Monday, June 11, 2007

The High Cost of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Thanks to Maureen Dowd's column of yesterday, I was alerted to an op-ed piece that ran in the Times last Friday, written by one Stephen Benjamin. Benjamin was formerly a petty officer in the United States Navy, serving as an Arabic translation specialist--a post in which, in case you hadn't heard, our military is severely understaffed.

About a year ago, Benjamin was expelled from service under the "Don't ask, Don't tell" rule, which bars gays from serving
openly in the military. His op-ed portrays as well as any other I've ever read just how hypocritical and dangerous the policy is, and why, for all of our safety, we would do well to be rid of it.

And this one we can't even blame on the Republicans alone. Dammit, Bill...

2 comments:

Tracey said...

I'm glad this issue is getting some attention again. Based on the most recent debates, it sounds like all of the democratic presidential candidates are ready to get rid of it. Here's the only clip I could find:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygUfXZjCE38

Tracey said...

The Republicans, however. Ugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9cBcXqiS9E&NR=1