Commander in chief Obama creates 'San Francisco Military'

Soldiers 'misused to create impression military people don't care about issue'

Posted: July 22, 2011
7:20 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WND
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A critic of Barack Obama's campaign to use the U.S. military to pay off a campaign promise to promote homosexuality in the ranks says today's "certification" of the repeal of the longstanding "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" practice means the president now has created a "San Francisco Military."

"It is not surprising that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, and President Barack Obama would pull the trigger on the military on a Friday afternoon, making it less likely that anyone will report on the many 'thorny issues' and serious social problems expected to ensue," said Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness.

"Nevertheless, on the day that President Obama signs a paper 'certifying' that no harm will come to the military when repeal is implemented, he will own the San Francisco Military that he has created," she said.

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"The Friday afternoon move indicates that this is nothing to be proud of. It is an obvious political payoff to activists of the (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) LGBT Left, delivered at the expense of combat soldiers and Marines whose voices were heard but ignored during last year's Pentagon 'Working Group' process that was put on just for show," she said.

In a statement from the White House, Obama said, "As commander in chief, I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. Today's action follows extensive training of our military personnel and certification by Secretary Panetta and Adm. Mullen that our military is ready for repeal. As of Sept. 20th, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country."

Obama's letter to members of Congress said he considered the "recommendations contained in the report required by the memorandum of the Secretary of Defense…" and found "the implementation of the necessary policies and regulations pursuant to the discretion provided by the amendments made by section 2(f) of the Act is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces."

The certification means that 60 days later, open homosexuality will be allowed in the U.S. miltary.

However, the White House promotion of the its action did not even mention a study by the government itself that concluded the "fix" was in for the promotion of homosexuality in the military whether it would create damage or not.

That 33-page report, uncovered by the Center for Military Readiness, is marked "For Official Use Only" and describes an "Investigation of improper disclosure of For Official Use Only information from the Comprehensive Review Working Group draft report."

It reveals that the inspector general of the Department of Defense concludes that the fix – maybe even handed down by the White House – was in before the military ever started asking soldiers and sailors about how opening the ranks to homosexuals would affect the nation's defense.

It was that report that famously was quoted as affirming "70 percent" of the nation's military members believe the repeal of the long-standing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" practice of allowing homosexuals to serve as long as they kept their sexual lifestyle choices to themselves would have either "a neutral or positive impact on unit cohesion, readiness, effectiveness and morale."

However, the inspector general documents how the co-chair of the commission working on the assessment, Jeh Johnson, "read portions of 'an early draft' of the executive summary … to a former news anchor, a close personal friend visiting Mr. Johnson's home" three days before service members even were given the survey.

A source provided the IG report, which aimed to determine who prematurely released information about the study, to Elaine Donnelly of the Center for Military Readiness. Donnelly analyzed the documentation and warned that it suggests Congress was deceived, probably deliberately, by those with a pro-repeal agenda.

Congress then voted during its lame-duck session last winter for the repeal.

"Contrary to most news accounts, the 'Comprehensive Review Working Group' process was not a 'study,'" she told WND. "Its purpose was to circumvent and neutralize military opposition to repeal of the law."

Today she said, "The vaunted DoD 'Survey of the Troop's was pre-scripted even before the survey began.

"The DoD Inspector General report revealed that misleading survey results, which obscured the strong opposition of 60 percent of combat troops and 67 percent of Marines, were prematurely and improperly leaked to the Washington Post in order to promote the campaign to repeal the 1993 law."

"Panetta is beginning his term as Defense Secretary by letting down military men, women, and families who were led to believe that their views would be heard and respected. Instead, trusting personnel who participated in the 2010 surveys and focus groups in good faith were misused as props to create the impression that military people 'don't care' about this issue," she said.

"History will hold accountable President Obama, members of the previous lame-duck Congress, and gay activists who misused the federal courts in order to impose LGBT law and policies that will undermine morale and readiness in the all-volunteer force," she said.

Homosexual activists were gleeful.

