Sayonara For Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, John M. Shalikashvili published an op-ed in the New York Times (Click Here) today expressing second thoughts about the military’s “don’t ask don’t tell policy” regarding homosexual personnel. Shalikasvili became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs under President Bill Clinton in 1997. Clinton reneged on his campaign promise in 1993 to lift the ban on homosexual’s serving openly and instead instituted the infamous don’t ask don’t tell policy guiding the military today.

Shalikasvili contends our culture has evolved and the military is so over extended it may finally be time to allow homosexuals to serve the armed forces openly. Although Shalikashvili doesn’t advocate for a sudden change in policy he concludes his piece with this:

“By taking a measured, prudent approach to change, political and military leaders can focus on solving the nation’s most pressing problems while remaining genuinely open to the eventual and inevitable lifting of the ban. When that day comes, gay men and lesbians will no longer have to conceal who they are, and the military will no longer need to sacrifice those whose service it cannot afford to lose."

Our country’s treatment of homosexual personnel serving courageously in the armed forces is disgraceful. The time has long past for the military to let homosexual soldiers serve openly. When institutions such as the military sanctions prejudice a message is delivered to society that intolerance is acceptable. And as Shalikashvili notes in his op-ed, George Bush's military is over extended and needs all the help it can get. How ironic if Bush's imperial designs in Iraq, Afghanistan and perhaps Iran are buttressed by the very community his most loyal constituency has condemned to hell.