| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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latest posts
March 31, 2004
Concerns over the volume of untranslated terrorist intercepts are posing a significant security threat to the United States, according to CIA Chief George Tenet's recent testimony before the 9-11 Commission. Those concerns are echoed in a March 2 letter (page 1, 2) to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, from ranking committee member Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
As both Tenet and Sen. Leahy note, the federal government has a significant backlog of untranslated intercepts. Linguists are a front-line asset the federal government is finding in short supply. Despite the security threat and the need for qualified linguists, the federal government continues to make a person's sexual orientation a bigger threat to America.
According to a December 2003 article in the Washington post, the Department of Defense had discharged 37 linguists from the Defense Language Institute for being gay under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. The threat of homosexuals apparently is so great that even untranslated terrorist chatter takes a back seat to the federal government's purge of gays attempting to serve their country.
When it comes to the government's need for bodies in the line of fire, however, DADT discharges drop under stop-loss orders in time of war. Presumably the threat posed by homosexuals "in the foxhole" disappears in the reality of war, but as the military trains and prepares for war, irrational fears of homosexuals consume the military elite.
In a March 24, 2004 report by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Conduct Unbecoming: The 10th Annual Report on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," discharges plummeted last year due to war in Iraq. In the emerging theater of information warfare, the federal government has to begin asking itself whether DADT is harming our effort to muster our country's strengths or whether it is playing to politics that are ultimately harming our country.
It is very important to remember that DADT was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton. Gay Democrats should take note of lessons learned and not allow the 2004 party front-runner John Kerry to waffle on this important national security issue.
The unfairness of DADT not only affects those few people prohibited from serving their country, it affects all Americans. If the 9-11 Commission is to focus on one solution to prevent another 9-11, it will be for our country to use all our resources and set politics aside to protect our country.
It is time to repeal DADT and make sure our country is served by people willing to defend our country from the real enemy.
filed under: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
