Colin Powell a Reformed Sinner?

There is nothing people like more than a reformed sinner and Colin Powell is doing one heck of a job campaigning for reformer of the year. Yesterday, he told Fareed Zakaria that he believes it is time to review Don't Ask Don't Tell because, "times have changed, it is not 1993, it's 2008." The talk with Zakaria is one of a slew of interviews and public statements made by the former Secretary of State on the military policy regarding LGBT personnel.

But this radical shift in Powell's stance on LGBT issues should not give him a carte blanche.

Let us not forget that it was Powell who led the charge for the implementation of Don't Ask Don't Tell in 1993. He said then, "I continue to believe strongly that the presence of homosexuals within the armed forces would be prejudicial to good order and discipline." (USA Today, November 16, 1992) In support of this position, Powell told Ted Koppel that in the military, "we have to shower together."

According to the San Francisco Chronicle's coverage of the Joint Chiefs of Staff testimony to Congress on DADT, Powell stated, "'cohesive teams of warriors who bind so tightly' that they can charge into machine gun fire could not be sustained with known homosexuals among their number." He further testified that he would be troubled if a soldier of his showed up at a gay pride parade dressed in drag. (San Francisco Chronicle, July 21, 1993).

The fact that these comments were made fifteen years ago does not make them any less offensive. Punishing LGBT soldiers because their very presence "outs" the homophobia of other military personnel is tantamount to segregating black students in high school because their presence upsets white teenagers and interrupts their learning process.

When presented with this logic, Powell told reporters that, "Unlike race or gender, sexuality is not a benign trait. It is manifested by behavior. While it would be decidedly biased to assume certain behaviors based on gender or membership in a particular racial group, the same is not true for sexuality."

As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell justified homophobia as a simple objection to a behavioral choice. The obvious hypocrisy of condemning racism while upholding homophobia is easily obliterated by the "sexuality as choice" argument. Too bad Powell's analysis is not supported by factual evidence and most personal testimony refutes the choice theory.

Yesterday, Powell may have asked for a review of the discriminatory policy of the military. But he is still on record justifying the exclusion of LGBT people, equating sexual orientation with lifestyle choices and is personally responsible for the termination of 9,488 employees under DADT since 1993.

We may all love a reformed sinner, but pitching in for Obama and calling for a soft review of DADT shouldn't cut it when it comes to Powell.

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Comments

[blood1]

If only everyone would reflect on how their beliefs have changed and be brave enough to say that they have been wrong, even on this still sensitive issue, then we could pass appropriate legislation that would make all Americans equal...an­d think how sad it is that we even have to have a legislative rule to make people equal, then the US would begin remaking us a truly great country.

jRE: Colin Powell - To put it simply: Better late than never.

[gisellestwocents]

Life is a journey. Everyone evolves along the way...hope­fully.

[juanjo]

I am personally delighted to see Powell change his stance on this issue. He is not the only military man to do so. It is hard enough to get a man to admit he may have been mistaken much less to admit he was ever wrong. I remember when Clinton emerged battered and bloody from the DADT debacle and told some gay leader he had been discussing matters with that he had never realized the depths of hatred some people in power had towards gay men and women.

I am very tired fo being a second class citizen in my own country. I am tired of people thinking it is ok to treat me differently because their interpretation of some scripture tells them they can do so. I see a good deal of hope in the fact that most of the younger folks I come into contact with know gay men and women. Because they have relatives, co-workers, fellow students and others around them who are openly gay, it just is not a big deal to them as it was when I was their age.
DADT will fall as all such policies eventually do.

[Blueboy1938]

It's hard enough to get a man to admit he needs to ask for directions!

[SonicGuppy]

Sadly this man, a good soldier that he was blew his credibility on the floor of the U.N. And sent how many to death and dismemberment to support the dual fetishes of coup'de'tat and empire building? So what if he has a great golf swing? Wait, maybe he can add color at The Masters?

[larose501]

Colin Powell is a paid independant consultant to the Carlyle Group the capitalist war mongering leaders of the Military Industrial Complex...­Bushs' and Cheneys'. Don't believe his hype he probably got very rich from his interest in war and Haliburton!

[XME]

I have to disagree. Have said it before and will say it again: I think Colin Powell is a decent guy who's made some mistakes, but unlike many who've been a part of the Bush administration, he at least has the fortitude and self-reflection to acknowledge it. I personally believe if fortiving someone if they are sincere in their regret, and I believe he absolutely is.

[JJK]

Powell is still doing the Bush-Cheney two step, claiming only that he was misled by bad intelligence.

Until Powell pulls a Robert McNamara (and it took McNamara about four decades to do this) and admits that he was part of an effort to knowingly mislead the American people about a war that cost us lives and treasure, I have no time for him.

At some point, someone is going to become Bush's John Dean and come clean with the American people about the deception and lies that characterized the propoganda campaign to build a drum beat for this war. So far, Colin Powell is trying to have it both ways and is not that person.

IMO, right now, Powell's only objective is to try to get the Obama people to go easy on him when they get full access to the internal memos and other information at the State Department and National Security Council and start to write the true history of the Iraq War on January 20th.

