Robert Gates

The Last Gasp Of Right Wing Homophobes: Outrageous And Deplorable!

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Last night, the House of Representatives adopted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as part of a military spending bill, just hours after the Armed Services Committee in the Senate agreed to such an outcome by a vote of 16-12, including Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Final action by the Senate is expected within weeks.

With Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, having signed on, the end of this discriminatory policy is within reach, after the final military review due by December of this year!

At a moment when there should be rejoicing, however, Senator John McCain of Arizona is creating barriers after having promised to back the change IF the military apparatus went along with the change. He and others in the Republican party continue to create obstructionism on the issue. It is sad to see McCain give up all his principles and dignity in his struggle to keep his Senate seat in the upcoming Arizona primary in August against former Congressman J. D. Hayworth! 🙁

But in addition to McCain’s delay tactics, right wing homophobes are creating propaganda and myths to try to stall the change in military policy!

Among their tactics are to claim:
1. Homosexual assault will multiply, with soldiers being fondled and having oral sex done on them in their sleep!
2. HIV tainted blood will become a widespread crisis in the military!
3. Adolf Hitler had a gay military, which was more brutal and vicious than a straight army would have been!

These ideas and assertions are totally outrageous and deplorable! We are being told that straight soldiers will be so deeply asleep that they will be attacked without their knowledge! This assumes that gays are so aggressive that they will bother with straight soldiers who have no desire for sexual contact! Also, the facts are that all soldiers are regularly blood tested, and anyone trying to be a soldier who is HIV positive is not allowed to serve! Also, the idea that gays were part of a special group under Adolf Hitler belies the fact that gays were one of the three groups of people specifically labeled and marked for mass execution, along with Jews and gypsies, and were required to wear pink triangles to identify them!

It is time for these despicable assertions by people who claim to be for the “family” and to have “Christian values” to be totally repudiated as simply signs of hate and intolerance!

5,113 Nuclear Weapons And Declining! Great News!

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In a surprise move this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the government would release the information on the number of nuclear weapons the United States possesses, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealed the exact number, 5,113, at the beginning of the UN Conference on reviewing the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.

On first thought, one might think why is it that we are being told the exact number, and then the thought why do we need that many nuclear weapons in the first place?

When we discover that the number of nuclear weapons have been in constant decline since the all time high in 1967 when we had 31,255 nuclear warheads, and that therefore, there has been a drop of 84 percent in the past 43 years and 75 percent since the end of the Cold War, we can feel good. But then why do we need even 5,113 weapons to defend ourselves?

The purpose of the revelation of these numbers of nuclear weapons is to encourage other nations to cut down their nuclear stockpile, and prevent other nations from moving toward a nuclear arms race.

The hope is that eventually the danger of nuclear war can be overcome by the complete elimination of nuclear weapons by negotiation and verification means and trust among nations, so that the age of nuclear threat, now 65 years, can finally be scrapped and make life on this earth a lot safer and more secure!

Of course, it is certain that the right wing conservatives and the defense establishment will wish to continue to promote fear and hysteria to prevent what most sane Americans want–a world safer than when they were born! So the battle for peace continues with no easy resolution!

Defense Secretary Robert Gates Continues To Amaze!

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush Administration, continues to amaze in his open mindedness and insights, and is seen as one of the major assets of the Obama Presidency, despite many Republicans being critical of him, even with his extensive background in the party structure and in the administrations of earlier Republican Presidents!

Now, on the anniversary of V E Day, May 8, Gates has delivered a speech at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas. This location is no accident or coincidence, but perfectly planned, as President Eisenhower remains famous for his outgoing Farewell Address in January, 1961, still regarded as one of the three greatest Farewell Addresses in American history!

A former leading General in World War II, responsible for the successes of the D Day (June 6, 1944) Normandy, France invasion, Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the Military-Industrial Complex on the future of American democracy!

The last nearly 50 years since his speech have proved very prophetic as we have seen the national debt skyrocket, with most of it being caused by military spending and interventions in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Iraq yet again, plus the numerous other smaller interventions around the world, and the fact that we have troops and military and naval bases in more than 60 countries around the world!

Gates referred to those realities, and called for cost savings and cuts in spending in the future on defense. He pointed out that the past decade since September 11 has seen a doubling of spending on defense, and he said some of it is wasteful spending that cannot be expected to continue.

