Nearly 10 years after the controversial Don’t Ask Don’t Tell went into effect, it is back on the front page. Recently it was announced that nine students at the military’s Defense Language Institute were dismissed for being gay.
It might not have made such a splash, but six of them happened to be Arabic speakers, just the kind of soldiers the military needs right now. Some say they shouldn’t have been in the military in the first place, and that the firings are a small price to pay to preserve troop morale.
Others say the dismissals show how discrimination against homosexuals weakens the military and hurts national security. The one thing everyone agrees on is that don’t ask don’t tell isn’t making anyone happy.
Guests:
Paul Cerjan, retired Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
Steve May, former Republican State Legislator in Arizona between 1998 and 2002
Elaine Donnelly , president of the Center for Military Readiness
Sharra Greer, legal director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.-