- January 01, 2010
Democrats Join Calls for Napolitano to Step Down Following Failed Attack
Democrats have joined the ranks of those calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight a week ago.
Some Democrats have joined in calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight a week ago.
Though the CIA and an agency under the Director of National Intelligence have been under particular scrutiny in the preliminary review of possible missteps, Napolitano so far has taken the most heat from lawmakers. Not only does her department oversee the Transportation Security Administration, but her initial claim Sunday that "the system worked" was widely ridiculed and interpreted by critics as a sign that she's in over her head.
Some Republicans, who've taken issue with her in the past for calling terrorist acts "man-caused disasters" and other remarks, started calling for her ouster in the spring. The failed bombing on Christmas Day revived those calls.
Now Democrats have joined the chorus.
New Jersey State Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, wrote a letter to Napolitano this week calling on her to step down. He said Napolitano, an attorney and former Arizona governor, does not have the experience for the post she is in.
"We should have someone who doesn't need to go in there and learn about terrorism, learn about security," Codey told Fox News. "How close were these 300 people on this plane from losing their lives because homeland security broke down? Boy, it was really close."
The Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and has grown into one of the largest Cabinet departments in the federal government. Charged with keeping the nation safe from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters, it covers the TSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a slew of other agencies.
Codey said a candidate "well-versed" in intelligence should step into the job.
Democratic strategist Dan Gerstein also said Napolitano's response to the incident should be the last straw.
"I tend to think she will be pushed out in the next couple of months," Gerstein, a former adviser to Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said.
For now, the administration says it has absolute confidence in Napolitano. She is an active part of the internal review and on Thursday took additional steps to improve security at international airports.
She announced that she's sending senior officials abroad to meet with leaders from international airports to review security measures. Napolitano said she is "fully committed to making whatever changes are necessary to protect the safety of the traveling public."
Napolitano on Monday also clarified that she didn't believe "the system worked" in the run-up to the attempted bombing, which failed because the explosive mixture used did not properly detonate. Napolitano said she was merely referring to the inter-agency cooperation in the aftermath of the attempt.
To Republicans who have lambasted the administration in recent days over its response, the White House accuses critics of playing political games.
"Unfortunately too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer," Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer wrote on the White House blog.
Republicans, though, have not held back.
Republican Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Napolitano does not have the experience for the job, and her remarks only prove that she doesn't take the terrorist threat as seriously as she should.
"She's not doing her job," Burton told Fox News.
Former New York Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato also said Napolitano should resign.
But other Democrats are urging lawmakers not to jump to conclusions when the internal review is only now getting underway.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said that if it turns out the secretary dropped the ball then members of Congress will ask for her resignation.
"I'm not at that point yet," he said.
An election for President and Commander in Chief of the Military must strive to be above reproach. Our public institutions must give the public confidence that a presidential candidate has complied with the election process that is prescribed by our Constitution and laws. It is only after a presidential candidate satisfies the rules of such a process that he/she can expect members of the public, regardless of their party affiliations, to give him/her the respect that the Office of President so much deserves.
'Ineptitude'- thy name is Napolitano.
ReplyDeleteThis is a small video about TSA monitoring at Dallas Airport - after all the protestations and promises to fix the system. There is only one requirement to be on Obama's team, and here's more proof.
http://www.breitbart.tv/dallas-security-checkpoint-left-unattended-for-90-minutes/
IMO, Napolitano WAS -- in HER mind, entirely correct in saying, "... the system worked." She, obviously, was well informed of the false-flag hoax that was about to be pulled off and saw that all the principal actors in the series of events preformed exactly as "the establishment" had planned! Every step along the way appears to have been orchestrated by "the establishment" and each even worked according to plan. Thus, "the system" that the planners had designed to crate another 'excuse' for additional extension of controls that were about to expire WAS successful.
ReplyDeleteObviously, Janet is not wrapped too tightly -- maybe is on about the same plane as the brainwashed "bomber" who was. apparently, duped into playing his role. Of course, this is all just MY speculation -- but, to date, there are WAY TOO MANY unexplained parts to give the whole any real credibility. IF the event was NOT pre-planned -- or, at the least, permitted by abstetion of "normal screening" procedures such as ignoring the "mysterious banker" father's advisory long before the event that he suspected his son of planning terrorism to the actual boarding without documents situation where an "unknown" well dressed man intimidated the screeners to let him board without a visa -- on a one way ticket that he paid for in cash and had no luggage!
IMO, the American public who accepts this "official" explanation are just as gullible as the witless "bomber" and the head of security - Janet Napolitano. "Their" plan did work -- just as they hoped it would. It was equally successful as the "inside job" that was 9-11 where, on 9/12, "they"(our government)published the names of the 19 terrorists that participated in events of 9-11, WHEN NONE OF THOSE NAMES HAD APPEARED ON THE PASSENGER LISTS! Verify EVERYthing - trust no one ... including this commentator. Dig out the facts.
Facts don't lie. That, lying, is the exclusive domain of the political class.