GOP Senators Ignore Pentagon Leadership's Plea to Protect Military And Repeal DADT

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from Greg Sargent at WaPo's Plum Line: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/12/the_military_leaderships_chall.html


The military leadership's challenge to GOP Senators

It's important that we be 100 percent clear on what happened at this morning's Senate hearings on Don't Ask Don't Tell. Military leaders essentially pleaded with GOP Senators to support repealing DADT, arguing that the failure to do so would put the state of our military at serious risk.

Remarkably, despite this clear plea, many Republican Senators still appear unwilling to allow the military leadership's request to do what they believe is right by our military to be a serious factor in their thinking.

In his testimony this morning, Defense Secretary Robert Gates put this as clearly as you could ask for. He noted that the courts are getting more involved in DADT, and said he worried that if the courts abruptly overturn the policy, it could leave the military leadership utterly incapable of responding without harming the armed forces.

"We would have zero time to prepare," Gates said. "No time to train. No time to prepare. That is the worst imaginable outcome as far as I'm concerned, and has very high risk to the force." By contrast, Gates said, if Congress repeals DADT, it would afford him more control over the timetable, allowing him to monitor the impact of repealing the policy and to adjust accordingly.


read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/12/the_military_leaderships_chall.html