As a result, Johnson left DHS in dismay and was followed by almost all the members of his team, leaving a single analyst where there had been six. In comparison, there are at least 25 analysts devoted to tracking Islamic terrorism.

MORE AT LINK

[defendandprotect]

1. "Pro-life" groups were being financed by white Christian militia groups ....

and Supreme Court refused to apply the RICO laws to them !!


In fact we should be applying the RICO laws to Citizens United decision!!

[defendandprotect]

2. dupe --

and Supreme Court refused to apply the RICO laws to them !!


In fact we should be applying the RICO laws to Citizens United decision!!

[markpkessinger]

3. The article begs the question...

... is the proper for the Department of Homeland Security one of avoiding topics that might create political discomfort for the President, or should its proper role include an honest, unvarnished assessment of security threats facing the country? This doesn't speak well of either Napolitano or of the President.