Are You Moral Enough To Join The Army, Boy?

"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

That's General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Morality, speaking to the editorial board of the Chicago Times, the other day. This, no doubt, with one eye to the gay soldiers serving in the coalition forces provided by the UK, Australia.... You see, it's those immoral soldiers that are causing us to lose the war in Iraq; not that we're losing, not that it's a war, really.

Yesterday, caught in the firestorm, he released a statement that affirmed;

"In expressing my support for the current policy, I also offered some personal opinions about moral conduct. I should have focused more on my support of the policy and less on my personal moral views."

Ya think?

In a Jan 2nd New York Times Op-Ed, another general offered this;

"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces," General Shalikashvili wrote. "Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."

Just to remind the reader, General Shalikashvili is one of the victims of the Bush purges; an officer who had the chutzpah to disagree with the plans (so-called) for Bush's Excellent Little War, and to suggest that perhaps they needed to reflect military wisdom, experience and the lessons of history.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

But then, the very idea that anyone in this administration might have even read Tennyson is ludicrous.