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Gen. Shalikashvili: Let Gays Serve in Military
Newsmax.com ^ | January 2, 2007 | Newsmax.com staff

Posted on 01/02/2007 4:12:33 PM PST by RetiredArmy

General Shalikashvili: Let Gays Serve in Military

The Army general who was Joint Chiefs chairman when the Pentagon adopted its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays says he no longer opposes allowing them to serve openly.

John Shalikashvili, who retired in 1997 after four years as the nation's top military officer, had argued that allowing homosexuals to serve openly would hurt troop morale and recruitment and undermine the cohesion of combat units. He said he has changed his mind after meeting with gay servicemen.

"These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers," Shalikashvili wrote in an opinion piece in Tuesday's New York Times.

His view could carry weight at a time when advocates of lifting the restriction on gay service members argue that the military - under the strain of fighting two wars - can ill-afford to exclude any qualified volunteers. It's not clear, however, how much enthusiasm Congress will have for pressing the matter. The current policy, based on legislation passed by Congress in 1993 after a firestorm of debate, states that gays and lesbians may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation private.

Commanders may not ask, and gay service members may not tell. Over the years thousands have been dismissed under this policy.

Shalikashvili is not the first former senior military officer to change his mind about gays in the military, though he is perhaps the most prominent. John Hutson, a retired two-star Navy admiral who was the Navy's top lawyer, said Tuesday he thinks the nation has undergone so much cultural change over the past decade that allowing gays to serve openly in the military would enhance rather than weaken the cohesion of fighting units.

"I think it will absolutely happen," Hutson said in a telephone interview, but probably not during the Bush administration.

Shalikashvili said he expects fierce debate over gays in the military this year as Congress considers President Bush's call for expanding the size of the Army, which is stretched thin by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Shalikashvili cautioned, however, against pushing for repeal of the ban early in the new Congress, which he said should be focused on urgent priorities like developing a better strategy in Iraq and healing divisions over the war.

"Fighting early in this Congress to lift the ban on openly gay service members is not likely to add to that healing and it risks alienating people whose support is needed to get this country on the right track," he wrote in the Times article.

In explaining his shift on the issue, Shalikashvili also cited a new Zogby poll, commissioned by the Michael D. Palm Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara, of 545 U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It reported that three quarters said they were comfortable around gay men and lesbians.

The poll, published in December, also said 37 percent opposed allowing gays to serve openly, while 26 percent said they should be allowed and 37 percent were unsure or neutral. Of those who said they were certain that a member of their unit was gay or lesbian, two-thirds did not believe it hurt morale.

C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocate for gay rights, called Shalikashvili's article "enormously significant." Osburn said it reflects a growing trend of military leaders supporting repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: fagsinfoxholes; gays; homosexualagenda; military; perverts; pervertsinportholes
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To: Bringbackthedraft

Yeah, they've been there okay but they sure were Section 8 out too--and rightfully so. I'll never buy the "It's no big deal" lie, it IS a big deal and always will be, no amount of PC will make it right.


21 posted on 01/02/2007 4:36:18 PM PST by brushcop (Men of B-Co 2/69 3ID, do you now feel betrayed after all your efforts & sacrifices in Iraq?)
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To: sine_nomine
Marching song: "I Had a Comrade (Literally)"

See, we are getting this worked out for the military. They will not fail and get "behind" on this!

22 posted on 01/02/2007 4:36:48 PM PST by dforest (Liberals love crisis, create crisis and then dwell on them.)
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To: RetiredArmy

The problem would lie in what comes later. After gays are accepted openly into the military, how long until they are demanding special rights just as in society.


23 posted on 01/02/2007 4:38:13 PM PST by somemoreequalthanothers (All for the betterment of "the state", comrade)
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To: RetiredArmy

Countries that allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military:

Argentina
Australia
Austria
The Bahamas
Belgium
Canada
Colombia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Lithuania
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Romania
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
United Kingdom


24 posted on 01/02/2007 4:39:04 PM PST by EveningStar
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To: RetiredArmy

Another one of Hillary's mouthpieces trying to get Americans to accept the lib policies they rejected in her first eight years.


25 posted on 01/02/2007 4:40:18 PM PST by HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath (All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.)
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To: leadpenny

See #24


26 posted on 01/02/2007 4:40:57 PM PST by EveningStar
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To: little jeremiah; wagglebee

HA ping


27 posted on 01/02/2007 4:41:02 PM PST by indcons (Fellow FReepers - Best Wishes for 2007.)
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To: PhiKapMom

exactly- al we hear in the msm is from liberal EX army- we never hardly hear from the more conservative present commanders http://sacredscoop.com


28 posted on 01/02/2007 4:41:15 PM PST by CottShop
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To: EveningStar

Shali is trying to drag us into the 21st century.


29 posted on 01/02/2007 4:44:03 PM PST by leadpenny
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To: EveningStar

So let the turd burglars go to one of those places to serve!


30 posted on 01/02/2007 4:44:51 PM PST by FormerLib (Sacrificing our land and our blood cannot buy protection from jihad.-Bishop Artemije of Kosovo)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

No he didn't. I think he is looking at the manpower situation and thinks that anyone willing to serve who qualifies should be allowed.


31 posted on 01/02/2007 4:46:05 PM PST by misterrob (Jack Bauer/Chuck Norris 2008)
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To: RetiredArmy

Wasn't this the ding-dong who came up with the black berets for everyone idea?

Hey Gen-rul, Sir! Stuff your monica in your mouth and be quiet.


32 posted on 01/02/2007 4:46:27 PM PST by Ronin (Ut iusta esse, lex noblis severus necesse est.)
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To: Ronin

No.


33 posted on 01/02/2007 4:47:23 PM PST by leadpenny
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To: Mount Athos

"Shalikashvili" is Ukrainian for "Hillary fave".


34 posted on 01/02/2007 4:50:06 PM PST by elcid1970 (`)
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To: leadpenny

I guess you noticed that the list includes Australia, Israel, and the UK.


35 posted on 01/02/2007 4:50:39 PM PST by EveningStar
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To: Bringbackthedraft

Gays were always there..


Right, I might of had to stand Formation with them,,I did not share a foxhole with them..


36 posted on 01/02/2007 4:52:55 PM PST by silentreignofheroes (When the Last Two Prophets are taken there will be no Tommorrow!)
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To: leadpenny

My mistake, it was Shinseki (sp?). But the sentiment remains. Retired generals should keep their nose out of the active military's business.

Same thing for retired Presidents -- but the Democraps can never manage it anymore.


37 posted on 01/02/2007 4:53:12 PM PST by Ronin (Ut iusta esse, lex noblis severus necesse est.)
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To: EveningStar

and the Dutch.


38 posted on 01/02/2007 4:54:15 PM PST by leadpenny
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"Paging Richard Smoker!"


39 posted on 01/02/2007 4:54:26 PM PST by MarineBrat (My wife and I took an AIDS vaccination that the Church offers.)
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To: indcons; AFA-Michigan; Agitate; AliVeritas; Antoninus; Aquinasfan; BabaOreally; Balke; BigFinn; ...
Homosexual Agenda Ping

Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the homosexual agenda ping list.

Click FreeRepublic homosexual agenda keyword search for a list of all related articles.

Add keywords homosexual agenda to flag FR articles to this ping list.

40 posted on 01/02/2007 4:55:06 PM PST by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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