THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The US Senate has lifted the controversial ban on gays serving openly in the US military.
The bill will be signed into law this week by President Barack Obama, who made lifting the ban a key campaign pledge.
The repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a major victory for Mr Obama and congressional Democrat leaders and a historic breakthrough for gay rights advocates.
It will also mark a striking cultural shift for the US armed forces as gays are allowed to serve for the first time without fear of dismissal.
“It is time to close this chapter in our history,” said Mr Obama who has remained in Washington to complete political duties while his family begins their annual Christmas holiday in Hawaii.
“It is time to recognise that sacrifice, valour and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.” He added that as commander-in-chief, he believed the measure would strengthen the country’s military. >>> | Saturday, December 18, 2010
US Senate Votes to Allow Openly Gay Soldiers in Military
THE OBSERVER: 'Don't ask, don't tell' overturned by 65-31 majority in Senate, paving way for Obama to sign a law ending the policy this week
Campaigners celebrate the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'. Photograph: The Observer
The US Senate voted yesterday to repeal the ban on gay people serving openly in the military, paving the way for President Obama to sign a law ending the policy this week.
However, the defence secretary, Robert Gates, who had pushed for the change, warned gay men and women in the military that the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy will remain in effect for some time while the new rules are put in place.
Obama said in a statement: "By ending 'don't ask, don't tell' no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love." Read on and comment >>> Ben Quinn | Sunday, December 19, 2010
None too soon either. Gays in the US military have been downtrodden for far too long.
I'm glad that the US military has decided, at last, to embrace the twenty-first century. Denying people their rights simply because they were born different is, and always has been, unconscionable.
Senate votes to overturn military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy
Monday, September 21, 2009
18 Year Multi-decorated War Hero Ousted Cause He's Gay
A former U.S. military chief of staff cited Israel’s experience in recommending allowing gays to openly join the military.
Gen. John Shalikashvili, who was chief of staff under President Clinton when the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was introduced, said it was time to move on to the next phase: open acceptance of gays in the military.
“I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces,” Shalikashvili wrote on Tuesday’s New York Times’ opinion page.
“Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.
What makes the US so special that it will not allow gays to serve openly in its military? The argument that allowing homosexuals to serve will have a deleterious effect on order, discipline, and morale is hooey! And military officers and the powers-that-be know it.
Gays are allowed to serve openly in many countries. To quote a few examples, they are allowed to serve openly in Australia, Canada, Israel, France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, to name but a few countries. These countries certainly do not seem to have any problems or issues with allowing gays to serve openly. So what makes the US military so damn special and precious?
Would it be acceptable for the US military to stop blacks serving? No, I thought not. So what makes it acceptable to ban openly gay soldiers? And what makes it acceptable for such military personnel to be discharged for “homosexual conduct”?
This is all Dark Age stuff. The American military is showing itself to be little better than the Saudi military. Bigotry rules supreme there, too!
Bartleby asks the following question: Given that practically all of our major European allies - the EU countries with whom we normally align ourselves - openly allow gays in the military, why are we so reluctant to take that same step forward?
Please allow me to answer it.
The answer is simple: The powers-that-be in the American military are reactionary, ill-informed, backward-looking, bigotted, and just plain unfair. Many are religious conservatives; others are just plain self-righteous. It has little or nothing to do with either order, discipline, morale, or cohesion. Experience in the military in countries which allow gays to serve openly will attest to this.
American Bigotry at Its Worst and Most Shameful! And from a Fossil, to Boot: Gay Dutch Soldiers Responsible for Srebrenica Massacre Says US General*
THE TELEGRAPH: A former American general blamed "open homosexuality" in the Dutch army for the failure to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.
The Dutch government condemned the comments by Gen John Sheehan, a former Nato commander and senior marine officer, as outrageous.
Gen Sheehan made the remarks at a Senate hearing where he argued against plans by President Barack Obama to end a ban on allowing gays to serve openly in the US military.
Gen Sheehan said that after the end of the Cold War, European militaries changed and concluded "there was no longer a need for an active combat capability."
He said this process included "open homosexuality" which resulted in "a focus on peacekeeping operations because they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back."
"The case in point that I'm referring to is when the Dutch were required to defend Srebrenica against the Serbs," he said, referring to the UN peacekeeping force deployed to protect Bosnian Muslim civilians.
"The battalion was understrength, poorly led, and the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone polls, marched the Muslims off and executed them."
Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pressed him to clarify his comments.
"Did the Dutch leaders tell you it (the fall of Srebrenica) was because there were gay soldiers there?" asked an incredulous Levin.
