ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style5 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Gay Military Matters</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Feb. 5, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style5">M</span>aking good on another campaign promise, President Barack Obama asked the Pentagon to reconsider the Clinton era  Don t Ask, Don t Tell policy for gays in the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Back in 1993, former President Bill Clinton wanted but couldn t get a policy to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military, forced to hide their sexual orientation or face courts martial and eviction from service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While somewhat extraneous to pressing problems facing the country, it s a dicey can of worms to open up during an election year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While you d expect most conservatives to go side with  Don t Ask, Don t Tell, former Secretary of State and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Colin L. Powell threw his support to allowing gays to serve openly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Service Committee, denounced the idea as unnecessary and counterproductive.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Calling the issue one that  comes down to integrity, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff Chairman Gen. Michael Mullen said it was time to lift the ban.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Mullen antagonized McCain and other conservatives believing that the current policy was effective in dealing with an age-old problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since sexual orientation is a private matter, opponents to changing the current policy see problems with more openness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  No matter how I look at the issue, Mullen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> 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, irking McCain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Has the policy been ideal? No, it is not, said McCain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> But it has been effective, wishing to leave  Don t Ask, Don t Tell alone for the time being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McCain expressed disappointment over Defense Secretary Robert Gates supporting the change.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>McCain and other conservatives see a complicated picture where well-intentioned gays find themselves sexually aroused in close quarters with their heterosexual comrades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No one denies that homosexuals, by definition, find male anatomy sexually arousing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Current military protocol segregates male and female soldiers, especially where it comes to bathing and restrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If homosexuals serve openly with heterosexuals, it opens the door for precarious incidents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> You don t have to be straight to shoot straight, said Rep. Mark Udall (D-Col.), quoting the late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.), putting the issue in terms of military skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Former Army helicopter engineer Scott Duane Fair, 30, opposes the change, citing an experience when a private in a California barracks where he was propositioned by a gay senior officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Problems like that have to be addressed during the yearlong review.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Recent polling inside and outside the military shows a more relaxed attitude toward gays serving openly in the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>A USA/Gallup poll in mid-2009 indicated 69% supported gays serving openly, while 28% opposed the idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Buying the Pentagon some time, Gates said that any change would require at least a yearlong study, examining the complexities of ending,  Don t Ask, Don t Tell. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Concrete, in-depth evidence that readiness concerns require a change and that such a change would not degrade wartime military readiness in any measurable significant way, said House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), urging the Pentagon to carefully evaluate any policy change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>McKeon reminds Democrats that jumping on the bandwagon too readily could play into Republican hands facing tough reelection battles in November.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Despite endorsements from GOP leaders, Republican National Congressional Committee has already stated unequivocal opposition to changing  Don t Ask, Don t Tell. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I don t think it will be a campaign issue, said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> In the middle of two wars, and in the middle of this giant security threat, why we would we want to get into this debate? telling Republicans to avoid taking a position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Boehner sees the issue as only a loser for GOP candidates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Republicans would like to focus on runaway Democrat spending, continued recession and high unemployment, while they offer themselves as alternatives to the status quo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Debating  Don t Ask, Don t Tell, has no upside potential for Republicans looking to regain traction in the House and Senate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Mullen, Gates and Powell offer no reassurances for the GOP in 2010.<![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Pushing for a change in  Don t Ask, Don t Tell diverts attention away from the real issues impacting the midterm elections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether or not gays serve openly in the military won t give jobs to unemployed workers in the Rust Belt, Deep South or more enlightened areas in the West or Northeast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Whenever you re not talking about jobs and the economy, you re talking about something the public s not focused on, said Republican political strategist David Winston, urging candidates to avoid talking about gays in the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Democrats may think diverting attention to extraneous issues help their cause but Republicans can easily point out the folly, when the country faces a punishing recession and emerging terrorist threats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Mullen, Gates and Powell offer the Pentagon s perspectives but aren t in touch with more pressing campaign issues facing voters in 2010.</p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author <i>of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a></i> and <i><a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a></i>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>