Experts: Pentagon Depiction of DADT Repeal as Delicate Matter is Bullshit

Today I received a mealy mouthed response from Virginia U.S. Senator Jim Webb in response to my letter to his office advocating for a prompt repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. My response back to Mr. Webb's office was basically a message that the latest "study proposal" is yet one more delaying tactic so that the Congressional Democrats can avoid action on the repeal of DADT which is something that polls show even a majority of Republicans support. In addition, I sent Senator Webb's office a link to the Don't Ask Don't Give campaign and suggested many LGBT voters may may sit out the November 2010 election in which case do nothing members of Congress like Virginia 2nd District, Glenn Nye (who courted LGBT money and votes) may well be toast. Today, I was happy to see that other experts on the issue in effect agree with me and say that prompt, decisive action with clear support from the top is the way to go with the repeal. In fact, the Palm Center has issued a statement to this effect which can be found here. Personally, I am far past being sick of the Democrats being afraid of their own shadow and lacking any spine whatsoever. Here are highlights from the Palm Center statement:
*
SANTA BARBARA, CA, Feb. 15, 2010—Scholarly experts on "don't ask, don't tell" are expressing heightened concern about the rationale for a new Pentagon study group on gays in the military. According to Dr. Nathaniel Frank, “Political and military leaders are saying that unless we study the feelings of straight troops, the Pentagon won't know how to manage the sensitive transition to an inclusive policy. But the 1993 RAND report and other studies conclude that the way to implement this kind of change is to do it quickly and simply, and that if it’s done this way, and with the full support of senior leadership, it will be a smooth transition.”
*
Dr. Aaron Belkin said that “If the study group intends to summarize the more than twenty peer-reviewed, military and official studies which conclude that repeal is not problematic, that would be one thing. But to say that we have no data, and that without data, we just don't know what will happen after repeal, is not consistent with the extensive research on the topic.”
*
The Palm Center's new recommendations to the Pentagon study group echo Dr. Frank's concerns, and underscore extensive research which concludes that military repeal of a gay ban is neither complicated nor fragile. . . . the RAND report as well as the rest of the literature has found that if leaders send clear signals and hold service members to a common standard, these supposed second-order effects are minimal. The Palm Center's recommendations are outlined in a new policy memo, released today.
*

Sadly, what is really needed to implement the repeal of DADT is strong leadership - and that is something woefully absent both in the White House and among Congressional Democrats.