/ By Bruce Ackerman
comments_imageCOMMENTS: 10

Don't Ask, Don't Tell... Don't Work [VIDEO]

How the military's gay purge endangers America...
December 5, 2006  |  
 
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The first video to the right outlines the outrageous result of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy enacted under Clinton; essentially a cowardly concession to homophobes.

The reality is that it allowed a witch hunt to begin, in which anyone suspected of being gay could be discharged with "homosexual" written next to their name.

CNN's Jack Cafferty notes that over 11,000 members of the military have been let go, hundreds of which were in specialized positions, dozens with precious Arab-language skills. We've lost these skills from our depleted forces because our military doesn't believe it can follow orders with gay people around.

The second video is a trailer to a film in progress on the fallout -- both personal and national security-wise -- of the DADT policy. Among all NATO members, including Israel and the UK, only the US and Turkey has a problem with gays in the military.

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Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.
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How long....
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Dec 5, 2006 12:27 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How long until we finally realize... our military DOES NOT always know what is best for itself.

How long until we realize that some people actually DON'T care about our soldiers... hint.. they are often the ones saying that "liberals" don't care about our soldiers.

How long till we stop wasting time and money ruining lives... all because people are slightly different.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Arab-speaking
[Report this comment]
Posted by: albrechtkrausse on Dec 5, 2006 7:06 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
people expelled due to homosexuality. I sure hope the Muslim Brotherhood, OBL, etc don't read Alternet. Are you not so subtely insinuation that there are gay islamics? I hate to think what the enlighted regimes in asia and the middle-east would cut off for homosexuality. Ouch.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

The greatest country in the world? The fork will be inserted soon...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: ShrubtheWarcriminal on Dec 6, 2006 5:07 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Only two countries in the world, the US and Turkey, have a policy against gays?

The ONLY country in the world that has a significant belief in "Intelligent" design is...guess who?

I think the fork will show we are almost done and that the rapture can begin.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Collectively speaking...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: alternetrose on Dec 6, 2006 9:42 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Righteous America, land of the superbly and succinctly stupid.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Gays in the military
[Report this comment]
Posted by: willymack on Dec 6, 2006 10:24 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The old saw that gays are destructive to the cohesion of military units is sheer nonsense. I was far more distracted by the presense of WOMEN in the Navy and couldn't have cared less if anybody there was gay. It's the same in civilian life; straight people simply aren't interested in same gender sex, and tend to ignore gays.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Don't ask, don't need.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: acemoab@citlink.net on Dec 6, 2006 12:40 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If the need for defense and a military were a REAL need, and not merely pork and political posturing, there would be no need for a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, or anything other reason to exclude any able-bodied person from service. Simply put, the militarization of America is a fraud and a theft, and a crime of the highest order. Defend America? Bullshit (mostly). If the World Trade Center had collapsed at less than its free fall rate, the possibility of the official story being true would be greater than zero. We have been screwed, guys, but not by 19 semi-literate Egyptians and Saudis, and some guy on dialyses in a cave. The enemy is the Military Industrial Complex, as Eisenhower warned us. Yes, some form of defense is needed, but it doesn't need to cost over half of federal discretionary revenue. The pie charts in your 1040 used to reveal this, but oddly enough, they have now been edited to include non-discretionary revenue to disguise this embarrassing fact.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Film "trailer"?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Artaraxl on Dec 6, 2006 6:07 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The film looks interesting, but I gotta tell ya, that clip is over 7 minutes long! It's not a "trailer!" Cut it down to 2 minutes.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

From a gay ex-GI perspective
[Report this comment]
Posted by: NowYogi on Dec 6, 2006 11:09 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was a US Army Sgt stationed in West Germany and Iran from 1968-71. I was a very horny gay GI, but kept my sexuality to myself. I got my sexual fun off post.

I knew dozens of other guys with 'questionable' sexuality, but we all kept it to ourselves. We even had a couple to very macho guys, one black and one white, who shared a room in the barracks and we all knew they were sexually involved, but no one seemed surprised or cared.

The only problem I had was sometimes I couldn't take a shower if there was a very attractive guy there...I was afraid my private parts would show my sexual excitment.

