Don't ask, don't tell--a political mine field

Finally, after 17 years of "don't ask, don't tell," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Robert Gates echoed their agreement that the law should be repealed allowing gay and lesbian Americans to serve openly in the military. This is a significant step.
As Adm. Mullen testified, "No matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens."
"For me it comes down to integrity--theirs as individuals and ours as an institution," he said.
I was impressed by his honesty and eloquence. It's about time someone stood up to the outdated concept of "don't ask, don't tell."
Of course it's being turned into a political mine field and could take until 2012 to be integrated, because the naysayers and foot draggers (who worry more about the showers than the battlefields) will have to mess with it as long as possible.
Vice President Joe Biden wants the policy ended this year.
Personally, I'm not aware that the "invisible gays" in the military have caused major problems. But I am aware that American servicemen have an embarrassing history of fathering illegitimate, culturally shunned and abandoned children around the world. (And then there was that female soldier, Army Pvt. Lynnde England who tortured prisoners at Abu Graib and got pregnant and on and on).
Interestingly, somewhere in the background, The Pentagon--for the first time--has quietly approved a measure that permits military bases worldwide to offer the morning-after pill, an emergency contraceptive. I'll call that, "do ask (for the pill), don't tell (that you had unprotected sex)." I agree that this is a smart move and no doubt will go into effect immediately.
In the meantime, we need to put pressure on our leaders to step through the political mine field and repeal "don't ask, don't tell" quickly. (Then, once we get same-sex marriage approved, gays in uniform can marry. Oops, we don't dare talk about that yet!)