"Yes," Sheehan said and added: "They included that as part of the problem." >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Friday, March 19, 2010
Dutch Outrage as US General Blames Gay Soldiers for Srebrenica
TIMES ONLINE: A retired American general has blamed the UN's historic failure to protect the Bosnian "safe haven" of Srebrenica on the fact that there were openly gay soldiers in the Dutch peacekeeping battalion assigned to it.
The comments from former Marine Corps general John Sheehan prompted outrage in the Netherlands, where the humiliation in July 1995 of 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers and the subsequent massacre by Serb forces of 8,000 Muslim men and boys remains a subject of acute national sensitivity.
General Sheehan, one of two Nato "supreme commanders" at the time of the massacre, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee against a proposal to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the US military.
He told the senators how the Armed Forces of various European countries had lost their combat focus after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and turned to peacekeeping because “they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back”.
The general said that Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and other nations all took the decision that there was no longer a need for an active combat capability in the military.
"They declared a peace dividend and made a conscious effort to socialize their military - that includes the unionisation of their militaries, it includes open homosexuality. That led to a force that was ill-equipped to go to war," he said.
"The case in point that I’m referring to is when the Dutch were required to defend Srebrenica against the Serbs: the battalion was under-strength, poorly led, and the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone poles, marched the Muslims off, and executed them.
“That was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II." >>> Philippe Naughton | Friday, March 19, 2010
Gay Army Is a Non-issue in Holland
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Retired US Marine General John Sheehan got one thing right in his testimony to the US Congress: gays serve in the Dutch military. But it takes a foreigner to point that out. Here in The Netherlands, gays have served in the military for decades.
General Sheehan blamed the fall of the UN enclave in Srebrenica in 1995, which led to the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims, partly on the fact that homosexuals served in the Dutch military.
"That was the largest massacre in Europe since World War Two. The Dutch army allowed homosexuals and you know what happened there." The retired general made these comments during a hearing considering whether to lift the US 'don't ask, don't tell' policy that allows homosexuals to serve in the military only if they keep quiet about it.
What?
The reaction here in The Netherlands has been a universal, 'huh?' From the current Foreign Minister to the Defence Minister at the time of the Srebrenica massacre; from leaders of unions representing soldiers to the former army commander; all have said that General Sheehan's remarks do not have the slightest basis in reality.
The Dutch caretaker Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said via Twitter that he was amazed at the ex general's comments - saying they reflected more about the discussion around homosexuals in the US army than anything else.
Minister of Defense Eimert van Middelkoop twittered: "scandalous and unbefitting a soldier". And the Dutch ambassador to the US, Renee Jones-Bos, added in a statement on the embassy's website that she "couldn't disagree more'' with Sheehan's claims.
"I take pride in the fact that lesbians and gays have served openly and with distinction in the Dutch military forces for decades, such as in Afghanistan at the moment',' she said. >>> John Tyler | Friday, March 19, 2010
Former US General: ‘Gays Make Dutch Military Weak’
NRC HANDELSBLAD INTERNATIONAL: A former American general has blamed homosexuals serving in the Dutch military for the fall of Srebrenica.
Fifteen years after the safe area of Srebrenica fell to Serb militias, an American general has found the cause: homosexuals had weakened the Dutch UN battalion charged with protecting the enclave. John Sheehan, a former high-ranking Nato official, said this on Thursday when he publicly addressed the American president Barack Obama’s plans to allow gays to serve in the military.
According to the charges brought against the Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at the special tribunal in The Hague, 9,210 Muslim men were killed in Srebrenica and its surrounding area in 1995. A Dutch UN battalion had been charged with the task of protecting the valley against the Serbs. A study by the Dutch research institute NIOD has found that the soldiers did not have an adequate mandate to act and the battalion was insufficiently prepared.
Speaking in the American Senate, Sheehan said European countries tried to “socialise” their armed forces by letting people serve in the army too easily, which left them weakened. >>> NRC Handelsblad News Staff | Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
House Approves DADT Repeal
ADVOCATE: The U.S. House of Representatives approved a stand-alone bill Wednesday to repeal the 17-year-old law barring lesbian and gay service members from serving openly in the military by a vote of 250-175.
Rep. Patrick Murphy, who championed the repeal effort, said those who oppose repeal had exhausted “every excuse under the sun.”
“Enough!” Murphy said from the House floor. “Our troops are the best of the best and they deserve a Congress that puts their safety and their collective national security over rigid partisan interests and a closed-minded ideology.”
The bill, introduced Tuesday afternoon by Rep. Murphy and House majority leader Steny Hoyer, will now be sent over to the Senate for consideration. Its language is identical to that of the legislation introduced Friday by Sens. Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins, and its “privileged” status will allow it to bypass several procedural hurdles and move directly to a vote that would take 60 senators for passage. >>> Kerry Eleveld | Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I must say it would be so refreshing if the US military were to resolve this issue once and for all, and abolish DADT and give gays full rights in the military. There really isn't any excuse for not allowing them to serve in the military any longer. It's all bigotry.
