DADT HEARING by Steve Benen~

[Cha]

"DADT HEARING.... The Senate Armed Services Committee, for the first time in 17 years, convened a hearing today on whether the U.S. military should allow Americans to wear a uniform, regardless of their sexual orientation. It went pretty well, though there are some lingering concerns about implementing a change in policy.

The nation's top two Defense officials called on Tuesday for an end to the 16-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.

"No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens," Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said it was his personal belief that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do."

That quote, in and of itself, is an important milestone. The nation's highest ranking military officer -- appointed by a conservative Republican president, no less -- stated his unambiguous opposition to the discriminatory and ineffective status quo. This is a first for a sitting chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Indeed, after the hearing, Adm. Mullen reiterated his position on Twitter, insisting that he "stands by" what he told the committee: "Allowing homosexuals to serve openly is the right thing to do. Comes down to integrity."

But the way forward is not quite as clear-cut as some of us would prefer. Ideally, DADT repeal would be added to the Defense budget, it would be approved by both chambers, and the policy would be no more.

Alas, implementation will apparently be more complicated. The Pentagon is creating a review panel on changing the policy, which "could take up to a year." It's not altogether clear how this would unfold, but ideally, Congress would change the law with the budget, and the new, more sensible policy would begin in January.

In the meantime, Gates also said this morning that the Defense Department intends to enforce the status quo "in a fairer manner" until the repeal is complete, suggesting that the Pentagon will likely be disinclined to discharge servicemen and women who are "outed" by third parties or jilted partners. The secretary said he believes the Pentagon has "a degree of latitude within the existing law to change our internal procedures."

All things considered, the steps forward seem to be moving in the right direction."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/—Steve Benen 3:15 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (12)

[goclark]

1. The train is moving out of the station

But it needs to hurry ~ Heard Colin Powell announced that DADT should be gone! : bounce:

[Cha]

2. "POWELL BACKS DADT REPEAL"

I was just coming here to post this!

POWELL BACKS DADT REPEAL.... About a decade ago, Sen. John McCain was asked why he still supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He said he backs it because Colin Powell supports it. In 2006, McCain was asked the same question. He replied, "I listen to people like Gen. Colin Powell."

Is that so.

Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation's top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the "don't ask, don't tell" law he helped shepherd in.

"In the almost 17 years since the 'don't ask, don't tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed," General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: "I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen."

For those keeping score at home, there are now three chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- the current chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, along with retired Gens. John Shalikashvili and Powell -- who agree that it's time to end this absurd policy. Two of the three were appointed by Republican presidents.

They're joined by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was originally brought on to head the Pentagon by the Bush/Cheney administration.

Whether this shift helps change public attitudes remains to be seen -- polls tend to show fairly broad support for dropping the DADT policy -- but either way, when the Commander in Chief calls for this kind of change, and he's backed by so many high-profile military leaders, it makes conservatives' job that much more difficult.

ell's endorsement should help seal the deal, and coming on the heels of yesterday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, common sense on this issue seems to have all the momentum."

—Steve Benen 1:15 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (2)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

[goclark]

3. Yes!

[Number23]

4. Thanks for this, Cha! I'm not the slightest bit surprised

Powell lost alot of esteem with his showboating BS before the UN but I'm not surprised by this. He has always struck me as an honorable man sucked in by a hideously dishonorable administration. But I'm happy to concede that my opinion of Powell may be biased. :)

I read somewhere a long while ago that he opened the Reserves to have the "weekend warriors" fight alongside career military personnel in the first Iraq war (1991 when Powell was Chairman of JCS). Powell knew that if he just sent the career folks, it would be the same poor, the same black and the same brown folks dying there as it is in every war. By sending in the Reserves, he wanted to ensure that EVERYONE in America got a taste of war.

I'm not surprised that he's in favor of repealing DADT. It really seems like just a matter of time before he leaves the Repub party altogether.