Pace: Homosexuality Is "Immoral"

More than 70% of troops surveyed are fine with it

(NEWSER) - The Pentagon’s report on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will conclude that there is little to no risk in repealing the policy during wartime, sources tell the Washington Post . More than 70% of the troops surveyed said lifting the ban would have a positive, mixed, or nonexistent impact, and the full survey led the brass to believe that objections would diminish even further once troops became accustomed to serving alongside gay colleagues. More»

(NEWSER) - A persuasive essay arguing against the military's ban on gay soldiers is raising hope among activists that a watershed moment is near. It's not so much because of the essay's familiar arguments—that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hurts morale and violates civil rights—but because of its publication in a widely read Pentagon journal. "We think it is significant—a breakthrough moment," one opponent of the policy tells NPR. More»

But Joint Chiefs chair says that Iraq's needs limit US options

(NEWSER) - The US needs more troops in Afghanistan but lacks the available forces because of the Iraq war, the nation’s top military officer said yesterday. In his most pointed remarks to date, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen said that countering the country's resurgent Taliban and booming drug trade demands more than the 32,000 American troops stationed there, but that such a move necessitates "a reduced requirement in Iraq." More»

Says 'don't ask' hurts US military, but won't demand brass agree

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama said he wouldn't require top military appointees to support letting open homosexuals serve, stressing that his priority for Joint Chiefs of Staff is the ability to protect the country. Speaking to a gay magazine, the candidate called “don’t ask, don’t tell” a “counterproductive strategy,” adding he’d ban workplace discrimination against gays and get federal benefits for couples in civil unions. More»

Quiet indoor ceremony honors injured

(NEWSER) - A poignant and little-known ceremony featuring wounded vets is held privately indoors at the Pentagon every six weeks, reports the Wall Street Journal. It's called the "Wounded Warrior March." Hundreds of Defense Department employees line the corridors of the Pentagon to applaud, cheer, shake hands, or hug servicemen wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. More»