Gates still not ready to sign on to DADT repeal

[ccharles000]

(Carlisle, Pennsylvania) Changing the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gay troops is “very difficult,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday, indicating that doing so could take years - if it ever happens.

Speaking at the Army War College, Gates said he and President Barack Obama were discussing the policy and whether to change it. Gates said he was not yet taking a position about whether gay troops should be open about their sexuality, which could lead to their discharge under the current rules.

Gates also noted it took five years for the U.S. military to racially integrate during the Truman administration.

“If we do it, it’s imperative that we do it right and very carefully,” Gates told reporters later on a military jet to Newport, R.I., where he was to speak Friday at the Navy’s war college.

He added: “It’s very difficult. To get peoples’ real feelings about it you have to have almost a one-on-one private conversation. I think it’s very difficult for people to speak in front of their peers about this issue.”

Obama committed during the 2008 presidential campaign to moving to end the Clinton administration-era policy that was enacted as a compromise between openly gay people serving in the armed forces and those opposed to gays in uniform.

Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org, said scrapping “don’t ask, don’t tell” to let gay troops serve openly “can and should happen now.”

http://www.365gay.com/news/gates-still-not-ready-to-sign-on-to-dadt-repeal/

[babylonsister]

1. I bet Gates won't have the last word, especially with Vets on the case

and a president who will listen.

[ruggerson]

2. He doesn't need to listen

he's already on record saying he'll get it done.

What he needs is to have the Joint Chiefs quietly agree to it and then signal Congress that it's time to do it.

He has another fifteen month window or so before the '10 congressional elections start to really get underway. If he's going to move on it, he has to do it well before then.

Hopefully Obama will follow Truman's lead and be forceful on this. 80% of the country backs ending DADT. The only folks dragging their feet are military brass.

[babylonsister]

3. Thanks. I thought he was on record saying he'll get it done.

I wonder what it is with some of these defense guys (Gates, Odierno) mouthing off without considering who they're representing. I think if Obama wanted something important released, he's quite capable of doing it himself.

I do trust President Obama will do the right thing, and also think he'll be getting a lot more pressure now. That's a good thing, too.

[Thrill]

4. It doesn't matter what Gates says. Just get Congress to debate it and pass it.

[jenmito]

5. Obama still has this on his "Civil Rights" page: "Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell"

"Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights/

I hope he doesn't let Gates change his mind.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. How is Gates relavant on this?

I know he is the Defense Secretary and all but haven't most military personnel been slowly coming out (in a manner of speaking) in support of repealing DADT in the years since it was enacted? And if Congress signs a repeal of DADT and Obama signs it (which I believe he will), his opinion isn't going to mean anything. Frankly, I don't see why it should be so hard. I mean, DADT actually ACKNOWLEDGES that gays and lesbians serve in the military right now- they just can't serve OPENLY- which is to say they're not allowed to openly admit it and if they do then they're gone. But I mean, is it REALLY going to make THAT much difference KNOWING for sure whether or not somebody is gay or lesbian?????
:wtf:
I.just.don't.get.it
IMHO DADT was an awful policy and Clinton should've just told Nunn, Warner and the rest of the homophobes and fundie nutjobs in Congress to GFT and lifted it via executive order as he had originally promised. It's hard to believe that back then gays and lesbians serving in the military openly was actually considered to be a major social issue and topic of intense coverage and debate, particularly for the increasingly poweful religious nutcases. Oh, how times have changed. :eyes: