Obama: Repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' possible (Obama supports openly gay military)

MSNBC ^ | 4/10/2008 | ap

[tobyhill]

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama says if elected president he will not require that his Joint Chiefs of Staff be opposed to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays from serving openly in the military.

The Democratic presidential front-runner favors repealing the policy, which was instituted during the Clinton administration. He said his priority for the Joint Chiefs will be that they make decisions to strengthen the military and keep the country safe, not their position on the policy.

"I would never make this a litmus test for the Joint Chiefs of Staff," Obama said in an interview with The Advocate, a gay newsmagazine.

[DustyMoment]

It’s fascinating to me how all of these anti-American leftists who never served in the military think it should be run.

The first (and, as far as I know) only time Bubba visited a Navy carrier, he was astonished at how tight the sleeping arrangements are aboard ship. We don’t need to aggravate that situation with a whole bunch of gay guy doing their thing after ‘Taps’. (Big ewwwww factor, for the straight guys, here!)

Our military has more than 200 years of experience running a military organization - LET THEM!! Obama, Clinton, et al, may hate the military, but all their social(ist) tinkering won’t make them better.

[stompk]

“Duty is duty, and being a homosexual doesn’t impair one’s ability to hold a rifle as far as I can tell. “

no, but it makes group showers uncomfortable. and now I have to worry about getting blood on me.

[river rat]

Obama “the mole”, is in favor of EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that weakens or reduces America to the lowest common denominator..

He is a destroyer — NOT a uniter..

Has America become so blind as to not see this!
Do Americans no longer care for the America they leave for their children or grandchildren?

The ONLY advantage of being a old fart like myself - is that hopefully I won’t be alive to see the destruction of the nation I love....

Have no doubts — the continued election of Leftists will accomplish that which all our external enemies have failed to do —— Destroy America.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

But Obama is going to dismantle the military.

There won’t be anyone to ask or tell.

[Alter Kaker]

no, but it makes group showers uncomfortable.

Who cares? I bet group showers are less uncomfortable than sleeping on the ground, getting shot at and eating MREs. People don't join the military to be comfortable.

and now I have to worry about getting blood on me.

Well homosexuals are already in the military. Maybe if you didn't have Don't Ask Don't Tell you'd know who more of them are.

[stompk]

“Who cares? “

obviously not you.

“People don’t join the military to be comfortable.”

they don’t? what were your reasons for joining? are you really saying this is the same kind of “uncomfortable” ? please.

[Alter Kaker]

they don’t? what were your reasons for joining?

I joined to serve and protect my country.

[Clump]

Sorry but I don't want to bunk up with a turd burglar. Here in Amarillo, TX most men do not think homos should be allowed in the men's locker rooms at work out facilities. It would be like allowing women in there. As a man I think the male body is completely unappealing, and I don't want a pervert checking me out while I am taking a shower or changing clothes.

I don't think our soldiers should have to worry about whether a roommate or someone in their barrack wants to have sex with them. It is just one less thing they should have to worry about. I think it is worth losing the prospective soldiers to give the other ones the peace of mind. Otherwise we may lose good men who would like to serve but don't want to shack up with a pervert.

[Alter Kaker]

As a man I think the male body is completely unappealing, and I don't want a pervert checking me out while I am taking a shower or changing clothes.

Fair enough. I'm not exactly into men either, but I think my squeamishness is sort of outweighed by military necessity here. People also don't like eating MREs, but you do what you have to do. Homosexuals can hold rifles just as well as anybody else (hell, lesbians might do it better), and I think that's the bottom line.

[stompk]

“but you do what you have to do”

I get that. but WHY do they have to tell ?
they can ALREADY join and hold a rifle. so now they want to hold it while wearing a rainbow pin? what’s the difference?
I mean, besides me being creeped out and me not knowing.

[fr_freak]

What the Left wants is a military that looks like our public schools. Root out all vestiges of those opposed to the Gay Agenda. Then you’ll have a military that won’t be averse to oppressing Christians.

You may be more right than I want to believe.

[fr_freak]

In Israel, you can be openly gay and serve in the IDF. You're not, of course, allowed to sexually harass your fellow soldiers, or fraternize. You do that, you wind up in the brig. I don't think it's about approving or disapproving of their lifestyle -- it's just a question of defending the country.

Israel does a bunch of things because they have to, not always because it is the ideal thing. For instance, I recall that the Israeli army had some problems with mixing men and women as front line troops, because men would get themselves killed trying to protect the women. I imagine that Israel has corrected that problem. They may have decided that the manpower boost from accepting openly practicing homosexuals outweighs the amount of disruption that it may cause, and they may yet again decide to change the policy later if that theory proves not to be true.

The US is not Israel, and the US military is not under the same constraints, nor the same mission parameters as the Israeli military. We can afford to do things the ideal way, at least for now. One glaring difference is that the US generally expects its military to be deployed and the fighting done overseas, whereas the Israelis have the fighting literally on their front doorstep on a regular basis, and it is not unreasonable for them to expect that Israeli civilians may have to fight as well at some point. So, if you expect your civilians might have to fight for the country's survival, I suppose there isn't much point in denying them military training.

[Vicki]

If my memory serves me correctly I believe Obama’s church was the first to ordain an openly gay pastor.