Vol. 72/No. 31      August 4, 2008

The debate over “Don’t ask, don’t tell” among capitalist politicians is not about whether the policy discriminates against homosexuals, but rather what best serves the needs of the U.S. military. In February 2007, a bill titled “Military Readiness Enhancement Act” was introduced into Congress, providing for the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

President William Clinton approved “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in 1993, putting it forward as an advance for gay rights. Prior to that, there was a blanket ban on homosexuals in the military. Under “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” gays may serve in the armed forces but they are not allowed to discuss their homosexuality, nor are their peers or officers allowed to inquire. Soldiers face discharge if they in any way engage in homosexual “conduct,” which includes identifying oneself as a homosexual. Since the policy went into effect, some 12,000 people have been discharged from the military for violating it.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama has expressed support for the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” In an interview with the Advocate he said, “There’s increasing recognition in the armed forces that this is a counterproductive strategy—ya know, we’re spending large sums of money to kick highly qualified gays or lesbians out of our military, some of whom possess specialties like Arab-language capabilities that we desperately need. That doesn’t make us more safe, and what I want are members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who are making decisions based on what strengthens our military and what is going to make us safer, not ideology.”

“Obviously we listen to our commanders on the ground,” Republican candidate John McCain said in an interview with Newsweek. “They say that ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ is working, so unless they recommend otherwise I’m certainly going to support their recommendations.”

Harvard University president Drew Faust voiced opposition to the policy at this year’s commissioning ceremony for Harvard students in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). Prior to the June 4 event, she had announced she would criticize “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in the course of her speech. After conservatives attacked her intentions, she confined herself to a veiled reference.

Faust praised the new officers as “part of a glorious and long tradition of military service at Harvard.”

“I wish that there were more of you,” she said. “I believe that every Harvard student should have the opportunity to serve in the military. ”

Faust pointed out that Harvard was one of the first campuses to offer an ROTC program, going back to when it was first established during World War I under the Woodrow Wilson administration’s National Defense Act.

ROTC was banned at Harvard and many other colleges in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, when massive antiwar mobilizations drove them off campus. Harvard students who join today are not allowed to train at the school, but instead travel to nearby MIT. In 1995 the Harvard faculty voted to continue the ban and cut all university funding for ROTC, in a protest of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
 
 
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