"We will represent and defend those who may face harassment or discrimination as we oversee implementation; when necessary and timely, litigate in the courts to bring about full LGBT equality in America’s military; advocate for legally married service members to receive the same benefits as their straight counterparts; and assist veterans to correct or upgrade their discharge paperwork," said Aubrey Sarvia, of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network which advocates for homosexual behavior.

Donnelly explained that days before the survey to military members – supposedly to determine whether having open homosexuality in the ranks would be a detriment – was distributed to members of the military, Johnson "was seeking advice from a 'former news anchor' on how to write the report's executive summary more 'persuasively.'"

Further, "The DoD IG report concluded that someone who 'had a strongly emotional attachment to the issue' and 'likely a pro-repeal agenda' violated security rules and leaked selected, half-true information to the Washington Post," she explained.

That was the "70 percent" figure that has been discussed as the percentage of active-duty and reserve troops "not concerned about repeal of the law."

"The DoD did not correct the unauthorized 'spin,' which was widely publicized and cited on the floor during Senate debate. The ultimate result of this travesty was a rushed vote to repeal the law regarding homosexuals in the military."

However, the actual responses were that military members who believe the change would impact units "very positively" totaled 6.6 percent, "positively" 11.8 percent, "mixed" 32.1 percent, "negatively" 18.7 percent, "very negatively" 10.9 percent and "no effect" 19.9 percent.

The only way the 70 percent figure can be reached is to combine "very positively," "positively," "mixed" and "no effect." But this combination counts people with "neutral positions" as favoring the change, she noted.

Donnelly's research explained that taking those same figures and putting them on the other side, that is, lumping them with "negatively" and "very negatively," would produce a total of almost 82 percent of the soldiers who believe the results of the change would be "negative or neutral."

The IG said exactly that:


We considered that the primary source's likely pro-repeal sentiment was further demonstrated by his/her inclusion of the key 70 percent figure in the information provided to the Washington Post. … Had [the source] desired to further an anti-repeal bias for the article, he/she could likewise have combined four results categories from that same survey question to conclude that "82 percent of respondents said the effect of repealing the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy would be negative, mixed or no effect."
The White House statement, however, did not even acknowledge the government inspector general's own conclusions.

WND reported in April on the results of a WND/WENZEL Poll done by the public-opinion research and media consulting company Wenzel Strategies.

The scientific telephone survey, conducted April 19-21, found that more than 51 percent of Americans, including nearly one in four individuals who identify themselves as "liberal," said the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" practice should be reinstated or never should have been repealed.

"On the question of whether it was right for the federal government to repeal the compromise known as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' that allowed gays to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces as long as they kept their sexual orientation to themselves, 51 percent said either that the rule should be reinstated or that Congress was wrong to repeal it last December in a lame duck session of Congress," explained Fritz Wenzel, chief of the polling company, in his analysis.

"The vote came after the November elections in which the Democrats lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives and suffered significant losses in the U.S. Senate. Had this measure been delayed until the newly elected Congress could consider it, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell would almost certainly have failed, and this survey data shows the public would have supported continuation of that policy," he said.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was a policy ordered by former President Clinton after Congress passed a law banning homosexuality in the military. Under the Clinton policy, if homosexual soldiers didn't make a public issue of their sexual lifestyle, the military would not make inquiries about it, despite the ban.

The poll question was, "Congress recently repealed the U.S. military's long-standing prohibition against homosexuals openly serving in the armed forces, a policy known as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Which of the following statements best reflects your thinking about the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'"

While 43 percent of the respondents said it is time for change, 31.2 percent said it was wrong to adopt the repeal, and another 19.3 percent said it should be reinstated.

The issue was one that Obama had promised to address while he was garnering support from homosexual organizations during the 2008 campaign.

EDITOR'S NOTE: At the request of one congressional member of the House Armed Services Committee, in early April WND sent to committee members, including Rep. Duncan Hunter, as well as staffers, 150 copies of the special Whistleblower issue, "DROPPING THE 'H'-BOMB: As Obama and Congress force open homosexuality on America's military, soldiers are fighting back." Get your copy of this power-packed Whistleblower issue that has been widely acclaimed by Medal of Honor recipients and other military heroes as the best single argument against repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

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