curement apparatus. These are exactly the specialists that the military needs to fight the War on Terrorism most effectively. Clearly, attracting such bright, young officers is more vital to the military’s overall mission than keeping homosexuals out of the ranks. Supporters of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy make a litany of arguments in its defense. Some claim that homosexuals in the military will clash with homophobes in the ranks and undermine unit cohesion. Others argue that homophobic soldiers would leave the military rather than serve alongside open homosexuals. Yet every piece of empirical evidence contradicts these arguments. First of all, the military is not an inherently homophobic institution. According to Zogby polling data, three quarters of American
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soldiers have no problem interacting with homosexuals. On the ground evidence corroborates this polling data as American soldiers fight alongside homosexual members of foreign militaries every day. In fact, many critical US allies, including Great Britain, Israel, and Canada, allow homosexuals to serve in their armed forces. Experts predicted disaster when those militaries integrated; their predictions simply never materialized. In reality, today’s criticisms of homosexual integration echo the arguments opposing the integration of African Americans into the armed forces in the 1950s. Black integration, it was said, would anger white racists, hurt recruitment, and undermine the integrity of the military. Those arguments were wrong then and they are wrong
now. Black integration was good for the military and American society as a whole. To this day, black Americans serve valiantly at all levels of the United States armed forces. More critically, though, military integration paved the way for civil rights legislation in the 1960s. Having served alongside blacks, many of these white soldiers came to realize that their preconceived racial stereotypes were just not true. When these soldiers entered the voting population and the political classes a decade later, they shifted the civil rights landscape of the United States. Homosexual integration could easily have the same effect. Regardless of one’s views on homosexuality, though, it is clear that the United States military needs more ground troops. With the forces at its disposal today, the American military cannot credibly deter rogue states from seeking greater regional hegemony. Nations like Iran and North Korea are effectively free to act because the United States cannot deploy enough soldiers to stop them. Given that strategic reality, it makes no sense to deny homosexuals the opportunity to serve. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” prevents 41,000 potential soldiers and dozens of critical specialists from joining the ranks of America’s military. It also denies military recruiters access to some of the nation’s best and brightest young college graduates. If the United States is serious about fighting the War on Terrorism, it needs these people badly. ¶
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