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Read our Twitter recap of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen, and the coauthors of a report backing repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
- Sessions: "Clearly to me," the Witt case should hv been appealed to the Supreme Court and you would have gotten a decision affirming #dadt
- Sen. Sessions making conspiracy theory case that Obama admin didn't appeal #DADT cases to SCOTUS b/c they wanted leverage for legis repeal
- Johnson: "By 1953, 95% of the forces were integrated but buses in Montgomery were not." #dadt
- Sen McCaskill asks for comparison of attitudes when racial integration went under Truman in '48. Johnson sez 70-80% objected
- Johnson on court trends: Johnson: "there is a trend that is taking place since the Lawrence decision that we need to be mindful of"
- Gates on referendum quest: "That's not the way our military has ever worked" ... and "is a very dangerous path" #DADT
More on next page...
- GATES: "I can't think of a single precedent in American history of doing a referendum of the forces on a policy issue" #dadt
-
Gates on potential court order: We would have "zero time to prepare
& it was effective globally...and has a very high risk to the force"
- Gates on benefit, worries about "diluting the quality of those benefits if we created a new benefit for all single people" #DADT
- Gates objects to 1 report suggestion that new benefits be added for gays or straights who are not married but have partners #DADT
-
Jeh Johnson notes: "Predictions are reflective of attitudes"-even in
Marine combat units, when pple served with gays, their skepticism faded
- Gates adds that he thinks there's two considerations: 1. The "risk of the courts" and 2. "if not now, when?"
- Gates predicts: I think you'll hear from chiefs that "they do have high regard for the review and implementation plan" #DADT
- Sen. Thune notes objections from Gen. Amos, asks how we can repeal without support of service chiefs #DADT
-
5 min break: gen assessment, all 4 witnesses v. strong on repeal &
rebutting criticism of report. even Ham now supports #DADT
- Webb: This is really "the most vital" piece of information we have as to how to move forward on repeal. #DADT
- Sen. Jim Webb: "This is really in my view, an incredible piece of work." (343-page report) #DADT
-
Sen Susan Collins: "the report does convey a sense of the service
members thinking about repealing the law" even if not asked directly
- GATES ON CERTIFICATION: personal approach is that until all the traning is complete, "I would not sign the certification."
-
Mullen to Inhofe: "It was an extraordinarily positive response... more
than statistically significant in all the key categories" #DADT
- Sen. Inhofe worries that only 28% of troops responded to survey (that was about 115,000 people, btw)
-
Kenya PM Takes Back Gay Threats: Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga
denied that he plans to call for the a... https://tinyurl.com/2frxqkp
-
Lieberman: "#DADT is a stain on the US military that we have an
opportunity to remove in this session of congress and I hope we do"
-
Mullen: We're an inst. that values integrity & then we ask other
people to join us, work w/ us, fight w/ us, die w/ us and lie about it...
- Lieberman, Amer now knows "That It's just wrong to be discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation."
- Gates was talking about losing soldiers from the special forces based on #DADT repeal.
-
Gates: "I don't think any of us expect that the #s would be anything
like what the survey suggests" based on experience of other countries
-
McCain stopped questioning Ham, moves to Gates. Is now focused on the
combat troops who expressed more trepidation about repeal
- Gen Ham: "Yes sir, I think it is time to change." (this is key testimony from Ham, who has not personally supported repeal)
- McCain asks Ham if it's time to repeal: It is my personal view that I'm very concerned about the timing of the courts... #DADT
- Levin asks Gen. Ham if he can implement repeal as head of troops in Europe: "Mr. Chairman, I'm confident that I can" #DADT
- Johnson says the study has been "revised" in certain places based on chief's input. #dadt
- Levin asks all witnesses (Ham, Johnson, Mullen, Gates) if they have carefully considered the views of the service chiefs #DADT
- Mullen to Levin: I have spent a great deal of time with the service chiefs since the beginning of the year #DADT
- Gates offers to stay another 30 mins. Questioning will now be 6 mins for each Sen.
- Mullen: I find the argument that war is not the time to change to be antithetical with our own experience since 2001 #DADT
- JEH JOHNSON (study cochair): Asks that Congress "not leave our military's fate on this issue in the hands of the courts" #DADT
- Mullen: I've been serving with gays & lesbians my whole career - we never missed a mission, never failed to deliver ordnance on target
- Mullen: What was my personal opinion is now my professional opinion #DADT
- Adm. Mullen: I'm convinced that repeal of the law governing #DADT is the right thing to do
-
Gates: I believe this has become a matter of some urgency ... it is only a
matter of time b/f the courts are again brought into the fray
- Sec. Gates: This can be done and it should be done without posing a serious risk to combat readiness. #DADT
- Sen. Levin opens Sen Armed Services Committee hearing by calling the Pentagon working study of #DADT repeal
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