Obama wants to end don’t ask, don’t tell policy

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Obama wants to end don’t ask, don’t tell policy
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, January 16, 2009

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will ask Congress to end the Defense Department’s ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military, according to incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Last Friday, in a video released on the presidential transition team Web site, Gibbs responded to an e-mailer’s question of whether the new president would get rid of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy.

“You don’t hear politicians give a one-word answer much, but it’s ‘Yes,’” he replied.

Gibbs’ comment was the first public statement on the policy from the Obama administration since the election. Transition office officials say the video was not meant to put new emphasis on the issue, but to reiterate the campaign promise made by Obama. Last year, Obama told Stars and Stripes that he believes the rule must be repealed.

“The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve,” he said in a statement to the paper. “I will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60043