AMERICA:Obama's pledge to give homosexuals the right to serve openly in the military has revived a decades-long debate, writes LARA MARLOWE
THE SOMBRE faces of America’s top military brass as they listened to US President Barack Obama’s recent state of the union address conveyed the history of military reluctance to integrating gays in their ranks.
But with the US secretary of defence and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff now advocating the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law, the bastion of military conservatism could be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
“This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are,” Obama said on January 27th.
It was only one sentence in a 70-minute speech, but it led to hearings by the Senate armed services committee this week and revived a decades-long debate.
Giving homosexuals the right to serve openly was a key campaign promise and gay rights groups have been bitterly disappointed by Obama’s failure to issue an executive order on the subject. Obama’s national security adviser, the retired marine general Jim Jones, counselled the president against pursuing the issue during his first year in office, on the grounds that he already had too much on his plate.
The Obama administration remembers that Bill Clinton won the gay vote with the same promise, then caved in to a rebellion by top-ranking officers.
Gen Colin Powell was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff at the time, and it was under his purview that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” legislation was adopted in 1993.
Close to 11,000 servicemen and women have been expelled from the military when their homosexuality was revealed.
Powell reversed his stand this week, saying “attitudes and circumstances have changed”, “it’s a whole generation” since the law was enacted, and gays and lesbians are now accepted members of society. “Society is always reflected in the military. It’s where we get our soldiers from,” he added.
Despite the appearance of sudden movement on the issue, the administration is taking its time. Defence secretary Robert Gates appointed Gen Carter Ham, commander of the US army in Europe, and Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, to complete a study by the end of this year.
Questions include what happens when a soldier’s gay marriage is recognised in the state where it was concluded, but not in the state where he or she serves, how to handle troops who do not want to serve with gays, and benefits for gay partners.
Gates warned that the policy could not be completely overhauled until 2012, but he wants the Pentagon to determine within 45 days whether the current law can be enforced in a more lax manner.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was the undisputed star of this week’s hearings. “Speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do,” Mullen said.
He acknowledged serving with gays since he left the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1968.
“No matter how I look at the 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,” Mullen testified. “For me personally, it comes down to integrity – theirs as individuals, and ours as an institution.”
There has been speculation in the US media about whether Mullen’s childhood in Hollywood – where his father was an agent and his mother worked for comedian Jimmy Durante – explains his tolerant attitude.
Mullen’s courageous stand on gays in the military has made him a public figure for the first time.
Polls show that a majority of Americans favour equal rights for gays in the military. The New York Times called the present law “odious” and “terribly unjust”.
The momentum towards rescinding the law has been likened to former US president Harry Truman’s integrating black people in the armed forces.
Illinois senator Ron Burris recalled: “At one time, my uncles and members of my race couldn’t even serve in the military, and we moved to this point where they’re some of the best and brightest that we’ve had – generals and even now the commander in chief is of African-American heritage.”
But the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” must clear the hurdle of congressional resistance.
Opposition has centred on macho questions of “bonding” and “cohesion” within the fighting forces. Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, reversed his three-year-old commitment to respect the wishes of military commanders.
McCain waved a letter which he said was signed by hundreds of retired generals opposed to the change and spoke of the “vast complexities” involved. And besides, McCain added, the Senate already debated the issue – in 1993.