Marine Commandant Defies White House on DADT

[HopeOverFear]

The Washington Times is reporting that Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway is opposing President Obama's pledge to repeal "don't ask, don't tell." Citing a former senior Pentagon official, the Times says that General Conway, "has emerged in internal Pentagon deliberations as the most outspoken opponent of permitting gay men and women to serve openly in the U.S. military." According to the Times, the official says that "Conway has gone further than others in stating his opposition to a change in policy."

If nothing else, Conway's apparent resistance may be a warning shot to the White House by telegraphing arguments that opponents of repeal will invoke if the Senate holds hearings on "don't ask, don't tell." Given that we are fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, opponents will say, we just cannot take time out to focus on civil rights issues like gays in the military.

But there could be other implications to the case, some of which have higher stakes than the gays in the military issue. On one hand, even if the White House did not coordinate the leaking of General Conway's views, there is a way in which his opposition plays into the administration's hand. The President, of course, is strongly in favor of repealing the ban. His political reality, however, is that he has to deal with a range of other crises before turning to repeal. What better way to justify going slowly than a statement by the Marine Commandant that we cannot do this now?


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-belkin/marine-commandant-defies_b_342532.html

[Captain Hilts]

1. He won't keep his job long then. nt

[Cha]

2. Oh yeah, there's always

going to be those who try and buck the White House on this.

But, this isn't going to stop progress.

[jenmito]

3. Conway's job is to implement the CIC's orders. He should be fired if he refuses to help repeal DADT

[Jackeens]

4. Fire the fucker.

[msongs]

5. they will push Obama around til Obama puts a stop to it..just who IS CIC anyway? nt

[Vidar]

15. Rahm Emmanuel &/or Goldman Sachs.

[PopSixSquish]

6. I Suggest the President Have His Four-Star Marine Corp General

put his foot up General Conway's ass to remind him that both he (Jim Jones - National Security Advisor) and the Commandant serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States. If General Conway has an issue repealing DADT, he can resign his commission...

[Tippy]

7. Time to give this fellow his walking papers...........n/t

[kestrel91316]

8. Conway needs to remove his bigoted ass from the military. That, or he had

best get in line with his CIC if he wants to keep his job and retirement benefits.

[QC]

9. Time for a replay of Truman vs. MacArthur here. n/t

[Sinistrous]

10. Poorly phrased headline.

General Conway may be opposed to a proposed change in policy, but nothing in the article indicates that he is violating existing policy nor does it show that he is disobeying any orders.

Conway is probably a jerk, but he is not "defying" anybody or anything.

[burning rain]

11. There were general officer resignations in the British army when gays were allowed in.

Let Conway and others go if it turns out that their hatred of gays exceeds their desire to serve their country.

[DRoseDARs]

12. Rest assured that Obama will quixotically try to find a bipartisan solution to this insubordination.

eom

[bemildred]

13. Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out, General, nt

[santamargarita]

14. New Headline: Marine Commandant Gets Fired

:yoiks:

[Thrill]

16. Leave it to the Washington Times to find this story

.

And the writer in this article is trying to insinuate that the WH leaked this. Which I find as BS. If this was the NYTimes reporting this, the suggestion would be credible. But this is the Washington Times which means this is coming from the Bushes still in the Pentagon.

[hileeopnyn8d]

19. I didn't even notice

it was from the Washington Times, thanks for pointing that out. I don't trust much of what they print.

[izzybeans]

17. I propose a don't ask don't tell policy for assholes like this bigot. Let him live in a

closet. See how it feels. Step out of the closet = discharge. BS morale issue solved. Flip the script.

[muntrv]

18. Jimbo, don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!