DADT and No
Just how clueless (and disingenuous) are Republicans anyway?
Consistent with the President’s State of the Union Address, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of Defense today testified that they agreed that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military’s policy should be repealed. It’s great that the media are even describing Admiral Mullen’s testimony as “an impassioned plea” and that Secretary Gates is looking to change the enforcement of the existing policy within 45 days. NY Times “Top Defense Officials Seek to End ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’”
Of course, the Republican response was typically negative. McCain, for example, was “deeply disappointed”. But the pip is that of Rep. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, who said Sunday on Meet the Press, “In the middle of two wars and in the middle of this giant security threat, why would we want to get into this debate?”
Why???? How clueless is this guy??? Forget about Adm. Mullen’s observation that “allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.” Or Sec. Gates’ present commitment to “enforce this policy in a more humane and fair manner.”
The answer is that the military can stop using increasingly scarce resources to hunt down, prosecute, and ultimately discharge talented and commited servicemen and women–including extremely rare Arabic translators–who are essential to its efforts in prosecuting those 2 wars. That nuanced perception, however, would require more words than “No.”
