Frank Gaffney: D-Day for the US military -- Update: White House Supporting Repeal

UPDATE:  Sep 21, 2:03 cdt -- -- The Senate has voted against starting debate on a bill that would repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
*******

UPDATE:  Sep 21, 12:10 cdt, White House issues statement in support of 'Don't ask' repeal

By Roxana Tiron - 09/21/10 10:55 AM ET

The White House on Tuesday morning lent its support to congressional efforts to repeal the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.

As the clock is winding down on a key procedural vote in the Senate that could determine the fate of a massive defense policy bill, the White House issued a statement of administration policy in support of a provision in the defense bill that would repeal the ban known as "Don't ask, don't tell."

The Obama administration supports the provision "as it would allow for completion of the comprehensive review, enable the Department of Defense to assess the results of the review, and ensure that the implementation of the repeal is consistent with the standards of military readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention," the Office of Management and Budget wrote in the statement. "Such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions."  (DfS Note:  This is a slippery slope if we ever saw one -- this is nothing more than placating the military while going full speed ahead with repeal in our opinion.)

Obama had made a campaign pledge to repeal the Clinton-era law.

Excerpt: Read more at The Hill

**********
Senator McCain is 100% correct to be filibustering this defense authorization bill because of what it contains in addition to the normal authorization which should make every American ill. It is time the Liberal Progressives to quit using bills to further their agenda. We would be saying the same thing if conservatives were doing this on some other agenda. In this case it is the gay agenda at play here by the Obama Administration.

The Center for Security Policy illustrated some issues that would come up if gays were allowed to serve openly in the military. They were part of a memo provided to the DoD from the Center:

•If LGBT individuals are allowed to serve, on what basis could heterosexual male and female personnel be kept apart in accommodations, lavatories and other circumstances in which privacy is limited or non-existent?

•Would officers in command of units be given career-ending negative fitness reports if they truthfully advise their superiors that there are real problems implementing the new LGBT policy - for instance, by disclosing that consensual or non-consensual behavior is undermining morale, discipline and morale?

•How many military chaplains will be penalized for not complying with the new LGBT policy that their religious beliefs tell them is immoral (including performing same-sex marriages, conducting diversity programs that promote LGBT conduct as equivalent to heterosexual conduct, etc)?

•How will housing of same-sex couples be handled on military bases in states that do not recognize such relationships with marriage or civil unions?

Read more examples at Center for Security Policy

All these former military generals (1,167) are speaking out against an open gay policy but the liberal progressives led by Obama/Reid/Pelosi keep pushing it forward.  Do you believe these retired generals or the Administration?  That answer is clear -- the Generals who were responsible for the troops and know what would happen if Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed. 

What is wrong with Secretary of Defense Gates that he will not speak out vehemently against this proposal? This wrong and every last freedom loving American who supports our military should be backing McCain with his filibuster of this bill.

Senate Republicans are standing strong on this so please give your encouragement to any who might waffle. BTW, Scott Brown (R-MA) is solidly with John McCain on this issue. Please contact your Senators to let them know how you feel on the issue and to support Senator McCain.

D-Day for the US military
Center for Security Policy | Sep 20, 2010
By Frank Gaffney, Jr.

The United States Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a motion to proceed to debate on the annual defense authorization bill. Normally, such a step is a routine mechanical one. In this case, though, it is one of the most important national security votes of the year - and will be scored as such by the Center for Security Policy and a number of other organizations in their annual legislative scorecards.

As a proud alumnus of the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee, it pains me to say that the Senate should not consider this seriously defective product of that panel's deliberations. No Republican or Democrat who cares about national security should vote for this motion.

The reason why a filibuster mounted by that committee's ranking Republican, Senator John McCain, should be sustained is that the defense bill is being used as a vehicle for several extraneous political agendas. These include": language allowing military hospitals to be used for the first time in decades as abortion clinics; an amendment Majority Leader Harry Reid says he wants to attach that amounts to an amnesty for young illegal immigrants; and repeal of the 1993 statute prohibiting openly homosexual individuals from serving in the U.S. military.

The last of these is of special concern as it would, in the words of 1167 retired generals and admirals "break" the U.S. military. In time of war, do any U.S. Senators - and most especially those like Sens. Mary Landrieu and Blanche Lincoln who are battling for reelection in conservative states - want to be responsible for such an action?

To be sure, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists insist that there will only be upsides for the military if the law adopted nearly two decades ago after extensive hearings and debate - neither of which has happened this time around - is repealed. They claim the armed forces will not have to dismiss LGBT individuals who come out, or are forced out, of the closet, easing the difficult job of filling the ranks with qualified personnel.

A seven-page memorandum prepared by the superb Center for Military Readiness and provided last week to a Pentagon commission studying the impacts of repeal illuminates myriad ways in which this social experiment would prove incredibly complex, distracting and debilitating for the all-volunteer force in the event the Senate votes down the filibuster. This is especially so if, as the homosexual activists demand, the military adopts a "zero-tolerance" policy towards anyone in uniform who deviates from full acceptance of the LGBT agenda.

Excerpt: Read more at Center for Security Policy