Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Repeal

Gay rights activists have their skirts in a wad again:

Leading gay advocacy groups and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are criticizing comments made by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urging Congress not to repeal the military's so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

In a letter to the House Armed Services Committee, both military officials restated their opposition to calls by some Congressional Democrats to repeal the ban before a Pentagon review ends this December. They also resisted a moratorium that would prevent gay servicemembers from being discharged while Congress debates a possible repeal of the law.

Both Gates and Mullen have stated their opposition since the Obama administration announced its desire to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. But today’s letter contains their strongest language to date.

“I believe in the strongest possible terms that the Department must, prior to any legislative action, be allowed the opportunity to conduct a thorough, objective, and systematic assessment of the impact of such a policy change: develop an attentive comprehensive implementation plan, and provide the President and the Congress with the results of this effort in order to ensure that this step is taken in the most informed and effective manner.”

In a statement the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay advocacy group, criticized the letter saying it, “is inconceivable that the Secretary of Defense would so blatantly undermine the Commander-in-Chief’s policy commitment” to end the ban, and that “there is no reason that Congress cannot move forward with repeal while the Pentagon’s review of how – not if – to end the ban on open service continues apace."

Bottom line - I don't think military professionals want this to happen, and Obama wants to be able to claim he's doing something about it without actually doing something. He doesn't really know what's going to happen if a repeal occurs and I think he's afraid from a political perspective to find out.