If gays are allowed to serve, they should be held to the highest standards, and will have to comply with norms of behaviour that everyone else has to comply with. That goes without saying, actually.
But to throw gays out of the military simply because they have a different sexual orientation, and even when they have behaved impeccably, is simply not acceptable in this day and age.
Gays perform perfectly well in the militaries of other countries, notably Israel's military, Germany's, the UKs, Australia's, Switzerland's, Holland's, etc. So what makes the US military folk think that the US military is very different, even extraordinary?
Within a short period of time, the whole matter will die down, and those serving will come to accept the gays they serve with. Young people today are not like the bigots of earlier generations. They are far more open-minded.
America Moves to End Homosexual Law in US Military
THE TELEGRAPH: America has moved towards ending the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which prohibits openly homosexual men and women from serving in the US military.
Admiral Michael Mullen, the most senior officer in the United States military, said that ending the law was now "the right thing to do".
He added: “For me, personally, it comes down to integrity - theirs as individuals, and ours as institutions.”
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the US Senate that he could no longer back a policy that "forces young men and women to lie about what they are in order to defend their fellow citizens".
He added: “For me, personally, it comes down to integrity – theirs as individuals, and ours as institutions.”
He was speaking just after Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, said that he "fully" supported President Barack Obama's decision to end the policy, which was implemented in 1993 as a compromise after bitter resistance to then President Bill Clinton's pledge to allow open homosexuals to serve.
"We received our orders from the commander-in-chief and we are moving out accordingly." He said that he had ordered a high-level committee, chaired by Jeh (CORR) Johnson, the Pentagon's chief counsel, and Gen Carter Ham, commander of US forces in Europe, to draw up an implementation plan.
Mr Obama directed in last week's State of the Union address that the 1993 law be repealed. This would fulfil a campaign pledge and was also seen as a move to placate the Left, which has long campaigned against the policy. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Neue Debatte über Schwule im US-Militär: Ein Anstoss Präsident Obamas in seiner Rede zur Lage der Nation
NZZ ONLINE: Der amerikanische Verteidigungsminister Gates hat eine hochrangige Kommission eingesetzt, die bis Ende Jahr einen Plan entwerfen soll, wie die Diskriminierung von Schwulen im Militär beendet werden kann.
Präsident Obama will die Diskriminierung von Homosexuellen in den amerikanischen Streitkräften beenden. Er hatte dies im Wahlkampf versprochen, in seinem ersten Amtsjahr aber nichts unternommen. In seiner Rede zur Lage der Nation am vergangenen Mittwoch kam er auf das Thema zurück und sagte, er wolle das bestehende Gesetz noch in diesem Jahr beseitigt sehen. Zwar könnte Obama auf administrativem Weg Erleichterungen verfügen, doch ist er für die Abschaffung des Gesetzes auf einen Beschluss des Kongresses angewiesen.
Gegenseitiges Stillschweigen
Präsident Clinton hatte seinerzeit versucht, das Militär für Homosexuelle zu öffnen. Die Dienstordnungen definierten Homosexualität damals als Grund für einen Ausschluss aus den Streitkräften. Clinton drang mit seinem Anliegen nicht durch. Er erreichte aber insofern einen Kompromiss, als das Militär nicht länger von sich aus nachfragen durfte, ob jemand homosexuell sei. So entstand 1994 das gegenwärtige, als «Don't ask, don't tell» bekannte Gesetz. Demnach darf das Militär nicht nach der sexuellen Orientierung fragen, und Schwule dürfen sich nicht outen.
Laut Senator McCain, dem einstigen Präsidentschaftskandidaten, funktioniert «Don't ask, don't tell» gut. Als Kriegsheld hat seine Stimme in Militärfragen grosses Gewicht. Jene gut 13 000 Schwule und Lesben, die seit 1994 wegen Homosexualität aus dem Militär ausgeschlossen wurden, teilen McCains Einschätzung der Qualitäten des Gesetzes wohl kaum. Sie vermochten zwar anzuheuern – Amerika hat eine reine Freiwilligenarmee –, doch wurden sie entlassen, nachdem ihre sexuelle Orientierung offenkundig geworden war. Viele outen sich irgendwann doch, andere fallen gegen ihren Willen auf. >>> Beat Ammann, Washington | Dienstag, 02. Februar 2010
USA: Homosexuelle sollen zum Militär dürfen
DIE PRESSE: Bekennenden Homosexuellen ist es derzeit offiziell verboten Soldatin oder Soldat zu werden. US-Verteidigungsminister Robert Gates will das nun ändern und hat eine Studie zur Abschaffung beauftragt.
