It’s heartening that president Obama, in concert with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are moving to scrub away the dark stain on our military that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell turned out to be. It represents a step towards rationality, and reflects the will of an overwhelming majority of the people in this country. Still, I can’t help but recall the then-new president’s promise that Guantanamo Bay would be closed within a year. When was that? January 21st, 2009? Gitmo’s been shuttered, yes?
In all fairness, Obama appears not to have anticipated the forceful pushback Congress would give him on the issue of relocating prisoners, and his administration has been working on a solution ever since. DADT’s parameters are different: Top military brass are on board, and the controversial policy will be phased out over the next few years. There’s no clearer indicator that the president is now well familiar with the limits on how quickly change can be effected through a bloated government. Time moves different for that slow moving behemoth of flesh and bureaucracy.
