Napolitano Draws Resignation Calls

Date: 4/23/2009

Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/23/napolitano-draws-resignation-calls-gaffes-veterans-canada/

Source: FOXNews

Main Points:

1.      Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is under fire for what critics see as a string of gaffes, with a small but vocal group of conservatives calling for her to step down.

2.      The outrage continues to build over a report from her department that warned of the danger of right-wing "extremists," and singled out returning war veterans as susceptible to recruitment. 

3.      Napolitano expressed regret for the reference to veterans -- but she raised eyebrows again this week when she suggested that the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States through Canada, even though the 9/11 Commission determined they came to the United States from overseas. 

4.      "I don't know that the secretary understands the depth of the disruption that she's caused," Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, told FOX News on Thursday, referring to the report on extremist threats. "I think the appropriate thing to do is for her to step down and let's move on."

5.      Napolitano on Thursday acknowledged the criticism and reiterated that the extremist report was "not well written" and should not have been released in that form.

6.      She said she would meet with the leadership of the American Legion on Friday over the reference to returning war veterans. But she rebuffed those who say an apology is not enough. "That's what they're going to get," Napolitano said. 

7.      She also corrected her statements on Canada, admitting that she falsely suggested Sept. 11 terrorists crossed over from Canada.

8.      "I knew the minute it came out of my mouth it was wrong," she said. Napolitano first clarified her comments in a written statement that said: "I know that the September 11th hijackers did not come through Canada to the United States. There are other instances, however, when suspected terrorists have attempted to enter our country from Canada to the United States." 

9.      Her explanation was not so clear during the interview Monday with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that sparked the new controversy. The secretary was asked to elaborate on comments about giving the Mexican and Canadian borders equal treatment, even though Canada is not experiencing a violent drug war.

10.     "Yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn't have a drug war going on," she said. "Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there." Napolitano was asked if she was referring to the Sept. 11 hijackers.

11.     She said: "Not just those but others as well." This angered some Canadian officials, who called such claims an unfortunate "misconception" in media interviews. 

12.     Such criticism sprung in part from a speech Napolitano delivered last month at the Brookings Institution, in which she said "we shouldn't go light on one (border) and heavy on the other. If things are being done on the Mexican border, they should also be done on the Canadian border," she said. "This is one NAFTA, its one area, its one continent and there should be some parity there."

Comments: Another dope Obama’s vetting process brought into the White House. How stupid does someone has to be to say something that insensitive at the level she is at in the government?

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