Sure, as Rachel Maddow says, the Ham/Johnson report on repealing DADT is “unequivocal” that repeal is a low-risk proposition for military preparedness. But what really struck me in reading it is how little variance in perspective there was between the eldest troops surveyed (53 years and up) and the youngest (18 to 24-year olds). We’ve [...]

Spin and selective leaking! Carter Ham and Jeh Johnson’s year-long study of how repealing the ban on open gay military service isn’t due until December 1. According to Ed O’Keefe and Greg Jaffe’s sources, the military’s already pretty open to getting rid of the ban. With some significant exceptions: 40 percent of Marine Corps respondents [...]

New START yes; DADT repeal… meh. Sure, right now the DADT repeal is in the defense authorization that Congress needs to pass, and the Pentagon wants that passed. But… well, read Geoff Morrell’s briefing transcript for yourself: Q So right now, this department is urging congressional action on START, but not urging congressional action on [...]

Via this New York Times profile of Pamela Geller, the quote of the day comes from Anders Gravers: Violent, economic, cultural and stealth Jihad is the knife slicing the salami of freedom. It is time for us to snatch the slicing-knife of jihad, stop mosque building, stop Sharia law and stop Sharia finance, for we [...]

Via Jesse Singal, Muslim communities yet again defend free speech, the right to peacefully disagree and all that other stuff non-Muslims so assuredly and sanctimoniously declare that they never defend: Islam calls for vigorous condemnation of both hateful speech and hateful acts, but always within the boundaries of the law. It is of the utmost [...]

Call me crazy, but I’m confident volunteers in today’s military have more discipline and dedication than implied here: Elaine Donnelly, of the non-profit Center for Military Readiness, warns that scrapping “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” could drive people out of the military. “Combined voluntary and involuntary losses of careerists in communities, grades, and skills that are [...]

Apparently my friend Matt Duss of the Center for American Progress found some furry kindness at an anti-mosque rally this weekend. Just go with it…

The CIA sent around this message from Director Leon Panetta in advance of the 9/11 commemoration tomorrow. While he doesn’t come out and tell his non-Muslim countrymen to back away from the surge in suspicion of their Muslim neighbors, the message still comes through. For instance: The diversity of talent that we send into the [...]

But while I was out earlier, Gates’s spokesman, Geoff Morrell, released the following statement: “Secretary Gates reached out to Pastor Jones this afternoon. They had a very brief phone conversation during which the Secretary expressed his grave concern that going forward with the Quran burning would put at risk the lives of our forces around [...]

Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.