Colin Powell, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the 1990s led the opposition to letting gays serve openly in the military, said today he had changed his mind.
"In the almost 17 years since the 'don't ask, don't tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed," the former secretary of state said in a statement. "I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense (Robert) Gates and Admiral (Michael) Mullen."
Powell has been saying for two years that he thought the policy, which was devised as a compromise in 1993 after President Bill Clinton initially proposed lifting the military's long-standing ban on gays, should be reviewed. But today's statement was his first unequivocal endorsement of dropping the policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve only if they stay quiet about their sexual orientation.
The turnaround is certain to add more momentum to President Barack Obama's plan to repeal the policy. It comes a day after Mullen, Powell's successor as chairman, and Gates told a Senate hearing that it was only a matter of when, not if, the policy would be repealed.
"General Powell has made clear that his position is about effectiveness in the military," Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said. "His powerful voice for ending 'don't ask, don't tell' is a tipping point in favor of the brave men and women who are serving our nation in silence."
Referring to Sen. John McCain of Arizona and other Republicans who still support the policy, Solmonese said: "I want to ask the senators and members who are speaking out against this repeal: What do you know about military effectiveness that General Powell, Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen and the commander in chief don't know?
"The truth is that there are no more excuses. The death knell for 'don't ask, don't tell' has been rung, and now is the moment to send this law into the history books where it belongs," he said.
