Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The Time Has Come

General David Petraeus is generally revered in military circles. The GOP itself sought to make Petraeus a legend, with the Bush administration allegedly recognizing that while the White House's opinions on Iraq had no credibility with Americans whatsoever by 2008, Petraeus could ask for anything he wanted and be seen as a hero. The Weekly Standard has praised Petraeus. John McCain has praised Petraeus. The New York Sun has urged Petraeus to run for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2012.

So how does Gen. Petraeus feel about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?

Well, he may not be as far along as Admiral Mike Mullen is -- who eloquently gave testimony before the U.S. Senate calling for an end to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" last month -- but Petraeus is heading in the right direction.

Petraeus spoke before the U.S. Senate today. And while he wasn't allowed to read an eight-minute statement he had prepared, he did get out the fact that he thinks "the time has come" to review "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"I believe the time has come to consider a change to Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Petraeus said. "But I think it should be done in a thoughtful and deliberative matter that should include the conduct of the review that Secretary Gates has directed that would consider the views in the force on the change of policy."

Petraeus is staking a course that is certainly slower than what most DADT repeal advocates might hope to see. But nonetheless, his words are important. There might not be a military official more respected in GOP circles, and yet Petraeus is saying that the days of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" are numbered.

Meanwhile, this Thursday two Iraq/Afghanistan veterans will be testifying before Congress, at the behest of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). These two vets were thrown out of the military after their sexual orientation was disclosed. They include Former Air Force Major Mike Almy, a thirteen year veteran who was fired in 2006, and Jenny Kopfstein, a former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade. Kopfstein had received numerous awards for her service in the Navy, and had even been out to her superiors and fellow shipmates for months before finally being discharged in 2002. Nearly all of Kopfstein's commanders said that the U.S. Navy should have retained her instead of letting her go.

That should be some powerful testimony, and certainly add some immediacy to Petraeus's comments from today.

And if there was ever an example of why "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is polluting our culture, look no further than this case out of South Dakota. Women's Rights blogger Brandann Hill-Mann writes about a lesbian sergeant, Jene Newsome, who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" after a local police officer in South Dakota saw her marriage license (Newsome married her partner wife in Iowa last year). (Ed's note: As pointed out in the comments below, let's scrap the word partner and call her what she really is -- wife.)

Newsome and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) allege that local police officers were retaliating against Newsome. Turns out those local police officers were looking for Newsome's partner wife, who had an outstanding arrest warrant for theft charges dating back to when she lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. Newsome, according to police, wasn't as helpful as she could have been in providing information about her partner wife. A few months later, these same police folks ratted Newsome out to military brass, and she lost her job.

Whether it was retaliation or proper police conduct is something a jury or judge will have to decide now. But what's not proper is the fact that a hard-working soldier at an Air Force Base in South Dakota was robbed of her job, because a cop spotted a marriage license. How does that relate to her job performance? It simply doesn't.

Going back to Petraeus's comment: "The time has come to consider changing Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Jene Newsome is the perfect example of why the time has come. Every second of delay in repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" means that more soldiers like Newsome -- or the 13,500 others who have been discharged under DADT -- are shown the chopping block. That's some way of repaying folks who sacrifice their lives in service of this country.

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