2/04/10

Beginning with testimony from Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Michael Mullen, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the U.S. to fall behind the military leadership and support the repeal: "If the chiefs and commanders are comfortable with moving to change the policy, then I support it."  Sadly, many conservatives have chosen not to follow Powell's example.  Instead, they have assaulted the integrity of the Secretary and Chairman, implying that the United States military is an institution that's incapable of maintaining order and adapting to societal shifts.  As Senate Foreign Relations Chairman and Veteran John Kerry said, this is simply "stunning."

Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of the GOP's cavalier response to military order, discipline and well-being.  In fact, the last year has seen a range of conservative actions that undermine the U.S. military, including consecutive filibusters on the defense budget and wartime spending as well as holds on veterans care legislation.  In their words and deeds, conservatives have exhibited a pattern of treating the military like it was a political football.  These moves, particularly when the U.S. is fighting two wars, are inexcusable.

Outpouring of support for repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" policy.  In stirring testimony on Tuesday, the Pentagon's leadership told Congress that it was time to repeal ‘"don't ask, don't tell."  Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen testified, "It is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me personally, it comes down to integrity -- theirs as individuals and ours as an institution."

The response to Mullen's testimony has been overwhelmingly positive.  Several of the U.S. military's most prominent advocates voiced their support:

Former Joint Chiefs chairman who helped implement DADT, Colin Powell: "In the almost seventeen years since the ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed...For the past two years, I have expressed the view that it was time for the law to be reviewed by Congress. I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Former Secretary of the Navy and Senator Jim Webb (D - VA): "Admiral Mullen, I want to salute you for the courage of what you said."

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D - MI): "I did not find the arguments used to justify ‘don't ask, don't tell' convincing when it took effect in 1993, and they are less so now."

Even GOP Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he was open to repealing "don't ask, don't tell," a move the Hill called "a key signal that the repeal might garner bipartisan support... "I just plain do not believe in prejudice of any kind," said Hatch. [Senator Orrin Hatch, via The Hill, 2/3/10]

[Admiral Michael Mullen, via Washington Post, 2/3/10. Colin Powell, MSNBC, 2/3/10. Jim Webb, via the Washington Post, 2/3/10. Carl Levin, via Detroit Free Press, 2/2/10.]

GOP continues to ignore top military brass, defy Pentagon.  In a shocking show of disrespect for the military, conservatives voiced full-throated critiques of Gates and Mullen's endorsement of a policy shift. 

The chief offender was Congressman Duncan Hunter, Jr. (R - CA) who said, "Admiral Mullen and Secretary Gates are both political appointees. They're going to be biased. They're going to say what the administration wants them to say."

Senate Foreign Relation Chairman Senator John Kerry (D - MA) had this to say about Hunter's statement: "Stunning. That was my reaction when I listened to a freshman Republican Congressman rebut the principled position of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, that the policy of ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell' needed to end and that gay members of the Armed Services should be able to serve their country without fear that just being who they are would end their service."

Additionally, several conservatives such as former GOP Presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R - AZ) have long said that they would support repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as soon as the military said it was time to do so.

Senator John McCain, October 2006: "The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it.'"

As the Washington Post reported, Senator McCain did not live up to his words after the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the policy needed to be repealed.   "McCain declared himself ‘disappointed' in the testimony.

Senator John McCain, February 2010: "At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

As John Kerry explained, "Today, not just John McCain, but everyone in positions of public responsibility should understand that the moment is now - the leadership of our military are joining the Commander in Chief in saying, the time for change has come."

By openly defying and politicizing the requests of the Pentagon, conservatives show a lack of respect for the men and women who serve our country. [John Kerry, 2/3/10. Washington Post, 2/3/10]

Attacks on Pentagon leadership over "don't ask, don't tell" are latest in string of GOP actions that undermine America's armed forces.  Conservatives enjoy claiming to support America's men and women in uniform.  Yet their actions from the past year show a pattern of treating the U.S. military as a political football.  In each instance, conservative leadership has not hesitated to put our country's armed services in the line of fire for the sake of political expediency.

Congressional conservatives attempted to filibuster the defense appropriation bill, putting politics above national security. "Senate Republicans failed early Friday in their bid to filibuster a massive Pentagon bill that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an unusual move designed to delay President Obama's health-care legislation," reported the Washington Post.  As the Post's reporting makes clear, the sole purpose of the GOP stunt was to derail healthcare legislation. While unsuccessful, the move would have had major consequences for national security priorities at a time when American troops are at risk in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Post elaborated: "If the filibuster on the $626 billion defense bill had succeeded, Democrats would have had to scramble to find a way to fund the military operations, because a stopgap funding measure for the Pentagon will expire at midnight Friday." [Washington Post, 12/18/09]

