title: kremlin nato was created for agression
text: janet reno first female us attorney general dies at   
  npr 
  janet reno the first woman to serve as attorney general of the united states died early monday from complications of parkinsons disease renos goddaughter gabrielle dalemberte and sister margaret hurchalla confirmed her passing to npr 
  reno spent her final days at home in miami surrounded by family and friends dalemberte told the associated press she was  
  reno served longer in the job than anyone had in  years and her tenure was marked by tragedy and controversy but she left office widely respected for her independence and accomplishments 
  she was not president bill clintons first choice to head the justice department nor his second but after his no  pick went down in confirmation flames and his second choice also proved controversial clinton finally turned to reno 
  she was an unexpected pick she had no connections to clinton or washington but clinton wanted a woman and reno was a bigtime prosecutor holding the top prosecutors job in miamidade county a position she had been elected to four times over  years 
  jamie gorelick who would later become deputy attorney general was assigned to prep reno for her confirmation hearing she was the least airbrushed candidate we have ever had for a cabinetlevel position says gorelick she was herself and she didnt change herself for washington 
  reno arrived at the justice department knowing no one and was immediately plunged into the siege at the branch davidian compound outside waco texas four federal agents had been killed and  wounded while serving a warrant to search for illegal guns seven weeks into the siege pressed by the fbi reno authorized a raid on the compound resulting in  deaths including as many as  children and the davidian leader david koresh who ordered his followers to set fire to the compound 
  in two sets of waco congressional hearings over the next two years reno would successfully quell critics on the right and left 
  what haunted me reno explained at one hearing was that if i did not go in i might be sitting there  days later  when koresh came out with explosives blew himself some agents and the entire place up 
  years later however in an interview with npr shortly before leaving office her regret was palpable well never know whether it was a mistake or not in one sense reno admitted but knowing what i do i would not do it again i would try to figure another way 
  waco didnt make her hesitant it made her insistent about getting her own information observes walter dellinger who served in two top justice department jobs under reno 
  dellinger believes for instance that it may have been the waco experience that led reno to go personally to miami in april  to see if there was a way to avoid a forcible removal of yearold cuban refugee elián gonzález from the home of a greatuncle so the boy could be returned to his only living parent in cuba 
  elián had been rescued at sea after his mother and eight others drowned trying to get to the united states rescued by fishermen and brought to the us he was soon turned over to his greatuncle the cuban community in miami was in an uproar over the idea of returning the boy to his father who lived in cuba and the furor soon bled over to congress 
  but when negotiations with the greatuncle failed armed federal agents acting on renos orders raided the home removed elián and turned him over to his father who had come to the us to receive his son when the us supreme court refused to intervene the two returned to their home in cuba 
  janet reno takes the oath as attorney general during a ceremony at the white house on march   while president bill clinton watches 
  barry thummaap 
  over the course of time reno would become embroiled in many controversies she sought the appointment of a series of independent counsels to investigate four fellow cabinet members and president clinton himself but she refused to authorize an independent counsel investigation of contributions to the clintongore campaign after justice department lawyers concluded no crime had been committed by either the president or vice president 
  the decision so infuriated republicans that some called for her impeachment this is the most politicized justice department in the history of the united states railed dan burton the republican chairman of a key house oversight committee 
  at  feet  inches however reno stood tall in the political crosswinds gorelick observes that when members of congress like burton were unhappy with a government official they threatened to call that official to testify but reno who had served as a staffer in the florida state legislature always said fine ill be there as a result says gorelick eventually all those who were threatening her with a hearing stopped doing that because she prevailed in every outing that i can recall  she just went in there and laid out her views and bested those who would challenge her 
  the controversies that the justice department faced during renos reign often eclipsed the many things that went well the quick apprehension and successful prosecution of the oklahoma city bombers for example the pursuit of bombers of womens health clinics that provide abortions and the solving of the socalled unabomber case 
  after nearly two decades of fruitless pursuit the fbi still had no idea as to the identity of the man dubbed the unabomber who had killed three people and injured  then in  the bomber sent a letter to the new york times offering to cease his terror campaign if the times or the washington post would publish his word manifesto against modern industry and technology neither newspaper was inclined to do that initially but reno the daughter of two newspaper journalists persuaded the newspaper owners to jointly publish the essay in the interests of public safety 
  it paid off the unabombers brother recognized the style and ideas in the essay and tipped off the fbi ending the bombers long reign of terror theodore kaczynski aka the unabomber is now serving a life term in a maximum security federal prison 
  in  reno was diagnosed with parkinsons disease she did not slow down but her hands sometimes shook so hard you could hear them knocking against the table at a congressional hearing she even joked about the disease claiming that shaking sometimes helps as in playing a steel drum or balancing her kayak 
  that combination of toughness and selfdeprecating humor plus her determination to protect the justice department from improper influence made her a hero to many who worked for her 
  janet reno led with her values says former deputy attorney general gorelick the departments no  official and that meant that if she decided that a certain path was the right thing to do the people around her believed her and would charge up any hill behind her  id never seen that before in quite the same way 
  florida gubernatorial candidate and former us attorney general janet reno speaks at the florida democratic party state conference on april   in lake buena vista fla she lost the democratic primary 
  reno won enormous respect inside the department as well because of her work ethic and dedication to understanding issues in the many parts of the justice department  from national security to environmental questions to the generally obscure field of indian law 
  us attorney general loretta lynch called her one of the most effective decisive and wellrespectedleaders in the departments proud history who never shied from criticism or shirked responsibility and former attorney general eric holder said that in a city where too many compromise their values for short term political gain janet reno stood out as a person of integrity and of enduring values 
  former solicitor general dellinger believes that reno was prepared for the attorney generals job early in life by her intellect and ungainly height this is a woman that went to cornell and harvard law school at a time when very few women went to harvard law school went through junior high and high school being twice as tall as anybody else and probably twice as smart  and thats really really tough 
  there were of course ups and downs in the eight years of renos reign but she said she always took the long view of her job 
  if the end brings me out right what people said about me wont make any difference and if the end brings me out wrong  angels saying i was right wont make any difference she said in an interview with npr in  
  president clinton made little secret of his frequent displeasure with reno and the wall of separation she erected between the justice department and the white house still he never asked her to resign reno was the last cabinet member he reappointed after his reelection in  
  it was actually quite wonderful said dellinger she just decided to stay and it turns out that nobody could fire her 
  the tension between clinton and his attorney general was apparent even as clintons time in office drew to a close in an interview with cbs news  minutes  clinton went out of his way to praise friends and foes alike but when it came to his evaluation of reno he was tepid to say the least 
  good woman he said tried really hard to do a good job shes a good person 
  at least he didnt say i was a bad person replied reno with a laugh ill take what i can get 
  indeed by the end of her tenure janet reno had outlasted her critics and earned such a reputation for integrity and independence that comedian will ferrells parody of her became one of the iconic skits on nbcs saturday night live  the recurring skit was inspired by reports that reno had cut quite a figure dancing at a justice department party 
  on the last episode of the janet renos dance party parody ferrell wearing a blue dress and pearls reminisces about past glories and laments that the end of the party is near then suddenly the real janet reno comes crashing through the wall of the set wearing the same blue dress and pearls as ferrell to deliver one of ferrells signature lines its reno time 
  oh janet he says to the real reno as he mourns the end of the skits run what do you do when you get sad 
  i just dance reno replies commanding the orchestra now hit it as she breaks out her best moves to twist and shout it was her last day in office