Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t delay

History was made when the nation’s top uniformed officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee that gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military. We must get rid of today’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, said Mullen, because it’s simply “the right thing to do.”

Well, it’s about time. It was a mistake on Bill Clinton’s part to adopt that policy in the first place, way back in 1993. My only questions are: What took them so long to get this far? And now that the Pentagon recognizes that getting rid of the old Clinton policy is the right thing to do, why’s it going to take so long to change it?

Because, maddeningly, Adm. Mullen was followed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who announced he would establish a panel to undertake a yearlong study of the issue and make recommendations on how to get rid of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Why the delay? Surely it’s not that complicated. The whole issue could be resolved in two easy steps. First, President Barack Obama picks up the phone and tells Gates that, while waiting for congressional legislation to overturn “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” we’re no longer going to enforce that policy. Then Secretary Gates issues a directive to the Joint Chiefs, relaying the orders of the commander in chief. End of story.

If they really wanted to put an end to “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” Obama and Gates could do it today.

History was made at the Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

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