A balanced look at “don’t ask, don’t tell”

There are some excellent arguments for ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. And there are some lousy ones.

Also worth pondering is the experience of countries in which gays and lesbians serve openly. Britain and Canada are often cited as cases in point, though the deteriorating overall capabilities of their armed forces do not inspire confidence. A better comparison is the Israeli military, which hasn't yet been deemed incompetent or pusillanimous even by those who otherwise routinely defame it.

"It's just a non-issue," says Israeli Army spokesman Capt. Barak Raz about the service of openly gay soldiers. "It's about as important as whether someone chooses to listen to hip-hop or classical music."

Israel lifted restrictions on gay soldiers in 1993 on orders from then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. If there were ill-effects, Capt. Raz says, nobody noticed. Openly gay soldiers have served with distinction in elite combat units and as senior officers. Most of the information is anecdotal, though last summer the army's weekly magazine published an edition for Gay Pride week highlighting a few openly gay officers.

Israel is not the U.S. It has a conscription-based army that can't idly turn people away. It has its own set of cultural assumptions. The most religiously Orthodox Israelis are the least likely to serve. But it remains an instructive case, especially to those who have sincere and reasonable doubts about the effects of lifting the policy and aren't persuaded by the cheap accusations of "bigotry" that pass for reasoned argument on the subject.