Die US-Regierung will den Ausschluss praktizierender Homosexueller aus den Streitkräften beenden. Verteidigungsminister Robert Gates wolle eine Studie zur Abschaffung des Verbots in Auftrag geben, verlautete am Dienstag aus Regierungskreisen in Washington. Dabei gehe es nicht mehr um die Frage, ob, sondern wie schnell und in welcher Form die bisherige Politik geändert werden könne. Gates wollte seine Pläne am Abend vor dem zuständigen Ausschuss des Senats bekanntgeben. Obama will Verbot abschaffen >>> APA | Dienstag, 02. Februar 2010
USA: le chef de l'armée pour la levée du tabou homosexuel
LE POINT: Le plus haut gradé américain, l'amiral Michael Mullen, a estimé mardi devant des parlementaires que lever l'interdiction faite aux militaires homosexuels d'évoquer leur orientation sexuelle serait "la bonne chose à faire".
C'est la première fois qu'un haut gradé américain apporte son soutien clair à la levée de l'interdiction.
"Mon opinion est qu'autoriser les gays et lesbiennes à servir ouvertement (dans l'armée) serait la bonne chose à faire", a déclaré devant la commission de Défense du Sénat l'amiral Mullen, chef d'état-major interarmées, précisant qu'il exprimait un "avis personnel".
"Je ne peux m'empêcher d'être troublé du fait que nous avons actuellement une loi qui force les jeunes hommes et les jeunes femmes à mentir (...) pour pouvoir défendre leurs compatriotes", a-t-il ajouté.
L'amiral Mullen a déclaré qu'il pensait que les soldats américains "étaient capables de s'accomoder d'un tel changement", soulignant qu'il avait appris à ne jamais "sous-estimer leur capacité à s'adapter". >>> AFP | Mardi 02 Février 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Colin Powell Joins the Obama Movement Backing Gays in Military
TIMES ONLINE: “You don’t have to be straight in the military,” Barry Goldwater said in 1994. “You just have to be able to shoot straight.”
Sixteen years on, the conservative icon and former presidential candidate can look down from the hereafter on an American cultural scene where the President and his top commanders at last agree that gays should be able to serve openly in the armed forces.
They have been joined this week by General Colin Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who once called homosexuality “a behavioural characteristic” unlike such “benign characteristics” as skin colour.
General Powell’s opposition to repealing the longstanding ban on gays in the military helped to produce the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, the death knell of which President Obama announced in his State of the Union address. With General Powell’s change of heart — which aides said came two years ago, even though he waited until Wednesday to announce it — the US Congress is the only remaining obstacle to ending the ban.
For decades, the status of gays and lesbians in uniform has created an apparently unbridgeable gulf between liberals who note that gays are allowed to die for their country but not to be open about their sexuality, and social conservatives who insist that lifting the ban would lead to sexual harassment cases and undermine the effectiveness of fighting units.
It is a potentially explosive political issue that President Clinton tried and failed to resolve in 1994, and that Mr Obama must still sell to Republicans and some Democrats in the centre. >>> Giles Whittell, Washington | Friday, February 05, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
US Senate Armed Forces Committee Votes for Repeal of Military Anti-gay Law
THE GUARDIAN: Gay rights groups celebrate key step in scrapping controversial 1993 'don't ask, don't tell' legislation
America moved a vital step closer to repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" anti-gay legislation that forbids homosexuals from serving openly in the US military.
Gay rights activists have long sought to repeal the controversial 1993 law, which has seen thousands of Americans forced out of the armed services since it was brought in under President Bill Clinton.
Now that dream is almost certain to happen, after the powerful Senate armed services committee voted 16 to 12 in favour of an amendment that would pave the way for getting rid of the law. The measure was tacked on to a larger defence bill and the House of Representatives was also expected to pass a similar amendment.
That will clear the hurdle for a full vote in the summer, which the measure is now expected to pass, and then it will be signed off by President Barack Obama.
The amendment, however, contains language that makes repeal of the law contingent on the results of a current Pentagon survey investigating the impact of integrating gay people into the military. If the report concludes repeal will not harm the military's ability to fight wars or recruit soldiers, preparations will be made for integration. The survey's conclusions are due to be announced in early December.
Gay rights groups hailed the Senate vote as historic. "The importance of this vote cannot be overstated. This is the beginning of the end of a shameful ban on open service by lesbian and gay troops that has weakened our national security," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. >>> Paul Harris in New York | Friday, May 28, 2010
US Military Accepts Gay Troops for the First Time in 17 Years
THE TELEGRAPH: The American military has been told to begin admitting openly gay troops to their ranks for the first time in 17 years.
