Secretary of Defense Gates issues tepid endorsement
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
After more than a year and a half of waiting for President Barack Obama to push through his campaign promise of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,”—the military police that does not allow gays and lesbians to serve openly—it appears the White House and Congress have finally agreed on a way to repeal the ban.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., has introduced a compromise amendment that the full senate will begin debating on Thursday. Rep. Patrick Murphy, DPa., an Iraq war veteran has introduced the bill in the House of Representatives as part of the defense authorization bill.
The proposal would allow Congress to vote to repeal the current DADT law now with implementation to follow upon completion of the Pentagon Working Group study due December 1, 2010. The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs would need to certify that implementation policies and regulations are prepared and that they are consistent with standards for readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention. The plan therefore addresses concerns expressed by the Pentagon that the implementation study process be respected.
“We are committed to repealing `Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ a policy that has forced thousands of gay men and women from serving openly in our Armed Forces,” said a statement Monday from Lieberman and Murphy. “It is our firm belief that it is time to repeal this discriminatory policy.”
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had been lobbying for the military’s yearlong review of DADT to happen first before the repeal amendment went through.
Gates “continues to believe that ideally the [Defense Department] review should be completed before there is any legislation to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law,” according to a statement by Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell. But “with Congress having indicated that is not possible; the secretary can accept the language in the proposed amendment.”
The White House’s announcement came in a response to a letter that the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) had written to Obama in April.
“The White House announcement is a dramatic breakthrough in dismantling ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ The path forward crafted by the President, Department of Defense officials, and repeal leaders on Capitol Hill respects the ongoing work by the Pentagon on how to implement open service and allows for a vote this week,” said SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis. “President Obama’s support and Secretary Gates’ buy-in should insure a winning vote, but we are not there yet. The votes still need to be worked and counted.”
In a poll of 1,023 adults taken by CNN from May 21-23 over the phone, nearly 78 percent of respondents said that gays and lesbians should be able to serve openly in the military. This is similar results to polls taken in December 2008, May 2007 and December 2003.
“We are on the brink of historic action to both strengthen our military and respect the service of lesbian and gay troops,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. ““Without a repeal vote by Congress this year, the Pentagon’s hands are tied and the armed forces will be forced to continue adhering to the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law.”
Rep. Murphy said the House has the votes to pass the amendment, including the 192 co-sponsors who jumped on the bill.
“I don’t think Secretary Gates or Admiral Mullen could have been more clear: It’s not a question of If, it’s a question of When,” Murphy said. “This day is long in coming.”
However, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said he is not sure if the Senate will get the votes yet to pass the legislation.
