"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts."
- Marine General Peter Pace, Chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff
With that one statement made to the Chicago Tribune, General Pace managed to revive an old scandal that could overshadow most other news items including the recent Walter Reed issue on proper care for veterans.
Things were bad enough to begin with - the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was a rather negative one to begin with, one ironically put into action by former President Bill Clinton despite his friendliness towards homosexuals in a general political sense. Now Pace chose not just to make a case for the policy, but to do so in a highly negative in controversial manner.
Hasn't he been paying attention to the news lately? Any discriminatory remark made by any public figure gets blown up tenfold - he should have expected his statements to lead this current controversy.
The policy works mostly in favor of the military since it allows them to reap the benefits of keeping the ranks a bit fuller while not having to deal with the sexual orientation of their troops. Sure, it's a rather political issue that might get in the way of the military getting its job done, but it's not an issue that one can just keep swept under the rug forever.
And he did it during a campaign season to boot. Good grief.
Well, at least people are talking about it - talking is always a necessary beginning for such things.
Related Links:
- TIME Magazine: Reexamining 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
- Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military
Photo linked from holisticgeek's photostream
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