The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that military recruiters must accept applications from gays and lesbians, following a ruling by a federal judge that a law banning them was unconstitutional.
Judge Virginia Phillips said that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law breached gay troops' right to freedom of expression and to proper legal process, and ordered last week that it be lifted immediately.
She is expected later on Tuesday to reject a request from the US government to stay, or postpone, her ruling while the administration prepares an appeal against it.
Earlier in the day a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that in the mean time it had ordered officers to begin complying with the ruling.
"Recruiters have been given guidance, and they will process applications for applicants who admit they are openly gay or lesbian," the spokesman said.
However, troops were warned that disclosing that they were gay could have repercussions if the government's appeal against the ruling is ultimately successful. Read on and comment >>> Jon Swaine in New York | Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Barack Obama Is Out of Step on Gays in the Military
TIMES ONLINE: It takes two kinds of bravery to come out in the Armed Forces. Those who show courage deserve more than political cowardice
Among all the promises of change that swept Barack Obama to power, none seemed more simple, symbolic or easier to implement than his pledge to permit openly gay men and women to serve in America’s Armed Forces.
That promise has been repeated often over the nine months since his election — “don’t doubt the direction we are heading, or the destination we will reach”, he declared last weekend — yet America’s homosexual and lesbian soldiers remain firmly barricaded inside the closet.
The present policy, requiring gays to conceal their sexual orientation or face being discharged, could be overturned by executive order or legislation, yet Mr Obama apparently has little appetite for doing so. No timetable for a change in the 16-year-old policy has been set, and the White House is said to want to delay action into the distant future. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has become, under the Obama presidency, Don’t Rock the Boat, Don’t Act.
The law as it stands is a monument to hypocrisy, requiring homosexual soldiers to live a lie and allowing the military brass to ignore reality. With America fighting two wars and recruitment dwindling, it is also astonishingly short-sighted. More than 12,000 members of the US Armed Forces have been discharged since Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell came into force.
The law passed by Congress in 1993 states: “The presence in the Armed Forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.”
As Britain’s experience shows, this is demonstrably untrue. A decade ago, when Britain was forced to accept gay troops by the European Court of Human Rights, some predicted heterosexual mutiny. “If the doors were opened to homosexuals, there would be a polarisation, people would be ostracised,” Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Armitage (retired), the former head of military intelligence, insisted. “Men don’t like taking showers with men who like taking showers with men.”
As it turned out, the vast majority of serving soldiers accepted openly gay comrades without protest or, even more healthily, with benign lack of concern. At least two dozen armies across the world have admitted homosexuals and lesbians without any impact on operational effectiveness or recruitment levels. >>> Ben Macintyre | Thursday, October 15, 2009
Friday, September 10, 2010
US Ban on Gays in Military Ruled Unconstitutional by Judge
THE TELEGRAPH: A judge in California has struck down the US military's ban on homosexuals openly serving in the military, saying the policy is unconstitutional and violates the right to freedom of speech.
Judge Virginia Phillips said evidence presented by the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay conservative group, clearly showed the policy discriminates against homosexuals by forcing them to conceal their sexual orientation.
She said the act prevented gay servicemen and women in the military from talking about their relationships while allowing heterosexual troops to do the same.
"The Don't Ask Don't Tell Act, on its face, violates the constitutional rights" of homosexual troops, she wrote. >>> | Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sexual Cleansing in Iraq
Some of the links in this article will take you to sites containing images of violence which you may find disturbing
THE GUARDIAN: Islamist deaths squads are hunting down gay Iraqis and summarily executing them
The "improved" security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not those who are gay. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.
One of these clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a fatwa urging the killing of lesbians and gays in the "most severe way possible".
The short film, Queer Fear – Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq, produced by David Grey for Village Film, documents the tragic fates of a several individual gay Iraqis. You can view it here. Watch and weep. It is a truly poignant and moving documentary about the terrorisation and murder of Iraqi lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Since this film was made, the killings have continued and, many say, got worse. For gay Iraqis there is little evidence of the transition to democracy. They don't experience any newfound respect for human rights. Life for them is even worse than under the tyrant Saddam Hussein.
It is a death sentence in today's "liberated" Iraq to love a person of the same sex, or for a woman to have sex outside of marriage, or for a Muslim to give up his or her faith or embrace another religion.
The reality on the ground is that theocracy is taking hold of the country, including in Basra, which was abandoned by the British military. In place of foreign occupation, the city's inhabitants now endure the terror of fundamentalist militias and death squads. Those who are deemed insufficiently devout and pure are liable to be assassinated.