Gates has canceled or cut back dozens of weapons programs estimated to save a third of a trillion dollars over the long haul, and wants now to cut the bureaucracy in the department, and also cut overseas locations and operating costs.

Gates questioned the need to have more than 40 generals, admirals, or civilian equivalents overseas, two decades after the Cold War ended with the Soviet Union.

This is all very refreshing news, as Gates challenges the accepted worship of military spending by the right wing of the Republican party, who only wish to cut domestic spending, but see defense spending as sacrosanct!

Gates has said he will have to see what happens after this year, as he had pledged to stay at least through the first two years of the Obama Administration. Needless to say, Obama should keep him on indefinitely as a tremendous asset, and Gates should do the patriotic duty and continue to work for the Commander in Chief for as long as Obama wishes him to contribute to a new image of the Defense Department! What a tremendous change since the days of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld! 🙁

The Controversy Surrounding General Benjamin Mixon And Gays In The Military

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A controversy has erupted in the US military over Army Lieutenant General Benjamin Mixon, who has been advocating opposition to any changes in “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward gays in the military. He has also stated that if this change in policy goes through, then gay and straight soldiers should not be housed in the same rooms on Marine bases, where soldiers share private rooms.

This has led to harsh criticism by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, with Mullen suggesting that maybe Mixon should resign!

Mixon is a three star general who commands the US Army in the Pacific. This is becoming a major controversy, and the likely result is his resignation, as it is clearly understood that military personnel keep their thoughts to themselves, and are not permitted openly to criticize the policies of the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States.

One thinks back to General Douglas MacArthur, dismissed under President Truman for opposing openly his Korean War policy, and General John Singlaub, who was removed in 1977 by President Carter for his criticism of Carter’s removal of a number of US forces in South Korea.

This controversy will certainly fuel anger from Republicans and conservatives who oppose any change in the gays policy adopted during the administration of Bill Clinton.

But the trend is definitely toward changes in the policy, despite criticism, as both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are moving toward adoption, and Colin Powell and many other military and political leaders have spoken up in favor of the end of discrimination, as almost all European countries, Canada, Australia, and Israel have had no problems in accepting gays in the military on a nondiscriminatory basis over many years. It is time for change!

Movement Forward On Gays In The Military!

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The testimony of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff head Mike Mullen before the Senate Armed Services Committee, endorsing moves toward the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military, are a wonderful first step toward eventual end of the policy that forces gay service members out of the military, despite their ability to make a major contribution to our national defense.

Also, the statement of former Joint Chiefs of Staff and former General Colin Powell that he now backs what he opposed in 1993 during the Clinton Administration is an important moment in the fight against discrimination in our armed services.

It is clear that many service members did not like integration of African Americans in the military when President Truman ordered it in 1948, and also many do not like that women have served alongside men in recent years. But this is not a question of voting or personal feelings. It is an issue of basic fairness and human rights.

If some service member has a problem with gays, they will simply have to adapt and adjust, or leave the military early. The military services cannot allow discrimination or personal feelings to intervene, when it has been demonstrated that many NATO nations and Israel have long had gay members, and have adjusted and adapted well to it.

As former Senator and presidential nominee Barry Goldwater once said, who cares if someone is gay, as long as he can shoot straight on the battlefield? Good quote, and the successor to Senator Goldwater, Senator John McCain, should rethink his position and stop being critical, and support what so many people high in the military have now accepted: It is time for gays to be able to serve openly in the military alongside their brethren, as much as African Americans and other minorities and women!

Obama Calls For End Of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” In Military: Great Step Forward!

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President Obama tonight finally followed through on his pledge to the gay community to move toward the abolition of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military, which has forced the explusion of highly trained and talented people in the military because of their sexual preference.

It was good to see Defense Secretary Robert Gates applaud the President’s statement. The question is whether conservatives and Republicans will attempt to stop this reform by use of the filibuster tactic that is constantly threatened on so many issues, a tactic that Obama criticized in his State of the Union address.

Obama must work actively with both houses of Congress and make appeals to public opinion to counteract any attempt to foil his plan to do what many European countries have already done–open up military service to men and women despite their sexuality. Sexual preference has nothing to do with being a good soldier, and this step will help promote gay rights in other areas as well, a step long overdue!

