“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Hurting WoT
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Sexuality, The War On TerrorismReligious-politico ideology hurting our war against religious-politico ideology. Hmm…how ironic.
My friends, the following is absolutely appalling…
As a lifelong Republican who served in the Army in Germany, I believe it is critical that we review — and overturn — the ban on gay service in the military. I voted for “don’t ask, don’t tell.” But much has changed since 1993.My thinking shifted when I read that the military was firing translators because they are gay. According to the Government Accountability Office, more than 300 language experts have been fired under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. This when even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently acknowledged the nation’s “foreign language deficit” and how much our government needs Farsi and Arabic speakers. Is there a “straight” way to translate Arabic? Is there a “gay” Farsi? My God, we’d better start talking sense before it is too late. We need every able-bodied, smart patriot to help us win this war.
So…anybody reconsidering the policy? Obviously, I think it’s outdated, and this latest news just solidifies how dangerous the policy is. And as General Pace’s comments revealed, this has much more to do with personal moral objections than professional conduct.
Unbelievable.
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March 14th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
But in General Peter Pace’s world, the General also explained the sin of adultery should disqualify both Republican presidential candidates Rudy Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich so the GLBT community should not feel that alone when they listen to Pace. What frightens me is Hillary and that she won’t comment as to whether homosexuality is immoral according to ABC News.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
[...] The answer is simple if you can translate it. [...]
March 14th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Homosexual conduct represents a staggering .37% of all seperations. Total number of Arabic-speaking servicemen seperated due to homosexual conduct between 1994 and 2005: Five. I honestly don’t understand how we’ve thwarted invasion and defeat up to this point.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05299.pdf
Table 12, Appendix III. Some of us like to get our bullshit directly from the bull.
March 15th, 2007 at 5:58 am
I’m thankful she won’t tell us what she thinks. This is a topic on which her opinion means diddly-squat.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:34 am
[...] Similarly, former Republican Senator (and maverick) Alan Simpson confesses his reappraisal. More specifically than just a general measure of the US military’s ability to defend America, Pace’s bigoted remarks and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ adversely affect the intelligence services, hardly functioning in high gear as it is. [...]
March 15th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
DP, I just read through your link and found 54 soldiers trained in Arabic, seperated due to homosexuality. Your 5 is just for those who had language training specifically entered into their personnel file, presumably because of expertise(my assumption). Seriously though, we need all the Arabic speakers we can get. Isn’t 1 too many?
March 15th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Of course, this is the same administration that’s willing to drive Afghan opium farmers into the arms of the Taliban in the name of the precious “war on drugs”. And to think I once thought they were going to make the war Priority A-number-1. What a fool was I.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
And to think I once thought they were going to make the war Priority A-number-1. What a fool was I.
The WoT, that is.