I continue to be dismayed with Barack Obama's weak kneed approach to repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell ("DADT"), a policy that daily destroys the careers of honorably serving LGBT Americans for no purpose other than to salve the sensibilities of bigots and a backward thinking military brass. Now, the Associated Press is reporting that Obama is involved in worthless - can we say bullshit- consultations with Neanderthals within the military as he throws LGBT Americans under the bus. Here are some highlights from the AP:
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama has begun consulting his top defense advisers on how to lift a ban on gays serving openly in the military.
*But the administration won't say how soon that might happen or whether a group of experts will be commissioned to study the issue in-depth, as some Democrats have suggested.
*The move enables Obama to say he's making good on his campaign promise to reverse the law, but doesn't lock him into doing so anytime soon. The carefully calculated statement, released this week by White House spokesman Tommy Vietor, leaves enough wiggle room to prevent the hot-button issue from consuming Obama's foreign policy agenda, which is dominated by ending the Iraq war and salvaging operations in Afghanistan.
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I am dismayed by this development for several reasons, one of which is that Obama plans to meet with the same group that helped engineer DADT in the first place. As a new book, Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America, reveals evidence has repeatedly been concealed or suppressed by the military when it concluded there was no rationale for the gay ban. A synopsis of the book reads as follows:
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Frank is one of the nation’s leading experts on gays in the military, and in his evenhanded and always scrupulously documented chronicle, he reveals how the ban on open gays and lesbians in the U.S. military has greatly increased discharges, hampered recruitment, and—contrary to the rationale offered by proponents of the ban—led to lower morale and cohesion within military ranks.
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Frank does not shy away from tackling controversial issues, and he presents indisputable evidence showing that gays already serve openly without causing problems, and that the policy itself is weakening the military it was supposed to protect. In addition to the moral pitfalls of the gay ban, Frank shows the practical damage it has wrought. Most recently, the discharge of valuable Arabic translators (who happen to be gay) under the current policy has left U.S. forces ill-equipped in the fight against terrorism.
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I live in an area dominated by the influence of the military and know first hand that much of the top brass is chauvinistic, bigoted, and has a dinosaur mentality. If one waits for them for innovation and an admission that change is needed, you will be waiting a long time indeed. Moreover, to progress up the ranks one needs to be an ass kisser and cow tow to the prejudices of senior officers who would be happy if nothing changed for a century or more (having an attractive wife who is good at entertaining is also an important requirement). Again, the deck is stacked against anyone speaking honestly and candidly. Yet this is the group that Obama intends to consult. Give me a break!!
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