Is Wesley Clark really "pro gays in the military"? [View All]

[sfecap]

He never really seems to actually answer a question, does he? Ever?

From MTP 6/15/03:

MR. RUSSERT: In the brief you talked about combating discrimination. Many people would point to the military’s policy on gays as being discriminatory. Are you in favor of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military?

GEN. CLARK: I’m not sure that I’d be in favor of that policy. I supported that policy. That was a policy that was given. I don’t think it works. It works better in some circumstances than it does in others. But essentially we’ve got a lot of gay people in the armed forces, always have had, always will have. And I think that, you know, we should welcome people that want to serve. But we also have to maintain consistent standards of discipline; we have to have effective units.
So I think that’s an issue that the leaders in the armed forces are going to have to work with and resolve.
I do think that the sort of temperature of the issue has changed over the decade. People were much more irate about this issue in the early ’90s than I found in the late ’90s, for whatever reason, younger people coming in. It just didn’t seem to be the same emotional hot button issue by ’98, ’99, that it had been in ’92, ’93.

MR. RUSSERT: So you have no problem having openly gay Americans serve in the military as long as they abided by the same code of conduct that heterosexuals abided by?

(Ed. Here's a non answer to a direct question...)

GEN. CLARK: Well, the British have a system that—they put this in the British system. They call it— they said, “Don’t ask, don’t misbehave.” I think the leaders in the armed forces will look at that some day. But I have to tell you, also, we have got a lot of other issues on the plate for the United States armed forces, and this is one among many. And the men and women charged with those responsibilities need to look at those issues. But this is only one issue.

(Ed. Answer the question, General...)

MR. RUSSERT: But it’s an important one to many Americans. Parameters, which is a journal published by the U.S. Army War College Quarterly, has an article by Professor Aaron Belkan of the University of California. He says that 24 countries now have gays in the military, most of our NATO partners. Would you allow American troops to serve in joint exercises with NATO partners that had gays in the military?

GEN. CLARK: They already are. And they served together in Kosovo and in Bosnia and so forth.

MR. RUSSERT: That being the point, should the United States not allow openly gay people to serve in the military?

(Ed. Another non answer to a direct question....)

GEN. CLARK: Well, I think we need to charge the men and women responsible for the armed forces to come forward with that answer. I think that has to come from them based on what we need for the armed forces, as well as, you know, their concerns about society as a whole.

MR. RUSSERT: But you’d look at changing the policy?

GEN. CLARK: Absolutely.


Well, Gee, General...you won't answer a simple question, but you'd "look at" changing the policy? Quibbling is a major honor offense at West Point...what is it? Do you have an opinion or not? Why won't you answer the question? Simply and definitively?