Jan 15 2009
Obama to End “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy, Aide Says
Under the new Obama administration, the U.S. military may be saying goodbye to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a spokesman for the president-elect reports that he will put a stop to the controversial policy, which bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces.
Matthew B. Stannard, a staff writer for the Chronicle, has more on the story.
“Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team’s Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said, ‘You don’t hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it’s “Yes”.’”
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was established in 1993 during the administration of President Bill Clinton. While campaigning for the Oval Office the previous year, Clinton had promised to end the military’s policy of excluding homosexuals from the services. However, his attempt to fulfill his pledge after the election was derailed by a firestorm of criticism from many quarters.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was created as a compromise between those who felt homosexuals should be allowed to serve openly and those who felt they should be excluded entirely. The actual policy was put together by former Army general Colin Powell.
“The end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ might not happen immediately, several critics of the policy said. Although they appreciate clarity from Obama on the issue, they anticipate that the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to trump a speedy policy reversal,” Stannard adds.
Obama will take office in just five days.
We need this to happen and we need women to be required to sign up for the selective service program.
meh, fair enough I suppose. I have bigger issues with our military (ie: it’s budget) than this, but it’d be for the better.
I agree with Guitarman. I don’t personally have a problem with changing the policy, but there are more important issues where the military is concerned, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated.
That’s a great first step. Now hopefully somebody can finally give the armed forces their long overdue fashion makeover. Have you seen those uniforms lately? Those drab colors are so unflattering. And what about those haircuts? Our troops have to be seen in Europe for crying out loud. They need to be more metro! It’s time they start putting some styling product in with the MRE’s.
The U.S. military services have always mirrored american society at large. Percentage-wise I thing the number of left-handed people and the number of gays are about the same in the military as in the general population. Left-handers are allowed to be left-handed without having to hide it. There are occasional modifications to accommodate left-handedness but nobody ever complains about it, to my knowledge. Someday the same may be said of gays.