The Nerve Of Dick Cheney To Attack Barack Obama!

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney has a lot of nerve attacking President Obama for trying to deal with the economic, diplomatic and military mess left by the Bush-Cheney Administration.

Cheney thinks Obama is a leftist radical who undermines the country and has committed treason. This is very strong language, considering Obama has decided to stay in Afghanistan and escalate American involvement, has kept on Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke (both Bush appointees), and has continued the TARP program initiated by Bush.

To call Obama a leftist radical is ridiculous, as he is a clear cut moderate when it comes to military and economic matters. If anything, he has been criticized by liberals for not fighting hard enough for the public option on health care, going slow on gay rights, and trying to support the auto industry, banks and insurance companies that helped to cause this economic mess we are in.

Obama has, like Franklin D Roosevelt before him, saved the capitalistic system and aimed at restoring our diplomatic image abroad. This makes him a mainstream moderate with some liberal tendencies, not a radical leftist in any form.

But then again, when was Dick Cheney correct? There is a long list of inaccurate statements, misjudgments and actions by the former Vice President, and one could only wish that he would just go away, but that, unfortunately, is not going to happen.

Dick Cheney is a burden on the Republican party, and until he is repudiated as a lost cause, the GOP has no future!

Robert Gates’s Strange Statement About Reagan And Troop Commitment

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican who served in the same post under President George W. Bush and has worked on defense and security issues for thirty years, gave a speech on Tuesday praising former President Ronald Reagan for being cautious at committing troops to any mission that did not have a strong chance of success. Therefore, he avoided a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union and promoted negotiation instead.

One wonders why this was stated now, at a time when Barack Obama faces an equally difficult circumstance, and many are advising caution about committing troops without a strong likelihood of success in Afghanistan.

It is even more odd because supposedly, according to news reports, Gates is advocating more troops in that country, but now one wonders if this is a sign that Gates continues to have doubts about the Afghan mission.

This only makes the Afghan decision, when it is announced soon by President Obama, even more powerful a moment in his administration, and the odds of success in his Presidency ride on the answer!

The White House Debate Over Afghanistan

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The New York Times reports today that various alternative plans on Afghanistan are being considered, and that the President is about to have his eighth meeting on the subject with his advisers later today after his involvement with the Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington National Cemetery.

The various alternatives all seem to involve different levels of new troops going to Afghanistan, although the top advisers continue to be split on the subject.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen all seem to favor a major escalation of troops, while Vice President Joe Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel remain skeptical to such a growth of troops.

This decision is extremely important, and I feel that if President Obama goes the route of more escalation, he will come to regret it, and it could cause a loss of support within his party for his domestic initiatives. Ultimately, it could cause a failed Presidency and an untold growth in the national debt, which seems not to worry the Republican opposition which screams and yells about unacceptable levels of debt to deal with the Great Recession and domestic reform, including health care, but sees defense spending as not an issue that upsets them.

I say to President Obama that he must ignore the opposition attacks and do what is best for the nation, so I repeat: Listen to your vice President, Joe Biden, as he is leading you down the proper and sensible path. Do NOT escalate in Afghanistan and instead build up our homeland security and solve the many domestic problems that this country faces and that you campaigned on. Keep your commitments, and to hell with the conservative and Republican opposition as they wish you and the country ill in their mad quest for taking us to the extreme right, the real threat above all to our nation’s long term future!

Obama And Symbolic Anniversaries Of World War II And The Berlin Wall

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President Barack Obama is obviously a busy man, and cannot be everywhere commemorating symbolic historical anniversaries, but still there are regrettable mistakes made on priorities.

First, Obama was not available to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War II’s beginning on September 1, 1939. Obama was represented instead by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in a European gathering to honor the sad anniversary.

Now, Obama will be unavailable to attend ceremonies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which obviously is a strong symbol of the long struggle against Communism during the Cold War. He will be represented instead by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Of course, there is nothing horrible about our Defense Secretary and Secretary of State being present for the symbolic anniversaries, as both are highly respected. But there is a sense of regret, that somehow the President could not have rearranged his schedule to include direct involvement in these significant anniversaries.