As U.S. troops engage in the biggest joint offensive since the start of the Afghan War - Schmidt’s gravest concern for military morale and welfare is "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell."
by David Miller
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, and former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell have all recently recent announced their support for changing the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy of the U.S. military. In fact, it was recent February 2 testimony before Congress that Gates and Mullen said a change was now in order.
“My personal belief is that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” Mullen wrote in his blog. “I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.”
Now comes Former Vice-President Dick Cheney on Sunday’s ABC’s “This Week” saying, “It's time to reconsider the policy."
When Loveland Magazine recently asked U.S. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt’s Communications Director Bruce Pfaff for her reaction to Gates, Mullen's, and Powell's recent statements regarding "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" he said, “Congresswoman Schmidt’s greatest concern is the morale and welfare of our fighting forces. Repealing this policy is going to have a serious effect on our military while we are engaged in two wars… and she is against it.”
Meanwhile, Operation MOSHTARAK, the biggest offensive since the start of the Afghan War in October of 2001 - targeting Taliban strongholds in southern Helmand province - has entered its third day. The Afghan-led initiative to assert government authority in the center of Helmand province has completed its first day of "clearing" operations. After inserting thousands of troops by helicopter into Taliban-held territory in the early hours of Saturday morning, improvised bombs planted by Taliban fighters are slowing NATO's big offensive in Afghanistan. The BBC's Frank Gardner, in Kandahar, says the homemade bombs have been planted in far greater numbers than Nato had anticipated.
Eugene Robinson op-ed columnist for the Washington Post said this morning (Dick Cheney's dose of reality on 'don't ask, don't tell') that Cheney became “perhaps the most prominent conservative voice thus far to speak out in support -- or, at least, acceptance -- of the Obama administration's decision to end "don't ask, don't tell" and allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military.”
Cheney stopped short of saying flatly that he advocated a change. He based his view that "it's time to reconsider the policy" on the public statements of Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military brass in support of ditching "don't ask, don't tell." But Cheney did volunteer that "things have changed significantly" in the two decades since he ran the Pentagon as secretary of defense under George Bush the Elder. "I think the society has moved on," he said. "I think it's partly a generational question."
Robinson said that last week, a Post-ABC News poll found that 75 percent of Americans favor letting gay people serve openly in the military, and said that this “compares with just 44 percent when the poll asked the question in 1993.”
Those in favor of tolerance include 64 percent of Republicans -- along with bigger majorities of Democrats and independents -- and, in what may be the poll's most significant finding, 81 percent of adults under 30. In other words, abandoning the policy has overwhelming support in the age group that the nation depends on to enlist in the all-volunteer armed forces.
Four out of five respondents who said they have a gay friend or family member favored allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. It's relevant to note that one of Cheney's daughters, Mary, is a lesbian who lives with her longtime partner, Heather Poe, and their two children. It's also worth mentioning that Cheney has said that he has no objection to gay marriage and believes that the issue should be left up to the states -- a stance that puts him considerably to the left of President Obama, who says he opposes gay marriage.
But Cheney's burst of lucidity should help Republicans in Congress 
understand that there is no longer any reliable constituency for the troglodyte position on "don't ask, don't tell." If a long-overdue policy shift that would allow gay people to serve openly in the armed forces is fine with three-fourths of the American public, the top officers in the Pentagon hierarchy and Dick Cheney, too, then the times aren't just a-changing. They've already changed.
Democratic congressional candidate David Krikorian said last week, "All Americans--white, black, male, female, gay or straight--who are proud of their country and choose to defend it by serving in our military have the right to express their patriotism and courage openly and without fear. We should honor their service, and therefore I stand with Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other top brass who say that it's time to bring the ‘Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy to a close.”
Krikorian points out that other nations that permit gays to serve openly include 22 out of 26 members of NATO, “Including our close allies, the United Kingdom and Canada. Among the world's nations that do not allow homosexuals to perform military service are Islamic nations such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and the Communist nations of China and North Korea.” He said that while the U.S. has engaged in two wars, Don't Ask, Don't Tell has resulted in the discharge of dozens of Arabic and Farsi translators, along with thousands of other highly trained military specialists. "Now that is what I call a serious threat to the morale and welfare of our forces."
While not specifically addressing the "Don't ask, Don't tell policy, Warren County Commissioner Mike Kilburn who recently announced his challenge to Schmidt’s 2nd Congressional seat by entering the May primary told the Western Star that Schmidt is not conservative enough to represent us in Washington.
Kilburn may be to the ultra right of Cheney. Krikorian/Cheny, Schmidt/Kilburn - strange bed fellows.
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