The headline of the top front-page story written by Rowan Scarborough in today's "The Washington Times" blared: "Marine leads 'Don't ask, don't tell' fight; Commandant resists efforts to lift ban." Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway has emerged in internal Pentagon deliberations as the most outspoken opponent of permitting homosexual men and women to serve openly in the U.S. military, according to a former senior Pentagon official.
During the last time America had an extreme left-wing president such as Barack Obama, another courageous American general officer challenged the sitting president, Jimmy Carter, over a major policy difference some 32 years ago. Major General John K. Singlaub disagreed with the conclusion by the Carter administration that forces in South Korea would be withdrawn without the risk of war. Like Obama's assinine promise of putting homosexuals in the military, Carter had made a foolish campaign promise that he would withdraw all American troops from Korea over a 4 to 5 year period.
General Singlaub's remarks were released by the news media just days before American troops were to be withdrawn from Korea. However, because of General Singlaub's courageous opposition, and a firestorm of public opinion, Carter failed to achieve his moronic and dangerous troop withdrawal. Jimmy Carter, in a fit of juvenile anger on March 21, 1977, dismissed General Singlaub -- a co-founder of the Central Intelligence Agency -- from his position as Chief of Staff of American forces in Korea.
The General Singlaub of today's military, America's top Marine, General Conway said in a formal statement: "Our Marines are currently engaged in two fights, and our focus should not be drawn away from those priorities. When the time is right, we have full confidence that we will be asked to provide the best military advice concerning the readiness of the Corps as it relates to this issue." This is especially remarkable since General Conway is the Marine Corps' top general and is at the peak of his career.
The last time a president tried this stunt of putting homosexuals in the military was very early during Bill Clinton's presidency. Virtually every retired general and admiral -- and indeed top active-duty generals and admirals -- rebuked Clinton's attempt at sabotaging the United States military and even a Democrat-controlled Congress confirmed by a large margin the long-standing law of no homosexuals in the military.
Elaine Donnelly, one of the key Americans who stopped Bill Clinton from putting homosexuals into the military -- which, by the way, was a major factor in the landslide take-over victory by the Republican Congress in the 1994 election -- was quoted in today's "The Washington Times": "Elaine Donnelly, who heads the Center for Military Readiness and argues in favor of the ban, pointed a reporter toward a recent article she wrote for the American Thinker. 'Consistently small numbers and percentages of people discharged due to homosexuality contradict any claim that a national security emergency justifies repeal of the law,' she wrote.
"'And it is not convincing to hold up the small, dissimilar militaries of foreign nations, none of which have adopted the extreme agenda being proposed for our military, as role models for America's forces. Nor does it help to ignore the stated opinions of more than 1,150 retired flag and general officers and current military personnel.'"
Unfortunately, there are always politically-correct apple-polishing officers who will be unfailingly obsequious to any president no matter how left-wing that president is. Such is the case with the military's top officer, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Admiral Mike Mullen, who has said several times, according to today's "The Washington Times," that "the armed forces need to move deliberately in carrying out the president's wish."
Talk about endangering the lives of our American troops with the huge lack of cohesion which would occur all across the military services if Obama and his left-wing Democrat-controlled Congress succeed in overturning the 1993 law prohibiting homosexuals in the military!
Thankfully, there are enough "Blue Dog" Democrats and many other moderate Members of Congress who are frightened about having to vote on such a incendiary issue. If their worst nightmare occurred and a vote on putting homosexuals into the military came up on the House and Senate floors, and if they did indeed vote to put homosexuals into the military, the large majority of them would be soundly defeated in the next election.
Generals such as James T. Conway and John K. Singlaub are extremely rare. They risk the decimation of their military careers to ensure that America maintains a strong military and to uphold a robust national security. Hopefully, other active duty top generals and admirals will summon up the courage and give the Marine Corps Commandant some needed support.
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