Free Republic

Pentagon counternarcotics and counterterrorism operations around the world were abruptly suspended this month when the Defense Department officials overseeing the programs failed to ensure they were funded by congressional authorizations, according to documents obtained by The Washington Examiner. The lapse has caused serious national security and diplomatic problems for the U.S. military, according to Defense Department officials. The authorizations cover joint counternarcotics operations with foreign governments, as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. The mix-up occurred when the anti-narcotics programs were not included on a list provided to Congress of operations that needed to...

President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed the end of the policy banning gays from serving openly in the armed forces, as the Pentagon vowed "zero tolerance" for harassment of homosexuals in the military. "Today, the discriminatory law known as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is finally and formally repealed," Obama said in a statement. "As of today, patriotic Americans in uniform will no longer have to lie about who they are in order to serve the country they love." The repeal went into effect on Tuesday, ushering in a new era in the armed forces. The law had allowed gay men...

An innocuous-looking memory stick, no longer than a couple of fingernails, came into the hands of a Guardian reporter earlier this year. The device is so small it will hang easily on a keyring. But its contents will send shockwaves through the world's chancelleries and deliver what one official described as "an epic blow" to US diplomacy. ... The US military believes it knows where the leak originated. A soldier, Bradley Manning, 22, has been held in solitary confinement for the last seven months and is facing a court martial in the new year. The former intelligence analyst is charged...

Even though we live in a democracy in which the people are supposed to rule, the Pentagon refuses to release the contents of a much-publicized survey about openly gay military service. However, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Pentagon spokesmen Geoff Morrell, and at least one gay activist group all admit that the survey is designed to facilitate open homosexuality within the ranks. “I strongly encourage gays and lesbians who are in the military to fill out these forms,” said Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a July 8 press briefing. “We’ve organized this in a way to protect their privacy and the...

I am a retired soldier. My service began in 1942 and ended in 1983. I am one of the several hundred generals and admirals who signed a letter to the president asking that he not change the law concerning the military service of homosexual persons or the policy that spawned the "don't ask, don't tell" expression associated with the law. ... "Don't ask, don't tell" did not change the law or the responsibility of unit commanders to preserve the good order and discipline prescribed by the UCMJ. A policy change might allow homosexuals to serve openly if they so desire,...

If one had to read one columnist to appreciate the state of contemporary left-wing commentary, my nomination would be Frank Rich of the Sunday New York Times. No well-known leftist columnist better exemplifies the worst aspects of today's left. Virtually every piece is filled with anger, filled with ad hominem responses to arguments, filled with insults of opponents and at the same time devoid of intellectual arguments. A Frank Rich column is essentially a weekly tantrum meant to make his readers nod in agreement and reinforce their contempt for those who differ with them. I offer this past Sunday's column...

The question of whether Congress should repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow openly gay soldiers to serve likely will be a divisive issue in the fall elections, but not in the 2nd Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, R-New Orleans, and his expected Democratic challengers state Reps. Cedric Richmond and Juan LaFonta expressed support Wednesday for President Barack Obama's call to change the policy, a move that also has been endorsed by top military officials. "When the military hierarchy supports it, I defer to the people who do it for a living and have the...

Homosexuals waiting to serve openly in the armed forces will have to keep waiting. President Obama is effectively putting this issue to bed until after the November elections.... Mr. Obama's supporters among the homosexual activist community have been increasingly restive over his failure to address the issue. A liberal Democratic president with huge margins in both houses should be able to deliver on such an important election promise, but Mr. Obama lacks stamina even on issues he says he cares about passionately. In order to claim some forward movement, the administration is reportedly constructing a more lenient enforcement framework, but...

Gay Military Porn Bust Reminds Us of Some Inconvenient Truths Regarding Homosexuality and the Military

The Defense Department starts the clock next week on what is expected to be a several-year process in lifting its ban on gays from serving openly in the military. A special investigation into how the ban can be repealed without hurting the morale or readiness of the troops was expected to be announced Tuesday by...

. . . This Is For Shooting, This Is For Fun," is what we boot Privates at Parris Island had to shout while running around the old, wooden Second Battalion barracks if we called our rifle a "gun." Since Googling, I don't have to be more descriptive as to what the disciplinary measure was about. It had something to do with a Private's privates, and not confusing them with the Private's weapon. * In President Obama's State Of The Dysfunctional Union Speech Wednesday night, he promised to deliver on his threat and payback of opening the military front door [as...

A panel of legal scholars has suggested that Congress remove sodomy as a crime punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a recommendation that could boost efforts to end a ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military. The Commission on Military Justice recommended that Article 125, which deals with sodomy, be repealed, arguing that “most acts of consensual sodomy committed by consenting military personnel are not prosecuted, creating a perception that prosecution of this sexual behavior is arbitrary.” In its report — dated October 2009 — the commission suggested several changes be made to the UCMJ, including...

