Obama Backs Off Support for Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Obama Backs Off Support for Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Urges Appeals Court to Continue Ban Until 'Pentagon Is Ready'
by Jason Ditz, May 01, 2011

When the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" managed to make its way through Congress in December, President Obama presented it as a major policy victory. When signing, the president presented the move as a key one toward greater equality.

Less than five months later, the president has made another 180-degree turn and is now railing against the repeal that he supposedly supported and spearheaded. He has now urged the federal appeals court in a filing to maintain the ban indefinitely.

The filing claims that the ban needs to be maintained until the Pentagon "is ready" to accept openly gay service members. They said the retraining of current troops should be "mostly done" by midsummer and be finished before next year, but the ban could "probably" be lifted by year's end.

Administration promises to complete things "by year's end" have a tendency to become forgotten over time, however. The first promise the president made on taking office was to close Guantanamo Bay by "year's end" in 2009. The facility remains open to this day.

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/05/01/obama-backs-off-support-for-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/