The death squads of the Badr organisation and the Mahdi army are targeting gays and lesbians, according to UN reports, in a systematic campaign of sexual cleansing. They proudly boast of their success, claiming that they have already exterminated all "perverts and sodomites" in many of the major cities.
You can view photos of a few of the LGBT victims of these summary executions here and here. Sexual Cleansing in Iraq >>> By Peter Tatchell | September 25, 2008
THE TELEGRAPH: The ban on openly homosexual troops serving in the United States military was suspended, in what is seen as a victory for gay rights campaigners.
A judge in California ordered a worldwide injunction against the enforcement of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, which forced the expulsion of homosexual troops whose sexuality was disclosed.
The judge, Virginia Phillips, ruled last month that the 17-year-old rule was unconstitutional, as it violated America's First and Fifth Amendments, which guarantee free speech and proper legal process.
On Tuesday she rejected an attempt by the Government to limit this to military personnel who were members of the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay rights group that filed the lawsuit against the rule.
Government lawyers had argued that an abrupt reversal of the rule could harm military operations at a time of war.
But Judge Phillips said the rule itself had a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed forces because it damaged recruiting efforts during wartime and forced the discharge of valuable troops.
She said that the Log Cabin group had shown that the rule "irreparably injures servicemembers by infringing their fundamental rights" and therefore must be applied to US troops everywhere.
Dan Woods, a lawyer for the group, said: "The order represents a complete and total victory for the Log Cabin Republicans and reaffirms the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians in the military who are fighting and dying for our country."
The ruling comes soon after another federal judge, in Tacoma, Washington, ruled that a flight nurse discharged from the US Air Force for being homosexual should be reinstated. Read on and comment >>> Jon Swaine, New York | Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Friday, September 30, 2005
Turkey in the EU
It is ludicrous even to sit down and discuss the possibility of Turkey acceding to the European Union.
If the US government has its way, Turkey will be allowed to join. If the British government has its way, it will be allowed to join. Fortunately, there are examples of countries in Europe with a tad more spunk. Austria comes to mind. That country is in the process of putting a sprag in the wheel. It is to be hoped that they hold out.
Before I go any further, I find Bush and Blair brazen in their dogged insistence on getting Turkey admitted to the 'European Club'. Brazen, because these two men are the very men who have the nerve to talk about bringing democracy to the backward Middle East, while at home, they both ignore - totally ignore - public opinion by insisting on Turkey's accession. How democratic is that? Their dedication to democracy is but skin deep!
Public opinion in Europe, especially in countries such as Austria, Germany, France, and the Netherlands is very much against Turkey coming into Europe; yet the arrogant Bush and Blair, both of whom know diddly about Islam, are adamant that Turkey should be allowed in. How can anyone have any respect for people like that, people who speak from both sides of their mouths?
We can all see the bloody mess these two men have made out of Iraq; now they want to do the same for Europe. God! These men have got to be stupid! Tony Blair is full of bullsh¡te; George Bush, full of dangerous concepts!
Even to think of allowing Turkey into Europe is ludicrous. One doesn't have to complicate the issue with the steadfast refusal by Ankara to recognise the genocide of the poor Armenians. That was certainly a tragedy, but there are far more pressing reasons why Turkey should not be allowed to join.
A more immediate one is Ankara's insistence on not recognising the legitimacy of the Cyprus government. If they are this arrogant before they're allowed in, think of how arrogant they'll become after they've been let in!
One can think of a whole host of reasons why there should be no place for Turkey in Europe. The most obvious ones are:
1. Geographically, Turkey doesn't belong in Europe. Only 5% of Turkey lies on the continent of Europe; therefore, if Turkey is allowed in, where will it all end? With Iraq? With Iran? With Morocco? With Libya? The possibilities are endless!
2. Europe can do without borders with the politically-fragile Middle East. To have borders with the Middle East is in itself fraught with danger, and will certainly be very dangerous for the future of Europe. One can imagine all kinds of cross-border disputes and conflagrations, to start with.
3. The history and culture of Turkey in no way fits in with the history and culture of other European countries. They are poles apart.
4. The religion of the West, or these days, perhaps, one should speak of the lack of it, was/is/should remain Christian, or at least be based on it. It is Judeo-Christianity which is, after all is said and done, the basis of our culture. Islam (except, perhaps, for the dangers it posed) has had nothing to do with it. The ramifications of this alone are enormous.
5. History shows that Christian/Western values and Islamic ones do not mix. These are two immiscible religions, cultures, ways of life. Why, then, should we ignore the lessons of history? Can the politicians give us one good reason why we should, other than the vague notion, now flying around, that to accept Turkey into the Club will avoid a 'Clash of Civilizations' à la Huntington? And that's nonsense! Instead of avoiding a clash, we will be precipitating one - one right here in the heart of Europe. The clash, then, will not be international; rather, it will be intranational. Bürgerkrieg, civil war to you and me, will ensue in the fullness of time. This is madness! Sheer madness! Unadulterated madness! It will bring about the slow death of Europe. No less; and maybe, just maybe, it won't be so slow, either!
