General Petraeus Reveals He Has Worked With Gay And Lesbian CIA Officers

03/07/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
General David Petraeus has admitted working with gay and lesbian CIA officers in the past. He stated on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” on a segment posted on the show’s website. General Petraeus stated “after the 10 seconds of awareness wore off, the focus was on the professional attributes.” Petraeus has already stated that he is not sure whether or not many soldiers care about the sexual orientation of their fellow soldiers. He did this on Meet The Press in February. Petraeus has also stated that he supports the ten month review into the effects of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Whether or not the review ends up effecting the outcome of the repeal will be determined largely by the time table in front of the Democrats. It is likely that the Military Readiness Enhancement Act will be placed into the Defense Budget Bill, and that will do an end run around the necessity for a filibuster proof majority since most Senators on both sides of the isle would rather been caught coming out of a gay bar than being caught filibustering funding for our troops. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was put through Congress in a similar manner.

The overwhelming majority of Americans are in favor of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Polls, depending on wording, show somewhere between fifty-nine and seventy-five percent of Americans favor repeal. The wording comes down to whether or not people are asked if they would like to see “gays and lesbians” or “homosexuals” allowed to serve openly. For some reason, the wording “gays and lesbians” polls higher than “homosexuals”.

There is some opposition to repeal among the older members of the armed forces, and especially among some of the older brass such as Marine Commandant General Casey; however, just how the rank and file soldiers are likely to react remains to be seen fully. Admiral Mike Mullen, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has found little interest among the troops for discussing this issue. Indeed, his town hall meetings seem to have given the impression of a military who expect that this change will occur and that they will follow the law.

Petraeus Tells CNN He’s Worked With Gay, Lesbian CIA Officers

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