On ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, former Vice President Dick Cheney discussed his thoughts with host Jonathan Karl about the Obama administration’s handling of terror suspects and the war in Iraq. He was also asked whether or not the military policy commonly known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which keeps homosexual members in the military from serving openly, should be repealed.
His answer seemed to favor the repeal of the Clinton-era military policy. President Obama recently reiterated his call to repeal the ban on openly gay members in the military at the State of the Union in January (video and transcript below).
HOST JONATHAN KARL: OK, “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” — You’re a former defense secretary. Should this policy be repealed?
FORMER VP DICK CHENEY: Twenty years ago the military were strong advocates of “don’t ask, don’t tell” when I was Secretary of Defense. I think things have changed significantly since then. I see that Don Mullen …Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has indicated his belief that we ought to support a change in the policy, so my guess is the policy will be changed.
KARL: And do you think that’s a good thing? Is it time to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military?
CHENEY: Well, I think society has moved on. I think it’s partly a generational question. I’m reluctant to second guess the military in this regard, because they’re the ones that got to make the judgment in how these policies affect the military capability of our units and that first requirement you have to look at all the time is whether or not they’re capable of achieving their mission and does the policy change—i.e., putting gays in the force affect their ability to perform their mission. And when the chiefs come forward and say we can do it, it strikes me that its time to reconsider the policy, and I think Admiral Mullen said that.
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