6. Economically, Turkey is a poor country. It will be a huge expense and drag on the taxpayers of Europe. It is simply not worth it.
7. The population of Turkey is 95% Muslim, and it is already around the 80 million mark, and counting. It is expected to exceed 100 million in a relatively short period of time; it will then overtake Germany as the largest country in Europe. With all the political ramifications that this will have on voting rights within the European Parliament. We all know what will happen then: Islam-friendly laws will be demanded, and the Turks will ride roughshod over the rest of the declining 'Christian' population!
8. Apart from all this. We have already seen this year the European electorates in France and the Netherlands reject the constitution for Europe. This was because they don't like the pace of enlargement and change within Europe, and are certainly against Turkey's accession. After previous enlargements, there has been no period of consolidation. It is essential that there be such a period; otherwise, the European project is destined to fail.
9. Regardless of what the liberal media tell us, Turkey has so, so far to go to give women equal rights, to say nothing of writers freedom of expression, or rights to gays.
I could go on and on. I shan't. I'll stop there, for I feel that the list is long enough. You get my drift.
Just to say this, though: I don't believe in the 'secular' state of Turkey. Kemalism brought one about, yes; but it has only been held together by military and police force. What's going to happen when they will be set free because of European laws? My guess is that there is a strong fundamentalist element within that country; and this group will come to the fore after it's allowed in. At the moment, they are largely gagged. We'll see what they'll do when they are given the freedom of Europe!
General John Sheehan Isn't the First Bigot to Blame 'The Gays'
THE TELEGRAPH: The week’s most ludicrous comment comes from US Army General John Sheehan, who has blamed the Srebrenica massacre on – wait for it – the gays. Specifically, “openly homosexual” Dutch soldiers, who presumably were too busy swapping grooming tips to notice 8,000 people being slaughtered. Amazingly, while a classic of its genre, it is far from the most preposterous thing homosexuals have been blamed for. The following have all – honestly and seriously – been blamed on gay people. Read on and comment >>> Tom Chivers | Friday, March 19, 2010
Dutch PM Appalled at Gay-Genocide Link
ADVOCATE.COM: The Dutch prime minister is lashing out at retired American general John Sheehan for blaming the Netherlands' inclusion of gays in the military for massive deaths during the war in Bosnia.
"The remarks were outrageous, wrong, and beneath contempt," Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters at a press conference, according to Reuters.
Other Dutch leaders decried Sheehan's assertions as well. The Dutch Defense Ministry said Sheehan's claims were "absolute nonsense" and that gay Dutch soldiers often work alongside the U.S. military in its NATO mission in Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said Sheehan's statement was "the bizarre private opinion of someone without an official function." Renee Jones-Bos, the Dutch ambassador to the United States, said there was no evidence that his claims were correct. >>> Michelle Garcia | Friday, March 19, 2010
Retired US Chaplains Warn Against Gays in Military
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dozens of retired military chaplains say that serving both God and the U.S. armed forces will become impossible for chaplains whose faiths consider homosexuality a sin if gays are allowed to serve openly in the military.
If a chaplain preaches against homosexuality, he could conceivably be disciplined as a bigot under the military's non-discrimination policy, the retired chaplains say. The Pentagon, however, says chaplains' religious beliefs and their need to express them will be respected.
Clergy would be ineligible to serve as chaplains if their churches withdraw their endorsements, as some have threatened to do if "don't ask, don't tell" – the 1993 law that says the military cannot inquire into service members' sexual orientation and punish them for it as long as they keep it to themselves – ends.
Critics of allowing openly gay troops fear that clergy will leave the service or be forced to find other jobs in the military that don't involve their faiths.
"The bottom line is religious freedom," said retired Army Brig. Gen. Douglas Lee, one of 65 former chaplains who signed a letter urging President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to keep "don't ask, don't tell". >>> | Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, October 05, 2009
Obama Will Soon Tackle Gay Ban in Forces, Says Adviser
THE SCOTSMAN: PRESIDENT Barack Obama will focus "at the right time" on how to overturn the ban on gay people serving in the military, according to a top aide.
General James Jones, the president's national security adviser, said yesterday: "I don't think it's going to be – it's not years, it will be teed up appropriately."
The Democrat-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law, although no action is expected until early next year. The largest number of homosexuals ousted under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy came in 2001, when 1,227 were discharged.
