Gen. Shalikashvili wrote a NYT op-ed back in January 2007 declaring that Don't Ask, Don't Tell needed to be revisited. Not long after he made that statement of support for gays and lesbians openly serving in the military, the doyenne of discrimination, Elaine Donnelly had the gall to say that members of The Homosexual Agenda somehow coerced him (because of suffered a stroke over a year ago at the time), into supporting the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It was disgusting.

Donnelly notes that Shalikashvili has in the last year or so suffered a debilitating stroke and is, in her words, “struggling to retain his health.” She says it is “really sad” to see someone like the general being used by the homosexual propaganda machine as “the latest tool of a public relations campaign.”

 
“Studies have shown that three-quarters of service members say they are personally comfortable around gays and lesbians.  Two-thirds say they already know or suspect gay people in their units.  This raises important questions about the assertion that openly gay service would impair the military.    In fact, it shows that gays and lesbians in the military have already been accepted by the average soldier.
 
“Additionally, at least twenty-five foreign militaries now let gays serve openly, including our closest ally, Britain.  Although we lead rather than follow these militaries, there is no evidence suggesting that our troops cannot effectively carry out the same policy change as those nations did.
 
“In 2008, a bi-partisan panel of retired General and Flag officers carefully reviewed this matter for a year and concluded that repeal would not pose a risk to the military's high standards of morale, discipline, cohesion, recruitment, or retention.  Interestingly, an increasing number of active-duty officers who have reviewed “don’t ask, don’t tell” indicate that the policy, not the presence of gays, is detrimental to the armed forces’ need for skilled personnel who are able to serve without compromising their integrity and, by extension, that of the armed forces as a whole.
 
“As a nation built on the principal of equality, we should recognize and welcome change that will build a stronger more cohesive military.   It is time to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” and allow our military leaders to create policy that holds our service members to a single standard of conduct and discipline.”

Senator Gillibrand said, “The military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy is an unjust, outdated and harmful rule that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women. I’ve been working with my
colleagues in Congress and other leaders to overturn this wasteful and destructive policy. I am hopeful that President Obama will make this a top priority.”

 

Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center said, “General Shalikashvili has answered the lingering question of when to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The General says now. As one of only 17 people to hold the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs his statement is saying that not only is now the time to repeal this law, but that it will make our military stronger. This is an endorsement of the President’s goals and a signal to the Pentagon – it is time for repeal.”