The Hollywood Liberal

Note To McCain And Fox News: Bush?s DHS Also Objected To Terms Like ?Islamic Extremists?
Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) went on Fox News to add to the right-wing backlash against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. When Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade asked McCain “how messed up has Homeland Security been since they took office,” McCain agreed that “some mistakes have been made, obviously.” McCain and Kilmeade then criticized Napolitano […]

Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) went on Fox News to add to the right-wing backlash against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. When Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade asked McCain “how messed up has Homeland Security been since they took office,” McCain agreed that “some mistakes have been made, obviously.”

McCain and Kilmeade then criticized Napolitano for dropping terms like “terror” and “Islamic extremists”:

KILMEADE: Do you have a problem calling terrorists, Islamic extremists, terrorists or using the term terror or man-made disasters?

MCCAIN: No, I don’t. Nor do I agree with overseas contingencies because those overseas contingencies can quickly turn into a domestic contingency unless we take care of them overseas.

KILMEADE: But that’s the mindset, Senator. Does that mindset worry you?

MCCAIN: I know. It worries me a great deal. But this change in language comes down from the very top.

Watch it:

This change, however, was also adopted during the Bush administration. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Michael Chertoff released a report saying that phrases such as “Islamic terrorist” may actually be hurting counterterrorism efforts:

Because of religious connotations, that report, released in January and obtained by AP this week, counseled “caution in using terms such as, ‘jihadist,’ ‘Islamic terrorist,’ ‘Islamist,’ and ‘holy warrior’ as grandiose descriptions.”

“We should not concede the terrorists’ claim that they are legitimate adherents of Islam,” the report said, adding that bin Laden and his adherents fear “irrelevance” more than anything else

Regarding the “war on terror” catchphrase that has largely been dropped across the Obama administration, a RAND study in July 2008 concluded that “the United States should abandon the use of the phrase. “The term we use to describe our strategy toward terrorists is important, because it affects what kinds of forces you use,” said Seth Jones, the study’s lead author. “Terrorists should be perceived and described as criminals, not holy warriors, and our analysis suggests that there is no battlefield solution to terrorism.”

Transcript: More ?? Less

Rep. King: Jay Bybee ?should be given a medal for what he did.?
This afternoon on Fox News, correspondent Brian Wilson reported that “left leaning groups and some Democrats” believe torture architect Judge Jay Bybee should be impeached. Responding to a question from Wilson, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said, “I think someone who writes a how-to memo on how to break the law should not be a federal […]

This afternoon on Fox News, correspondent Brian Wilson reported that “left leaning groups and some Democrats” believe torture architect Judge Jay Bybee should be impeached. Responding to a question from Wilson, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said, “I think someone who writes a how-to memo on how to break the law should not be a federal judge.” The ultra conservative Rep. Peter King (R-NY) took the polar opposite view, telling Wilson that Bybee should be “given a medal” for authorizing torture:

KING: I think that Judge Bybee should be given a medal for what he did. But even if I disagreed with those memos, these are memos written in good faith. These well written, well reasoned memos. People may disagree with them, but he belongs on the bench. He should stay on the bench. And I think talk of impeaching him or going after him is again the worst type of political vindictiveness.

Watch it:

Please join our campaign calling on Congress to begin impeachment hearings against Jay Bybee.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 4:32 am and is filed under Main Blog (All Posts). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.