Dick Cheney Supports 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Repeal

Former Vice President Dick Cheney expressed support on Sunday for the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, saying that the climate has changed "significantly" since his tenure as Secretary of Defense.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Cheney said that on matters of military personnel he took his cues from the brass. Now that they felt the time was right to revise the policy that prevented gays from serving openly, he too was comfortable with a change.

"Twenty years ago, the military were strong advocates of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' when I was Secretary of Defense," Cheney said. "I think things have changed significantly since then. I see that 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 I think -- my guess is the policy will be changed.

"I think the society has moved on," he added. "I think it's partly a generational question. I say, I'm reluctant to second-guess the military in this regard, because they're the ones that have got to make the judgment about how these policies affect the military capability of our -- of our units. And that first requirement that you have to look at all the time is whether or not they're still capable of achieving their mission, and does the policy change, i.e., putting gays in the force, affect their ability to perform their mission? When the chiefs come forward and say, 'We think we can do it,' then it strikes me that it's -- it's time to reconsider the policy. And I think Admiral Mullen said that."

In coming out in support of a repeal of DADT, Cheney puts himself at odds with many in his own party, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who once said he would follow the military's lead on the matter only to reverse course several weeks ago.

But it is not all that rare for the former vice president to strike a relatively progressive posture on gay rights issues. Cheney has spoken out in favor of gay marriage, provided that it is sanctioned by the state and not federal government.

Cheney spent much of his sit-down with ABC on Sunday taking broad swipes at President Obama, attacking the current White House occupant for, above all, abandoning a homeland security doctrine that he helped put in place. But there was one other issue, in addition to a DADT repeal, on which Cheney found agreement with the current president: a troop surge in Afghanistan.

"I'm a complete supporter of what they're doing in Afghanistan," Cheney said. "I think the president made the right decision to send troops into Afghanistan. I thought it took him a while to get there.

"Having Stan McChrystal now in charge in Afghanistan I think is an excellent choice," he added. "General McChrystal's one of the most able officers I know. I'm glad they're doing what they're doing in Afghanistan. I'm not a critic of what they're doing, in terms of how they're dealing with that situation."

Comments

[michiganms]

06:48 PM on 02/15/2010

If Cheney didn't have a gay daughter, he would not be in favor of repealing DADT. By the same token, if he had not taken FIVE deferments from serving his country during Vietnam, maybe his hawkish war outlook would also be different.

[mmonarch]

11:45 PM on 02/15/2010

Probably true on both counts.

On the first one, so what? Maybe it's good that he has that perspective then.

On the second one, with his heart history, I would not have wanted to be in foxhole with him at my back. So, in retrospect, maybe deferments (for whatever reason) not so bad in that case.

[bluguy8]

06:38 PM on 02/15/2010

Who the he'll cares what he has to say

[oafishcad]

06:10 PM on 02/15/2010

I understand why so many here are so creeped out by Cheney Warbucks, But he did his job. He took the flack for all the worse than bad decisions that Bush made. And make no mistake, Bush was President. He wasn't puppetmastered by Cheney. Bush was just as enthusiastic for illegal wars and torture. Cheney was a convenient fall guy. As for DADT, it prevented closeted gays from expulsion from the military, whereas before it any and every gay person was hunted down and tossed out. DADT is a black stain on America. What existed before it was even worse.

[binq56]

07:42 PM on 02/15/2010

I don't buy that for one second. And if all he was was the fall guy, why is he out there defending and crowing about all the things he and Bush did? Cheney doesn't have one ethical bone in his body and I really wish he would go back to his underground lair and stay there.

[truth2power99]

05:49 PM on 02/15/2010

War criminal.

[Professorofdesire]

05:48 PM on 02/15/2010

I hear he has converted and changed his name to Putz.

[powpow]

05:15 PM on 02/15/2010

Big F'n deal....if his daughter wasn't gay then he would think differently. I guess if we all had a gay relative, which most of us probably do and don't even know it, maybe we get more to support equal rights for gays.

[JustMyWords]

06:02 PM on 02/15/2010

Does it matter if that's why he supports it? Don't get me wrong - I agree, that's the only reason. If his daughter wasn't gay, he's probably never come out in support of repeal.

But there are plenty of conservatives out there with gay relatives that still flatly refuse to acknowledge that reality. They don't support repealing DADT, they don't support gay marriage, they don't support hate crime laws. It's all still bad and evil and must not be allowed to exist.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that Cheney's position is admirable. It isn't. You should only admire someone that goes above and beyond. He's only doing what is right. But since that doesn't seem to happen often with him, I'm thinking it's not bad to at least acknowledge it.

[hypnus]

04:00 PM on 02/15/2010

D I C K !

[ebanks84]

03:23 PM on 02/15/2010

As indicated by another poster, those who speak from the "dark side" do NOT speak truth and definitely have ulterior reasons for doing so. I wouldn't give credence to anything he says now or in the future. He has his purposes for saying what he is saying now and you best to believe the purposes would mean us NO GOOD.

[darcdante]

04:33 PM on 02/15/2010

Um...right. You either agree with his positions or you don't. He thinks this way because his daughter is gay.

[Patricia013]

03:21 PM on 02/15/2010

I have never seen a bigger bowl of sour acid than Dick Cheney. When is he going to shut the ......up! The man made me sick for 8 whole years and, like an angry pit bull, he refuses to let go. Somebody take him hunting and make sure HIS rifle is full of blanks!

[seedoubleyou]

02:59 PM on 02/15/2010

Of course, he supports it. But. If he didn't have a gay daughter, you think he would still support it? It's like Dan Quayle who says he opposes all abortions, but said if his teenage daughter got pregnant they would have to, as a family, decide what to do. These people do what's best for themselves in any given moment, country and principles be damned.

[Wolf V]

01:47 PM on 02/15/2010

You seem to have an inordinate compulsion to pontificate for the sake of pontification, much like a Madow, Matthews, Olberman (sp?), et al. "The volcanic mountain labored mightily and brought forth a mouse."

[ebanks84]

02:55 PM on 02/15/2010

They really know how to eat there own, don't they?

[madgrrl]

01:10 PM on 02/15/2010

Shut up already! He had his chance to repeal it and didn't. Who cares what he thinks?

[33Greeper]

12:16 PM on 02/15/2010

Evil incarnate!

[Dan Solliday]

11:19 AM on 02/15/2010

Twenty years ago, the military were strong advocates of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' when I was Secretary of Defense," Cheney said.
There was no DADT twenty years ago.

[jsgaetano]

11:41 AM on 02/15/2010

Reality and Dick Cheney have never been on speaking terms.

[BacSi]

11:00 AM on 02/15/2010

Good for him no matter what the reason.

Just to bad Cheney did not have a kid in uniform in 2002. Maybe then we would not have had an unwise unneeded invasion of Iraq.