On gays, Obama's Joint Chiefs chair is caught between his boss and a conservative military. In the next year, Mullen might have to ask troops to do something many will find even more uncomfortable: welcome openly gay men and women into their ranks. Such was the promise made by President-elect Obama in the 2008 campaign—gay-rights groups will hold him to it.

President-elect Barack Obama will not move for months, and perhaps not until 2010, to ask Congress to end the military's decades-old ban on open homosexuals in the ranks, two people who have advised the Obama transition team on this issue say. Repealing the ban was an Obama campaign promise

Philadelphia Congressman Among 17 Veterans Co-Sponsoring Repeal Legislation WASHINGTON, May 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), the highest ranking military veteran in Congress, on Saturday urged fellow lawmakers to join him in repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel from serving openly in the military. Sestak, who had served as a three-star Admiral and who spent thirty-one years in the Navy is one of seventeen veterans in Congress who are co-sponsors of legislation to lift the ban on openly gay service. Sestak's remarks came before a panel discussion hosted by Equality Forum on...

CNN is defending its job in vetting questions for last night's debate, reports Politico's Kenneth Vogel: The retired general who quizzed Republican presidential candidates about gays and lesbians in the military was not the only person linked to a Democratic presidential candidate who got to ask a question at Wednesday’s CNN/YouTube debate. CNN also aired questions from supporters of Democratic candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama. And that’s fine by the network, which is standing by its question selection process and lashing out at critics who say the debate demonstrated CNN’s liberal bias. “We’re focused on the questions, not the...

The ignominious fall of Senator Larry Craig casts new light on the importance of the nation’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy banning open homosexuals from military service. If preventing public sex in airport men’s rooms is important enough to justify the deployment of undercover cops, isn’t it similarly significant to avoid, at all costs, sexual encounters in military latrines? Imagine the impact on morale and unit cohesion if two guys from the same barracks engaged in toe-tapping hanky-panky (and perhaps much more) while occupying adjacent bathroom stalls in the military facilities? Of course, advocates for gays in the military will...

My fellow world citizens: Vice President Obama and I send you greetings from the Oval Office. I want to tell you what we have already accomplished today, and what we have planned for our first 100 days. Firstly, Vice President Obama and I are deeply disappointed with the rioting and social upheaval that have occurred since our election last November. As a result of this attack on our democracy, I have consulted with the United Nations, and have been granted permission to declare martial law, for as long as it takes to quell the insurrection. U.N. troops should be in...

How many days did it take from the Day that Bill Clinton was sworn in as President of the United States back in 1993 to announce "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" or Gays in the Military? It only took Nine (9) days! We all know that Hillary was key to picking the agenda and positions in the White House. Do you really think Bill Clinton wanted to look at Janet Reno, Madiline Albrite, Ruth Bader Ginsburg all day? Were they the best people for the job? As far as Gay's in the Military - do you think that was Bill's agenda...

"The army was now not only starved but naked; the greatest part were not only shirtless and barefoot, but destitute of all other clothing, especially blankets," wrote one soldier. Commanding Gen. George Washington informed the Continental Congress that "unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place ... this army must inevitably be reduced to one or other of these three things: starve, dissolve, or disperse." Yet despite the harsh conditions for the Revolutionary Army during its winter at Valley Forge ? conditions that cost the lives of at least 2,500 of Washington's 6,000 soldiers ? Washington remained steadfast in...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court appeared ready Tuesday to uphold a law that says colleges cannot turn away military recruiters in protest of the Pentagon's policy on gays if the universities also want to receive federal money. New Chief Justice John Roberts said schools unhappy with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy have a simple solution: turn down federal cash. And Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring, said colleges can post disclaimers on campus noting their objections to military policy. Law school campuses have become the latest battleground over the policy allowing gay men and women to serve in...

BAMBERG, Germany (AP) - A US Army chaplain was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison after pleading guilty at his court-martial to three counts of forcible sodomy against enlisted men. Capt Gregory Arflack, 44, a Roman Catholic priest serving as a chaplain with the 279th Base Support Battalion, also admitted three counts of committing an indecent acts, two of fraternisation with enlisted service members, and one count of conduct unbecoming an officer. Judge US Army Col R Peter Masterton ordered him dismissed from the Army and that he forfeit all benefits in addition to the prison term to be...

Mr. KERRY. It is my judgment that there should be no ban on homosexuals serving in the military. I testified to this point before the Committee on Armed Services, and I encouraged President Clinton to take action to rescind the ban. I see no reason whatsoever that homosexuals serving in the military should be a threat to our national security, to the ability of our armed services to carry out their missions, or to heterosexuals who serve in the armed services. Homosexuals, like heterosexuals, should be subject to behavioral requirements which prohibit sexual misconduct and which limit sexual [*S11206] activity...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, have been dismissed from the military because they are gay. The soldiers' dismissals come at a time when the military is facing a critical shortage of translators and interpreters for the war on terrorism. Seven of the soldiers were discharged after telling superiors they are gay, and the two others got in trouble when they were caught together after curfew, said Steve Ralls, spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that defends homosexuals in the military. Six were specializing in Arabic, two were studying Korean...