IN THE MILITARY

Reid: Military should reflect 'nation's values'

Senate chief supports removing 'Don't ask, don't tell' limits

Posted: September 20, 2010
10:40 pm Eastern
By Brian Fitzpatrick
© 2010 WorldNetDaily



Sen. Harry Reid, a Democrat now fighting for his political life in a re-election campaign, says an amendment to a military-funding plan that would remove the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy created under President Clinton is appropriate because the military needs to reflect the "nation's values."

The controversial plan, which also would allow abortions at military hospitals and opens the door for citizenship for some children of illegals, could be the subject of a vote as early as the next day or two.

The "Don't ask, don't tell" has been one of the more controversial plans President Obama promised his supporters during his campaign. Now Reid says it's time, and he has been trading broadsides with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., over the issue.

McCain, ranking minority member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Thursday, "The majority is doing this in complete disregard of the views of our men and women in uniform as well as the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines who are responsible for the battlefield effectiveness of their services."

Reid suggested McCain needs to fall into line with him.

"I hope that he will do the right thing and support this bill that not only funds critical support for our troops like weapons upgrades and pay raises, but also ensures that our military reflects our nation's values," said Reid.

Hundreds of other military leaders have expressed support for continuing Clinton's practice. Although the law technically bans homosexuals in the military, as long as they don't make a public issue of their lifestyle, they are allowed to stay.

Not all, however, are that tolerant.

Last month, one of the highest ranking generals in the Army reportedly declared that people who oppose the participation of homosexuals no longer are welcome in the military – and likened faith-based opposition to homosexuality to racism.

According to the Washington Times, Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the Army's deputy chief of staff in charge of personnel matters, told troops in Stuttgart, Germany, "Unfortunately, we have a minority of service members who are still racists and bigoted and you will never be able to get rid of all of them ... . But these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can't, they need to get out. No matter how much training and education of those in opposition, you're always going to have those that oppose this on moral and religious grounds just like you still have racists today."

The Democrats in the Senate have added the changes to the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass bill that nonetheless faces the possibility of being filibustered by Republicans when it arrives on the floor as early as tomorrow.

According to the Washington Times, Oklahoma GOP Sen. James Inhofe told the audience at last weekend's Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., that "they are going to turn our military hospitals into abortion clinics."

Inhofe urged the audience to take action: "Make sure they understand that you are watching. Because if they don't think you're watching, it's going to sail through."

Evangelical leader Chuck Colson warned that Republicans could lose political support if they fail to filibuster the bill.

"I think it would turn [social and religious conservatives] off from the Republican Party," Colson told the Times. "The Republican leadership would be pretty stupid if they didn't fight this issue."

Dick Black, a retired Army colonel and former JAG lawyer now in private practice, said comments like those attributed to Bostick are "stunning."

"During Reagan’s military buildup we had the 'air land battle doctrine.' One element was the concept of moral ascendancy. We would prevail because we were morally superior to the Soviet Union. I think you are seeing the reverse of this. What he is saying is if you have high moral standards and if you profess Judeo-Christian or Muslim beliefs then you are not acceptable. That just shows the moral corruption that's taking place in the military today," he said.

"Every time the Democrats hold the presidency there is a decay in morale and discipline," Black told WND. "This goes way back. When Jimmy Carter was president, the military was in such a state of disarray it was almost combat-ineffective in many places. Democrats tend to use the military as a place for social experimentation. That's what we're seeing here."

Black, who currently is running for the state senate in Virginia as a Republican, spoke caustically about "Pentagon warriors, working diligently on their next star ... . Typically the Democrats have little or no experience in military matters, and there are always senior leaders in the military who put self interest ahead of the interests of the men they command.

"They said would survey the forces, find out what they thought," said Black. "They knew they would get a resounding 'no' from the troops in the field. The military has done study after study and by an overwhelming majority all of the experiencedpersonnel said 'no, this would be disastrous.' One thousand one hundred sixty retired generals and admirals have petitioned against [allowing open homosexuality in the military]. It is almost universally held position among people with experience ... . You can count on one hand the number who have spoken out in favor of it."

As chief of the Criminal Law Division in the Pentagon, Black was heavily involved in the military's 1993 debates on permitting homosexuals to serve openly.

"We started off gathering information on abuse of homosexual soldiers and were unable to find a single case confirming that, but we began to unearth a tremendous number of other cases [homosexual soldiers committing crimes against other soldiers and civilians]."

Black's staff counted 102 courts-martial for homosexuality-related crimes in a four-year period prior to 1993. Of the 102 cases analyzed by Black, "Two-thirds of the offenses occurred on post. Eighty-four percent were forcible acts. Half involved soldiers and the other half involved children on post. Four instances involved homosexual soldiers who had become Boy Scout leaders and molested the kids. Five percent of the offenders were HIV-positive. Two-thirds of the cases involved fraternization: interaction of people who had considerable differences in rank, which strikes right at the heart of military discipline. A first sergeant would prey on new soldiers in the unit, get them drunk and sodomize them," he reported.

"Seventy-two percent of the cases occurred in the barracks. Twenty-two of the victims were sleeping when they were molested," he said.

Black estimated there "probably" were 10 cases involving predatory homosexual behavior handled administratively, with honorable or other-than-honorable discharges, for every case processed through the military courts.

"There is an element of political correctness," said Black. "Many people in the military recognize it's not popular to have these things talked about in your unit and you can quietly make them go away with an administrative discharge. It would reflect badly on a commander if this behavior went on in his unit. It’s better to make it go away quietly."

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