General Casey’s recent testimony on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is problematic Commentary
General Casey’s recent testimony on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy is problematic
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Lawrence Korb [Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress]: "In recent congressional testimony, Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey Jr., argued that the Pentagon should not impose a moratorium on the discharge of military people who have come out or been outed as gay. This is both good news and bad news for those who support repealing the counterproductive and discriminatory Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy that does not allow openly gay people to serve their country.

The good news is that imposing a moratorium might relieve the pressure for quickly repealing DADT. Moreover, imposing a moratorium could be viewed by some in Congress, who might otherwise support the repeal, as an unconstitutional and illegal attempt by the executive branch to subvert the will of the Congress and thus weaken their enthusiasm for repealing DADT. Finally, to paraphrase President George W. Bush, General Casey is not the decider in the Army, the Pentagon, or the Executive Branch. As Chief of Staff of the Army, General Casey is subordinate to his civilian superiors. The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of Defense, and the President make the decisions. Casey only provides professional military advice which can be accepted or rejected by his civilian bosses.

The bad news is that Casey's argument has been accepted by his civilian superiors. Army Secretary McHugh and Secretary of Defense Gates have already weighed in against the moratorium and the Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Obama, has remained silent on the issue. Moreover, Casey's position is most probably an indication that he does not support repeal. If he and his fellow military chiefs take that position, it could cause political problems for those in the executive and legislative branches who want to overturn the decision because these civilians could be accused of ignoring the professional military. Finally, dragging out this debate will give opponents of repealing DADT more time to marshal their arguments against the proposal. And while the American people support repeal, it is not a front burner issue for them. But, for opponents, this is the first step down the slippery slope that could eventually lead to repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [PDF file]. They believe that if they can stop DADT, the repeal of DOMA will never happen."

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