Even Meghan McCain can be right once in a while

Meghan McCain is way too moderate for me and her desire to remain part of the in-crowd in DC compels her to criticise the republican party a little too much and, in the same ways liberals do. That said, I sort of agree with her on D.A.D.T.....

Let me tell you a little something about what I know about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: I have two brothers serving in the military and as far as I’m concerned, when an Arabic translator is kicked out of the military for being gay, it quite literally makes my brothers and our troops less safe. For me, Don't Ask, Don't Tell isn't just an equality issue. It is also a national-security issue.

This is the point we should be emphasizing for those who refuse to see Don’t Ask Don’t Tell opposition as a human-rights campaign. We need to bring the issue back to the security of our country both overseas and at home. Every soldier in our armed forces is serving his or her country in the most admirable way an American can, and we should be able to respect them, by not asking them to hide their sexual orientation.

I served in the Georgia Air Guard from 1980-1996 and I knew more than a few people who were either openly gay or closeted gays, and nobody really cared when it came down to doing our jobs. The only argument I can think of is the closeness of communal living you find in the military but, as far as I know, but for basic training, soldiers don't live intimately in big dorm rooms with dozens of other people.

Moreover, the national security issue is a big one. Why, if our biggest and only enemy right now are Arabic speakers, would we kick out of the military, trained, Arabic speakers, because of their orientation? It makes no sense to me....worse, it's self-defeating.

Finally, there are already rules prohibiting fraternization and public displays of affection that govern soldiers' behavior. Why aren't these rules adequate to cover any inappropriate activity, regardless of orientation?

If somebody has a convincing argument that demonstrates why gays cannot be good soldiers, I'd like to hear it.