Gen. David Petraeus on Tuesday told a Senate armed services committee that he believes "the time has come" to consider an abolishment of "don't ask, don't tell," but supported an exhaustive review of the policy's effects on recruitment and unit cohesion before either a moratorium or legislative repeal is considered.
This is good. I don't think he was expected to give an opinion either way on the repeal of DADT. He's not exactly a liberal - he's seen as a likely candidate for the GOP nomination in 2012.
This could do a lot to move things forward, especially with Barney Frank asking the White House to come out in full support of repeal.
"I believe the time has come to consider a change to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But I think it should be done in a thoughtful and deliberative matter that should include the conduct of the review that Secretary Gates has directed that would consider the views in the force on the change of policy. It would include an assessment of the likely effects on recruiting, retention, morale and cohesion and would include an identification of what policies might be needed in the event of a change and recommend those polices as well."
The repeal could be done before the study is finished, obviously.
The best chance for repeal is to add the bill into the Defense Authorization bill. That's seen as the most likely way it will pass because it would require 60 votes for its failure. And Republicans won't vote against a national security bill no matter how much they might whine.
We need to call our reps and senators, as well as the president and make them do this.