Liberal Talk Radio

I have to say that “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is a stupid policy. I think most people would agree, and there’s been some effort in the House and Senate to repeal the policy.

Both Kevin Drum and Steve Benen note that the number of discharges invoked under the policy has gone up 11% this year, the first increase since 2001. For a while there, the Pentagon was so strapped for troops, it seemed they were willing to overlook the policy. But no more.

Kevin does note that the number of discharges lat year (726) is still below what it was in the 90s. He speculates that the number is still low because of the war. But isn’t there an easier explanation? Isn’t it possible that, since “DADT” was first enacted in the 1990s, there are fewer and fewer gays signing up for service? It’s obviously impossible to know, since, well, the military doesn’t ask you when you sign up. Nevertheless, while it’s tempting to think that the military was forced to stop ejecting qualified soldiers, it seems to me that the decreases in discharges could be equally well explained by fewer gays signing up for service in a DADT world.