Washington’s absolutely a-titter this afternoon after Lawrence J. Korb came out against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
“Who,” you ask, “is Lawrence J. Korb?” Well, he’s currently the Director of National Security Studies at the Council On Foreign Language. Back in the eighties, however, Korb worked as Republican Ronald Reagan’s deputy Secretary of State. Needless to say, Korb know the ins-and-outs of our military’s make-up, which make his words all the more potent:
The Army and Marine Corps cannot afford to place unnecessary obstacles in the way of qualified men and women who want to serve… Over the past 10 years more than 10,000 personnel have been discharged as a result of this policy, including 800 with skills deemed ‘mission critical,’ such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists.
These are the very job functions for which the military has experienced personnel shortfalls.
Korb’s message, delivered to Congress, got rave reviews from Representative Ellen Tauscher, who cosponsored legislation to repeal DADT. Said Tauscher: “I have always admired Dr. Korb and I am glad that he has added his voice to the chorus of experts, military officials, and fair-minded citizens interested in bringing necessary equality to the military by eliminating the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.”
It sounds like Tauscher has a c-r-u-s-h. And so do we!
How about we take this to the next level?
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hells kitchen guy
The definition of a smart person is someone who knows how to change his mind when presented with facts.
Leland Frances
Actually, Korb has been calling for opening the military to out gays for several years.
Great that he continues to be such an advocate. Too bad he’s been assimilated by the Obama Borg.
Timothy
Korb is part of a long and impressive list of politicians with military knowledge at the highest level that have at some point expressed a lack of support for anti-gay military policy including:
Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Barry Goldwater, William Cohen, Colin Powell, and John Shalikashvili.
AnotherRick
Since the defence forces are critically stretched to their limit and the Draft would be political suicide, the timing of this “advocacy for equality” puts it more in the cannon-fodder roundup category than valuable progress for queers.
Notably they’re calling for G & L frontline combat skills, not generals. It’s about as socially progressive as Congolese rebels arming 8 year olds, and as a professional military imperative needs to be seen for exactly what it is.
Bill Perdue
The war parties, led by the Clintons, Bush, Obama, and McCain etc, have recently witnessed the failure of both the US military’s ‘surge’ and the and the almost comical collapse of the US trained ‘government’ military and police. The insurgents, both in Basra and Baghdad, proved that the insurgency was very much alive and kicking.
As in Vietnam the military situation is fluid but the US is definitely losing. The US is stymied by its own bungling political and military leadership, the growth of the antiwar movement among civilians and GI’s, the desertion of its allies and the stubborn resistance of the Iraqis. This resistance, in spite of the genocide, or maybe because of it, is proof that the light at the end of tunnel that General Praeteus claims to see is an insurgent freight train barreling towards him at full speed.
What this is all about is an attempt to increase the US military’s supply of cannon fodder.
If the war parties succeed in repealing the Clintons bigoted DADT law we’ll want to mount a campaign to let prospective GLBT volunteers know what’s in store for them and why they should be ashamed to have anything to do with the oil piracy and the racist genocide against the Iraqis. At the same time we want to campaign to aid the whole GI antiwar movement and to insist that GLBT service members are treated with scrupulous fairness. We should avoid supporting the illegal and immoral Clinton-Bush oil piracy war in any way.
M Shane
While the gentle man is correct that, if we needed the the manpower, he suggests there would be no reason that gay persons should not be able to do it.
Interestingly and perversely this is a person with a vested and political interest in the enlargement and maintenance of the military -industrial complex. We need more soldiers to fight illegal wars ?
While the American public has been largely ignorant of it, we have maintained a n unconstitutuional STANDING ARMYever since WW2, despite the fact that it is the greatest danger to american democracy that has ever existed. It places all of the countries power in the President , in defiance of the balance of power. It is the root of U.S, imperialism and a reliable path to dictatorship. George Washington warned us at the very beginning that a standing army would destroy democracy.. The CIA has indeed been the Presidents private army to perform illicit acts against governments a which did bnot comply with our economic needs. We have 731 bases on foreign soil.
We spentd 1trillion dollars a year to maintain this army and even more for it’s mercinary branches e.g. Blackwater James Madison said:
‘Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people…. [There is also an] inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and … degeneracy of manners and of morals…. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. ”
Whether we are imprisoned by gay soliers or straight ones makes little difference. Look at who’s advice this is; a Reagonite: not much more than another Nazi.
queerunity
i guess not all conservatives are evil
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com
hells kitchen guy
“we’ll want to mount a campaign to let prospective GLBT volunteers know what’s in store for them ”
Gotta love that royal “we.”
CitizenGeek
Good to hear that; but I doubt he’d actually support any real rights for gay people.