Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Gay Soldier Uses Media to Mock the Military   [Elaine Donnelly]

Once again, activists for gays in the military have capitalized on the contradictions of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to push their relentless agenda. And the Department of the Army is helping them do it. The story du jour centers on Sgt. Darren Manzella, a soldier who says he was retained in the Army even though he had told his commanders in August 2006 that he is a homosexual. Manzella publicized his story in a December 16, 2007, segment of CBS’ 60 Minutes. Interviewed by correspondent Lesley Stahl without official authorization, just before his unit’s return from Kuwait, Manzella showed off several bare-chested photos and a video of himself passionately kissing his boyfriend. (See “CBS Misses Major Points on Gays in the Military”)

Sgt. Manzella claimed that he had presented these items to his commanders in August, 2006, after he received anonymous e-mails cautioning him to “turn down the flame.” At a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on January 8, Manzella further claimed that he was “cleared” and the case was “closed.” We don’t know whether the Army investigated the anonymous e-mails or Sgt. Manzella’s homosexual conduct, but a photo of Manzella posed with a mixed-gender group of “Army buddies” partying in casual beachwear suggests that the unit was not a model of discipline.

Prior to his news conference, Manzella told USA Today reporter Andrea Stone that he had been asked to join a confidential MySpace group for 600 homosexuals in the military who have not revealed their names. Stone reported this unsupported claim at face value. Her article also noted that CMR has tried for weeks to obtain reliable information on the case from Army authorities, to no avail. (Several gay websites have denounced CMR’s appropriate and courteous phone calls to obtain reliable information as “harassment” of Army officials.)

Three weeks after the 60 Minutes program, Army spokesman Paul Boyce finally issued a statement to the media pointing out that it was “premature to speculate on any future actions until [Sgt. Manzella’s] situation can be considered by his chain of command.” In a January 8 phone conversation, Boyce explained that Sgt. Manzella’s unit, which recently returned from Kuwait, is on customary “block leave” for several weeks. Officials at Fort Hood, therefore, are not available to comment on Sgt. Manzella’s “personal situation” that, Boyce said, became public on 60 Minutes only a few weeks ago.

This narrative appears to conflict with Manzella’s claim that an investigation of his homosexual conduct began 18 months ago, in 2006, and was “closed” by officers in his chain of command.

The Army’s response to media inquiries also compounded confusion about the meaning and intent of the 1993 statute passed by Congress, which clearly states that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military. The statement began with an accurate description of the 1993 law, Section 654, Title 10, and stated that “persons who state they are a homosexual or bisexual cannot be allowed entry into the military services . . . ” This correct assertion was followed by a glaring contradiction: “The law does not mean, though, that gays or lesbians can't join the Armed Forces. Gay, lesbian and bisexual Soldiers doubtlessly are serving in our Armed Forces today, as in the past.” Eliminate the double negatives, and the Army’s statement suggested that the law means that gays or lesbians can join the Armed Forces.

That extraneous and inaccurate statement reflected the Defense Department’s convoluted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” enforcement regulations, which President Clinton imposed on the armed forces with administrative regulations, even though Congress had rejected the concept as unworkable. Understanding and acceptance of the Army’s statement requires deliberate doublethink, as defined in George Orwell’s 1984: “the holding of two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”

The Army’s statement also invited misinterpretation. Reporter Stone summarized it to mean, “It’s not illegal to be gay in the military as long as a servicemember keeps quiet.” But the issue is not “legal” vs. “illegal;” it is “eligible” vs. “ineligible.” For years, homosexual activist groups have knowingly misled potential recruits about their eligibility to serve in the armed forces. The Department of Defense and the Army should not be doing the same.

The issue here goes beyond Sgt. Manzella, whose actions in this high-profile case seem to have been designed to embarrass the Army. Even under the contradictory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” enforcement regulations that Bill Clinton imposed on the armed forces, Sgt. Manzella clearly is not eligible to be in the Army. Absent contrary evidence, an honorable discharge is in order. Military unit commanders do not have the power to write new laws and regulations for themselves. All officials responsible for the delay should be held accountable for misleading the public and demoralizing the troops.

01/15 04:16 PMShare