This month Senate majority leader Harry Reid wrote to Mr Obama and defence secretary Robert Gates asking for a review of the cases of two US officers discharged from the military because of their sexuality. "At a time when we are fighting two wars, I do not believe we can afford to discharge any qualified individual who is willing to serve our country," he said[.] [Source: The Scotsman] | Monday, October 05, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: An American general has apologised for his claim that the presence of homosexual troops was responsible for the Dutch army's failure to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
John Sheehan, a former US General and Nato commander, caused outrage two weeks ago when he alleged that open homosexuality in the Dutch ranks had so damaged military morale that the country's army was powerless to prevent genocide in Bosnia.
He claimed, before a US Senate hearing, that Henk van den Breemen, the Dutch chief of the defence staff in 1995, had told him of problems related to gay troops.
"I am sorry that my public recollection of those discussions of 15 years ago inaccurately reflected your thinking on some specific social issues on the military," he wrote in a letter to the Dutch general.
Without explicitly referring to gay Dutch military, General Sheehan acknowledged that a weak United Nations mandate for troops was the problem facing peacekeepers.
"To be clear, the failure on the ground in Srebrenica was no way the fault of individual soldiers," he wrote.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Defence said General Van den Breemen was satisfied with the apology. >>> Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels | Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Police detain Russian gay-rights leader Nikolai Alexeyev during an unsanctioned gay-rights protest in Moscow on May 16, 2009. Photo courtesy of Time
TIME: Being gay is not supposed to be a crime in Russia. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993; six years later, the law that sent gays and lesbians to psychiatric wards was annulled. But Russia would still rather have its homosexual citizenry invisible — and silent. Nikolai Alexeyev knows that very well. He's just been released from jail for trying to organize a gay-rights demonstration in Moscow.
Alexeyev, 31, had decided to stage a gay-pride march to take advantage of the spotlight Moscow was enjoying for playing host to the Eurovision finals over the weekend. "We want equal rights. We don't want to be discriminated against," the director of Gayrussia.ru said a couple of days before the parade. "Many Eurovision fans are gay, and they will be watching what happens to us." Wary of the government of Moscow's openly homophobic mayor Yuri Luzhkov (a similar March two years ago had somehow ended in violence as neo-Nazis and religious groups attacked demonstrators), Alexeyev used guerrilla tactics and, at the last minute, moved the parade from Moscow's center, farther north to Sparrow Hills. (Read about the results of the 2009 Eurovision finals.)
At the same time, an anti-gay demonstration sanctioned by Moscow's government was taking place near a metro station in the central part of the Russian capital. Protesters held up signs saying, "Moscow is not Sodom." Vladimir Terechenko, a refrigerator repairman, said he tells his sons repeatedly that if they come out as homosexuals he will kill them.
"Homosexuality is the end of civilization. They are pale, they are sickly, and they smell," he said. He echoes the opinions of Luzhkov, who has said homosexuality is a disease that needs to be treated, has called gays satanic and has vowed that there will never be a gay parade in Moscow. Despite the violent beliefs and the hateful messages of the anti-gay protesters, they were left untouched by Russian riot police, who sat meekly in their vans during the demonstration. (See pictures of Russia celebrating its military might.)
Not so at Alexeyev's march. There, an estimated 30 protesters unwrapped rainbow banners and chanted for less than half a minute before Moscow riot police rounded up and arrested everyone involved. Alexeyev, who came to the parade accompanied by a man in a bride's dress, was swiftly carried off by riot police. One woman, who was surrounded by cameras, was grabbed by riot police as she was giving interviews, her shirt torn on the way to the police bus. Peter Tatchell, a British gay-rights activist, flew to Moscow for the event. He was speaking to reporters before he too was arrested. "This shows Russian people are not free," he told reporters. >>> By Marina Kamenev, Moscow | Monday, May 18, 2009
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: WASHINGTON: Three years ago, the Republican senator John McCain was pretty clear about his stand on the military's ''Don't ask, don't tell'' policy on gay service personnel.
The war hero said he would support ending the ban once the top brass told him they were OK with it.
''The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to,'' he told an audience of college students.
That day arrived on Tuesday, with the US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, testifying to senators following President Barack Obama's announcement that he would seek a congressional repeal of the 15-year-old policy.
Admiral Mullen called repealing the policy, which bans openly gay men and lesbians from serving, ''the right thing to do'' and said he was troubled by in effect forcing service members to ''lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens''.
Mr Gates told the armed services committee: ''I fully support the President's decision.'' >>> The Washington Post, Agence France-Presse | Thursday, February 04, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Barack Obama Signs Law Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' for Gays in the Military
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has signed a law allowing gays to serve openly in the military, repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a sweeping and historic shift for the US armed forces. Read about it >>> | Wednesday, December 22, 2010