I was never in combat. I have often wondered how things would have worked out if I had been in really close combat quarters with homophobic soldiers. I would imagine the issues are similar with females in combat situations, I think. Generally, I think military men, especially, need to get over their sexual insecurities...and accept humans as the basically bisexual creatures we are. Nice dream, huh?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

crucial step toward a draft
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mazel on Dec 8, 2006 5:10 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Don't be surprised if there's a turnaround in this policy. They know that when they start the draft they will be faced with lines of potential cannon fodder willing to show up at the draft board in full drag in order to get deferments.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Alternet Comments:

Comments are closed-

How long....
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Dec 5, 2006 12:27 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
How long until we finally realize... our military DOES NOT always know what is best for itself.

How long until we realize that some people actually DON'T care about our soldiers... hint.. they are often the ones saying that "liberals" don't care about our soldiers.

How long till we stop wasting time and money ruining lives... all because people are slightly different.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Arab-speaking
[Report this comment]
Posted by: albrechtkrausse on Dec 5, 2006 7:06 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
people expelled due to homosexuality. I sure hope the Muslim Brotherhood, OBL, etc don't read Alternet. Are you not so subtely insinuation that there are gay islamics? I hate to think what the enlighted regimes in asia and the middle-east would cut off for homosexuality. Ouch.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

The greatest country in the world? The fork will be inserted soon...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: ShrubtheWarcriminal on Dec 6, 2006 5:07 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Only two countries in the world, the US and Turkey, have a policy against gays?

The ONLY country in the world that has a significant belief in "Intelligent" design is...guess who?

I think the fork will show we are almost done and that the rapture can begin.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Collectively speaking...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: alternetrose on Dec 6, 2006 9:42 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Righteous America, land of the superbly and succinctly stupid.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Gays in the military
[Report this comment]
Posted by: willymack on Dec 6, 2006 10:24 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The old saw that gays are destructive to the cohesion of military units is sheer nonsense. I was far more distracted by the presense of WOMEN in the Navy and couldn't have cared less if anybody there was gay. It's the same in civilian life; straight people simply aren't interested in same gender sex, and tend to ignore gays.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Don't ask, don't need.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: acemoab@citlink.net on Dec 6, 2006 12:40 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If the need for defense and a military were a REAL need, and not merely pork and political posturing, there would be no need for a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, or anything other reason to exclude any able-bodied person from service. Simply put, the militarization of America is a fraud and a theft, and a crime of the highest order. Defend America? Bullshit (mostly). If the World Trade Center had collapsed at less than its free fall rate, the possibility of the official story being true would be greater than zero. We have been screwed, guys, but not by 19 semi-literate Egyptians and Saudis, and some guy on dialyses in a cave. The enemy is the Military Industrial Complex, as Eisenhower warned us. Yes, some form of defense is needed, but it doesn't need to cost over half of federal discretionary revenue. The pie charts in your 1040 used to reveal this, but oddly enough, they have now been edited to include non-discretionary revenue to disguise this embarrassing fact.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Film "trailer"?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Artaraxl on Dec 6, 2006 6:07 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The film looks interesting, but I gotta tell ya, that clip is over 7 minutes long! It's not a "trailer!" Cut it down to 2 minutes.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

From a gay ex-GI perspective
[Report this comment]
Posted by: NowYogi on Dec 6, 2006 11:09 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was a US Army Sgt stationed in West Germany and Iran from 1968-71. I was a very horny gay GI, but kept my sexuality to myself. I got my sexual fun off post.

I knew dozens of other guys with 'questionable' sexuality, but we all kept it to ourselves. We even had a couple to very macho guys, one black and one white, who shared a room in the barracks and we all knew they were sexually involved, but no one seemed surprised or cared.

The only problem I had was sometimes I couldn't take a shower if there was a very attractive guy there...I was afraid my private parts would show my sexual excitment.

I was never in combat. I have often wondered how things would have worked out if I had been in really close combat quarters with homophobic soldiers. I would imagine the issues are similar with females in combat situations, I think. Generally, I think military men, especially, need to get over their sexual insecurities...and accept humans as the basically bisexual creatures we are. Nice dream, huh?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

crucial step toward a draft
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mazel on Dec 8, 2006 5:10 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Don't be surprised if there's a turnaround in this policy. They know that when they start the draft they will be faced with lines of potential cannon fodder willing to show up at the draft board in full drag in order to get deferments.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

 
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