Max Boot, a senior fellow in national security studies at the
Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing editor to the
conservative Weekly Standard,
changes his position on gays in the military. He
writes:
In 1993-94, when the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy was promulgated, I was persuaded by the warnings of Colin Powell and other generals that opening the door to gays and lesbians would hurt morale and cohesion. But in the intervening decade, society has become more accepting of homosexuality. . . . Sooner or later, the U.S. military will follow the example of Australia, Britain and Israel and lift its ban on openly gay service members. In the struggle against Islamic fanatics, we can't afford to turn volunteers away.
Liberals may prefer the more "multilateral" Powell over Don
Rumsfeld, but Powell was the one who screwed us during the Clinton
years.