Does Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell Help Terrorists?

I understand what President Clinton was trying to do with Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but I disagreed with it then and I still do. We’ve all heard stories about people getting kicked out of the military for being gay despite completely honorable records and substantial skills. Did you think that was unfair? I do. Now, if that person were imposing his/her sexuality onto others who weren’t interested, that is another thing. However, there should be no different rule for homosexuals who do that than for heterosexuals. Ask any woman who has had a guy come on to her over and over again despite her clear refusal. It’s sickening.

Stephen Benjamin was an Arabic translator for the Navy who graduated in the top ten of his class and spent two years (2003-2004) helping troops interpret Arabic. He wanted to go to Iraq, but he was kicked out of the Navy because someone found out he was gay. His NYTimes Op-Ed, Don’t Ask, Don’t Translate, is worth a read.

“The lack of qualified translators has been a pressing issue for some time — the Army had filled only half its authorized positions for Arabic translators in 2001. Cables went untranslated on Sept. 10 that might have prevented the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Today, the American Embassy in Baghdad has nearly 1,000 personnel, but only a handful of fluent Arabic speakers.”

It also bothers me that so many men and women who act as Arabic interpreters are being kicked out of the army because of their sexual orientation. Is there a fear that a gay man will be so consumed with sexual urges when he spots the hot UPS guy deliver that day’s packages that he’ll mis-translate a crucial message and end up getting our troops killed?

This concept that homosexuality is so deviant that one can’t belong to that group and concentrate on anything other than sex doesn’t make sense. Gay & Straight people can be obsessed with sex to the point of distraction 24/7. However, most people can focus on their job, education and express their sexuality at the appropriate time, including homosexuals. I’m still waiting for someone to give me an explanation for why it’s important that Arabic translators be heterosexual. So far, I only see terrorists benefiting from this policy.

Angela Winters– www.politopics.com