As if the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. military doesn't have enough things to worry about with the problems in Iraq, he literally stepped on a landmine by telling a Chicago Tribune reporter during an interview he supports the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy because homosexuality is "immoral." As Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend calls it, "Well it's nice to see a refreshing, frank, Tim Hardaway kind of anti-gay statement coming from the military leadership, which has presided over countless immoral military acts in Iraq. Way to go."
Abdul Hakim-Shabazz has had a spirited discussion of the issue on his WXNT radio show this morning. He thinks its nonsensical to continue the policy as the military is forced to waive its recruiting policies to allow people who are high school dropouts, obese or have criminal records to meet its recruiting targets at the same time it has discharged thousands of gay soldiers, including a few dozen who happen to be fluent in Arabic, simply because they are gay.
4 comments:
Can we assume Lynne Cheney is quietly going ballistic about her lovely daughter Mary being called "immoral" by the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?
The Chairmann of the JCOS serves at the president's pleasure.
Make no mistake about it: he did NOT make these comments idly. Ask anyone you know in the military: this CJCOS, in particular, chooses his words very, very carefully.
Leave it to Bush/Chaney to fire up the conservative right wingnuts when things aren't looking so good on multiple fronts: the economy, Veterans' Hospitals, the war, et al.
It's a classic political case of "Distract Them With Shiny Objects." Just throwing red meat to the rightwing base.
Fornication is also considered immoral by some but it is no grounds for expulsion from the military nor a bar to recruitment. Pace is on a slippery slope...
But adultery is grounds for expulsion. I think he is planted quite firmly on Terra Firma.
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