December filibuster attempt was actually the 2^nd time in 2009 that conservatives chose to jeopardize defense spending.  Earlier this year, conservatives chose to obstruct the entire 2010 defense appropriations bill, because of an amendment "that would specify harsh penalties for hate crimes, including those based on sexual orientation or gender identity," reported the Hill.  As a result, 34 Senate Republicans sought to block a vote on the defense bill, prioritizing their opposition to the Hate Crimes amendment over support for the appropriation of critical funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. [The Hill, 10/22/09. Senate Roll Call Vote,10/22/09]

All during the fall, conservatives rushed to send troops into harm's way in Afghanistan without the benefit of a clear strategy from the Commander-in-Chief.  Throughout the fall of 2009, conservatives consistently called for the President to abandon his methodical review of the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and come to a snap decision to put more troops into harm's way.  But, as senior military strategists, including CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus and NATO-ISAF commander General Stanley McChrystal have both testified, the President's painstaking review was critical for setting the strategy.  "Let me state up front that I fully support the policy that President Obama announced at West Point last week," said General Petraeus, reacting to the President's West Point strategy unveiling.  A statement released by General McChrystal read: "The Afghanistan-Pakistan review led by the President has provided me with a clear military mission and the resources to accomplish our task." [Sens. Graham, Lieberman, and McCain, via WSJ, 9/13/09. Gen. David Petraeus, 12/09/09. General Stanley McChrystal, 12/01/09]

In another instance of craven behavior, Sen. Tom Coburn (R - OK) put a hold on a major veterans bill.  The bill provided ‘Enhancements in VA health care for female veterans, including new training for VA mental health providers to handle veterans who experienced military sexual trauma. ... Support to family caregivers of severely disabled veterans by giving them access to counseling, support and a living stipend... Expanded mental health services to rural regions where veterans currently have to drive hundreds of miles to seek mental health care... Improved traumatic brain injury (TBI) care...  [and] Additional programs for homeless veterans," according to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a non-partisan veterans' advocacy organization. [IAVA, 10/30/09]

Worrying track record of GOP climate change denial flies in the face of Pentagon strategy document.  Conservatives in congress have built up a record of climate change denial.  Senator Jim Inhofe (R - OK) and Rep. Paul Broun (R- GA) have both called global warming a hoax, and Rep. Mike Pence (R - IN) said that the "science is very mixed on the subject of global warming." Yet the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review - the document setting defense strategy for the United States - devotes over four pages to addressing the issue. [Senator Jim Inhofe (R - OK), via Countrywide and the Sun, 6/26/09. Rep. Paul Broun, via Think Progress, 6/26/09. Rep. Mike Pence, (R - IN), via Think Progress, 5/05/09. 2010 QDR, 2/1/10]

What We're Reading

In a rare break from military secrecy, NATO is announcing the precise target of their first big offensive in Afghanistan after the surge was announced. Political resistance is building in Afghanistan to President Hamid Karzai's two-track plan to end the war by negotiating with Taliban leaders while enticing their soldiers with the promise of jobs.

Three American soldiers involved in training members of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps were among seven people killed by a bomb attack outside a girls' school in the country's northwest.

Iraq's electoral commission asked the country's highest judicial power to decide whether a ruling to allow barred Sunni candidates to run in the March 7 election is binding, which infuriated Shiite politicians who viewed the decision as bowing to American pressure.

After a five-day suspension of medical evacuation flights from Haiti, new Federal Coordinating Centers are now open for medical evacuations at airports in Tampa and in Atlanta.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday rebuffed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's suggestion that three detained American hikers in Iran be swapped for Iranian citizens held in the U.S.

A senior Chinese official said that China would not bow to pressure from the United States to revalue its currency, which President Obama says is kept at an artificially low level to give China an unfair advantage in.

A new Senate investigation alleges top African politicians and their families have evaded anti-money-laundering laws to bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the United States.

India has formally proposed talks with Pakistan for the first time since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The U.K. armed forces must integrate operations more deeply with France to mitigate financial pressures, a British government review said.

Nepal continues its efforts at building a unity government by implementing its reintegration program for former Maoist soldiers.

Commentary of the Day

Heather Hurlburt and Christopher Preble discuss why the Defense budget request should not be exempt from the spending restrictions placed on the rest of the federal budget. The New York Times applauds President Obama's Defense budget request and the Quadrennial Defense Review for finally moving beyond the Cold War into the 21^st century.

Former Council of the European Union President John Bruton urges President Obama to reconsider his decision not to attend the EU-US summit in the spring.  

Geng He writes about her husband, Chinese human rights activist Gao Zhisheng, and asks, after his tireless defense of dissents and ordinary citizens in China, who will step up to defend him from Bejing after his detention one year ago?

Nicholas Kristof details the life of Lisa Shannon, who gave up her business and family in the United States to work in the Congo, offering support for rape victims of that ongoing civil conflict.