General Wesley Clark, USA ( Ret. ) , a former NATO Commander and four-star general, told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that he
would 'absolutely' look at changing the U.S. military's ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers.
'I don't think it works,' Gen. Clark said when asked about the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. ' [ E ] ssentially, we've got a lot
of gay people in the armed forces, we always have had, always will. And I think that ... we should welcome people that want to serve.'
Gen. Clark went on to say that the ban is 'an issue that the leaders in the armed forces are going to have to work with and resolve.'
Gen. Clark, who is considered a possible candidate for the 2004 Democratic Presidential Nomination, also pointed out that many
NATO allies have abandoned their policies of discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual troops. Openly gay troops from allied
nations 'already are' serving together in joint exercises with the U.S., he said. 'And they served together in Kosovo and in Bosnia and
so forth.'
The U.S. 'should welcome people that want to serve,' Gen. Clark told host Tim Russert.
The Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said a new study
published by Parameters, the official journal of the U.S. Army War College, was cited during the interview with Clark.
The study, titled 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Is the Gay Ban Based on Military Necessity' presents lessons from four countries that lifted
their gay bans. It is available at www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu/Publications/2003_BelkinInParameters.pdf.