Top general explains remarks on gays

The nation's highest-ranking military officer said Tuesday that he should not have expressed his personal view that homosexual conduct was immoral, and that he instead should have focused recent remarks on his support for current Pentagon policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the armed forces.

The officer, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, re-ignited a smoldering debate on last week over the armed services' policy, telling the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune that he believed homosexual conduct was immoral and akin to adultery.

Gay rights advocacy groups denounced General Pace's remarks on Tuesday and demanded an apology. Even staunch supporters of the military, including Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized General Pace for his statements.

"I respectfully, but strongly, disagree with the chairman's view that homosexuality is immoral," Senator Warner said Tuesday.

General Pace released a statement Tuesday afternoon in an effort to quiet the debate, saying: "In expressing my support for the current policy, I also offered some personal opinions about moral conduct. I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views."

"People have a wide range of opinions on this sensitive subject," General Pace stated. "The important thing to remember is that we have a policy in effect, and the Department of Defense has a statutory responsibility to implement that policy."

He noted that the Pentagon policy, often called "don't ask, don't tell," allows individuals "to serve this nation" while, at the same time, "it does not make a judgment about the morality of individual acts."

During the 14 years the policy has been in effect, most of its advocates said the rule should remain to protect discipline and unit cohesion, and rarely entered a discussion over morals. There is a growing call from some retired officers and members of Congress to do away with the policy and the underlying legislation.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy was instituted by the Pentagon after legislation was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton into law in 1993. It allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military if they do not openly display or discuss their sexual orientation and do not engage in homosexual act.

Since the policy was enacted and through the 2005 fiscal year, 9,488 service members have been dropped from the military under it, according to government statistics. Statistics from the 2006 fiscal year are still being compiled.

The issue was raised this year when Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs when the policy was adopted, said that conversations with military personnel had led him to change his mind.

In an Op-Ed article published by The New York Times on Jan. 2, General Shalikashvili wrote that conversations with gay soldiers and marines had showed him "that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers."

"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces," General Shalikashvili wrote. "Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."

NY Times