Next Tuesday Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will sit down in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee and make the case for repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Gates and Mullen will present the committee with an “implementation plan” detailing the steps the Pentagon is taking to prepare for a potential congressional repeal of the rule.
The point of the testimony is to convince Congress that the Pentagon is prepared for a world in which “don’t ask, don’t tell” doesn’t exist. But Gates and Mullen will stop short of making a formal proposal for legislation to repeal the ban, which means its reversal isn’t exactly imminent. And with Democrats like the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee still supporting “don’t ask, don’t tell,” we may be looking at yet another issue that Congress kicks around for months without ever actually doing anything.
Pentagon to Propose Steps to Lift ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ [WSJ]