[kobrien]

I agree with this. Powell is an intelligent man. I understood what the UN security council was reporting regarding WMD's and I don't believe for one second that he believed what he was fed by the Bush administration over Hans Blix. He just outright lied and I would like to hear him acknowledge this.

In regards to him requesting a change in the policy noted here. That is nice, but maybe an apology is better. Especially since all of the comments that he made about homosexuals were lies. Just one lie after another, whatever suits him for the moment. Like you said, support Obama so his team isn't so hard on him later. He could become a decent man if he came clean. Until then, I am weary.

[billy goat]

Until gay people are a protected class at all levels of our government, unable to be discriminated against in employment, housing etc and until gay partnerships yield the same benefits and obligations as they do for heterosexuals, I see no reason to be the first to lay my ass on the line for a country willfully maintaining a discriminatory posture towards gay people. For those gay people who wish to serve in the military despite these injustices only to face being fired, these people don't deserve your sacrifice.

[legalclubs]

I'm not exactly sure why Powel is even considered a Republican anymore. In terms of policies and in terms of support he seems to be firmly embedded on the left.

He doesn't even qualify as a "moderate" Republican, as he couldn't even support McCain who must the 5 or 6th most "liberal" of all the Republican Senators.

[rbryanh]

To paraphrase my southern, WWII hero father... There are no homophobes in a foxhole.

[Balancement]

Has the word "equal" somehow changed its meaning in 15 years? It seems to me that Powell, of all people, should have had a pretty good idea of what that word means a *long* time ago. Hundreds of gay Arab-language translators have been fired. In the middle of a war in the Middle East. Yeah, maybe the policy should be *reviewed.­"

Someday, the U.S. will grow up--but I ain't holding my breath, 'cuz I don't look good in blue.

[Wileynight]

Barry Goldwater had the last word on this issue: "I don't care if a soldier's gay as long as he shoots straight!"

[willia]

I agree with Wileynight and Goldwater. I can't believe that in 2008 gays in the military not being able to be themselves is still an issue. It's time we all grew up, what does being gay have to do with serving your country. I'm sure when they signed up, their recruiters knew they were gay and they were still accepted. This is so old, we should have been past this years ago. There are so many more important things that need to be dealt with, for instance making sure our soldiers have good equipment and when they return they are taking care of, after all they did risk their lives for America. They did not have to do that, gays included, they volunteered, not drafted!!

[jqcitizen]

As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Powell was a GI and took orders from the president (Clinton) or else.
As Secretary of State, and now a civilian government employee, he became part of an administration that had no use for his opinion. He should have quit right then and there but didn't. His feelings of war or homosexuals in the military are only now being told.

Just a little late Colin. But, nothing wrong with trying to repair your reputation.

[marignymitch]

Slow down, folks. Colin 'WMD' Powell is not demanding the repeal of DADT. He's merely calling for its review.

[Bonobo]

Correct. In the Zakaria interview, he spent a lot of time rationalizing the 1993 decision process by saying that he had to get the opinion and consensus from the chiefs of staff, politicians, military chaplains, and assorted staff officers before he could sign off on any change of policy, and that the times simply weren't right, then. That is hardly a profile in courage or leadership. If this standard had been applied in the Truman administration, Mr. Powell would have been serving in a segregated unit in Vietnam.

[gabemill]

Pardon me if I find it refreshing that a conservative Republican can change his mind on an issue.....­.
any issue.
Powell can't go back in time and change history. I believe it commendable that he has allowed his viewpoint to evolve. Isn't that potentially a sign of intelligence, not typically prevalent in the neo con community?
I say good on ya, Colin. I only wish a contagion could be created amongst your former associates, who never/won't change their mind..abou­t anything, regardless of facts.

[martiniandabotoxchaser]

I applaud General Powell for supporting a change in policy which reflects the growth of our society. When General Powell issued "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" back in 1993 it came at a time when society was far more homophobic than today. Changes in politics and the media have created the current platform which allows for a more open military. Yes, it has been long in coming, and yes, many suffered as a result of the military's policy concerning people being true to themselves, but at least it is coming. Like all history, we need to judge the events of the past within the context of their time. Hopefully, five years from now, gay marriage will be a norm like any other relationship between two caring people and any national discussion of homosexuality will be a thing of the past...

[dapperd72]

With all due respect to Powell's military credentials, his reference to chronology is based on the false premise that there was ever a "right time" for the "don't ask-don't tell" policy. If he wants to be intellectually honest and defend the LGBT community's dignity, he will simply say the policy was always wrong and he himself was dead wrong to ever advocate it. I vividly remember in early 1993, having attended a Nassau NOW meeting in NY (one of the very few where a large number of men attended) in which there was widespread rage against Clinton for having sold them out with this homophobic policy. Clinton convinced LGBT folks that he would defend gay rights, even if he didn't endorse gay marriage per se, by abolishing military segregation between different sexual orientations. Instead he devised this ignominious policy that served to exascerbate the homophobia pervading traditional military ranks based on the ludicrous paradigm that homosexuals infringe on the toughness of the soldiers as a fighting unit. Throughout the world, homosexuals serve ably in their nations' armed forces and win battles without hurting their competence whatsoever. This policy has no more merit than the racial segregation that Truman finally ended by executive order. Powell must simply concede to the public that he was always wrong along with all others who supported this law.