Powell: Don't Pressure Congress to Repeal DADT Until Study Complete

As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993, you'll recall that Gen. Colin Powell infamously opposed President Bill Clinton's plan to fully integrate gays and lesbians in the armed forces. In February 2010, Powell stated that his position evolved and he now supported repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Powell is now somewhat hedging his position. Speaking on Larry King Live, the retired general says he supports repeal but also supports Sen. John McCain's position that Congress should not be pressured to repeal the policy before the Pentagon Working Group study is released, reports Igor Volsky at the Wonk Room.

Said Gen. Powell: "We have to take into account the views of our military leaders who are responsible for the well-being of the armed forces. ... Just let that study be finished, let it be published and let everybody read it and not leak parts of it. And so I share Senator McCain’s view that we ought to let the process unfold and not try to intercept it with court rulings or with people trying to get a vote out of the Congress when the Congress is not ready to vote on it."

Silly me. And all this time I thought the Constitution gave Congress the power "to raise and support armies."

The video, WHEN YOU JUMP ...

Comments

[RW]

"We have to take into account the views of our military leaders who are responsible for the well-being of the armed forces."

Oh Colin, please. Their views HAVE been taken into account and their arguments have been shot down legally, logically, morally, globally and statistically. The leaks of the survey prove that the enlisted soldiers do not care about sexual orientation. And since when does a $@#$ survey trump constitutional rights?! Stop the BS already.

[Diva1961]

Powell must be getting a lot of push back in order for him to speak in these terms. he is usually one of the few men of their work in the military and politics.

I think though that he is right about letting the study be finished and discussed, because that's what they're going to do anyway. But I think this is go politics to let this study be completed.

The reason is once the entire srudy is out and it confirms what has already been leaked, then the people in charge can say they did exactly what was asked of them (which was a study), and it says let the gays in. This is something they can take to the courts or whoever.

Now of course McCain is saying he doesn't like the findings and want to invalidate them. Everyone can see that that is just pure sour grapes. I think Powell will back the findings of the study. He is just being politically correct, but he knows it is better to change this way, and not the courts, if possible, because they can change it back through the courts. If it goes through congress, it's harder to switch back. However, if they try to dismiss the findings then we should go through the courts and any other way needed to make this change.

[Jim]

“There was a time when I believed that we should endeavor to secure our rights ‘by any means necessary.’ But I have come to realize that such a militant viewpoint was nothing more than the product of the intemperate character of youth.

“I now believe that we should wait, at least until Congress receives the results from the nationwide survey of white people that is being conducted currently by the Johnson administration. We should not try to intercept this survey with court rulings or with people trying to get a vote out of the Congress when our Congress is simply not yet ready.

“The last outcome that any patriotic American Negro seeks is for his white neighbor to feel uncomfortable with the notion of Negro equality. That will serve to better the life of no one—neither the white American nor the Negro.”

—Malcolm K, March 25, 1964