By Stephen Kopko
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON D.C., United States – Last month, President Obama called for congressional leaders to repeal the United States military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in his State of the Union address. The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law bars homosexual soldiers from serving openly while they are in the military. Since then, congressional leaders have worked quickly in examining whether and how the law should be repealed. Both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee conducted hearings to assess the views of top military leaders on the repeal of the law.
The U.S. top military leaders are in agreement that the policy should be reexamined. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in a congressional hearing early in February, believed that Congress should act slowly to determine whether and when the law be repealed. Secretary Gates stated that it would take a Pentagon up to a year to study how a repeal of the law would affect the military. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, favors the repeal. He stated “allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military would be the right thing to do.” Admiral Mullen was troubled by the policy because it requires soldiers “to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”
Other top military officials believe that Secretary Gates’ stance on the issue is the correct way to examine the repeal of the law. Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, agreed with Gates’ belief that the repeal of the law should be examined carefully and deliberately. While being questioned by the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, General Casey stated a major concern congressional leaders need to consider in repealing the law. General Casey believed Congress should assess how the repeal of the law would affect the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and the success of the operations in those nations. General Norman Schwartz, the Air Force Chief of Staff, echoed General Casey’s concern in front of the House Armed Services Committee. He stated; “This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation. Also, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Marine General James Conway, agreed that the law should be examined slowly and that any decision on repeal be based upon the United States’ ability to fight wars.
As congressional leaders move forward they will take into strong consideration the views expressed by the United States top military leaders. They will have to balance the careful study of the repeal expressed by Secretary Gates and a majority of the leaders of the different branches of the military with President Obama’s hope of repealing the law within the year. All of the leaders of the different branches of the military did state they would follow and implement any decision made by Congress.
For more information, please see:
Los Angeles Times – Military chiefs voice concern over ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ – 24 February 2010
Miami Herlad – Top Marine softens stance on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ – 24 February 2010
NY Times – 2 Generals Wary About Repealing Gay Policy – 23 February 2010
