As we all know, the winner of this presidential election faces some serious foreign-policy challenges.
While juggling the occupations of Iraq and Afghan-istan with the prospect of possible future threats, the next commander in chief will also be forced to address the tremendous strain currently on U.S. military forces.
Widespread rumors of an imminent return of the draft have become the subject of intense speculation and debate. This week, the House of Representatives, seeking to quell these rumors, soundly defeated a bill calling for its reinstatement.
But whether such rumors were truly plausible, or simply false, one important point seems to have been lost in the discussion: Rein-statement of the draft can never be justified without first repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of barring openly gay people from military service.
While both President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry have repeatedly assured voters they would maintain an all-volunteer military, the next president will have to address the issue of lagging numbers in military personnel.
The next administration, in considering every alternative to a draft, must work with Congress to repeal the costly and discriminatory "don't ask" policy.
In the five years between 1998 and 2003, 6,273 military personnel were expelled for their sexual orientation, according to an analysis by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minor-ities in the Military. And from the 1993 enactment of "don't ask" to 2003, the U.S. military spent an estimated $218 million recruiting and training replacements for discharged gay personnel, according to a Human Rights Watch report.
With the U.S. shouldering most of the financial and military burden in Iraq, Bush's go-it-alone approach to the war has alienated many traditional allies, and raised legitimate questions over how to maintain sufficient troop levels.
Earlier this year, the Bush administration enacted a controversial call-up of 5,600 members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), an action referred to by critics as a "back door" draft. Many observers are convinced that this president is running out of pre-draft options. Yet, many able service members, some with sorely needed skills, continue to be discharged from the military for their homosexuality. Most of the 5,600 recalled members of the IRR were needed to fill gaps in highly specialized areas of military service, including Arabic-speaking linguists, combat engineers, medics, paralegals, truck drivers, mechanics and food-service workers, according to a July 7 United Press International report.
The same report notes that over the past five years, roughly 1,000 service members possessing these very skills have been expelled from the military under "don't ask."
President Bush's justification for supporting "don't ask," which parallels the Pentagon's position, is that homosexuality is "incompatible" with military service, and is a threat to morale and cohesion in the military ranks.
In reality, the "don't ask" policy is more about fear and prejudice toward gays than anything else. The idea that the powers that be would consider involuntarily compelling certain people into military service, while turning away willing, able and otherwise qualified individuals just because of their sexual orientation, is unreasonable and absurd.
It should go without saying that gay men and women are perfectly capable of taking orders, marching in line, sailing ships, flying jets, pulling triggers, dropping bombs, serving with courage and valor, and anything else the armed services may demand of them.
And anybody who has served honorably in the armed forces deserves the dignity of which so many have been robbed by "don't ask."
Of course, if elected in November, Kerry may render both the issue of "don't ask" and any possibility of a return to the draft moot. His preferred multilateral approach to future foreign-policy endeavors would, I hope, ease the increased demand on U.S. military forces, and as a longtime critic of "don't ask," he would support the policy's immediate repeal.
While the official position of the current administration remains "no draft," and various experts and skeptical media outlets continue to debunk draft rumors, speculation persists, and we have yet to see what policy-changing events or crises may lie ahead.
Though it's currently unclear whether overturning "don't ask" will noticeably augment our military ranks, it would, at the very least, guarantee an end to the costly losses the military faces by purging its gay personnel.
And before the point is ever again reached where young Americans must be called upon to serve involuntarily, we should demand that our policymakers first consider every other option available to them. This must include a policy of nondiscrimination toward gays in the military.
It's time for a change, America. Time to realize that our government's attitude toward gays in the military is irrational and counterproductive. And we must encourage those who will resist to face their fears, accept this change, and if nothing else, get used to it.
