Gays Not Allowed To Fight the War On Terror

Bush onced compared the war on terror to WWII. The President said of gays, "But one thing we cannot lose sight of is that we’re talking about human beings, decent human beings that need to be treated with respect." The LA Times reports about the President's respect for gays and seriousness he takes the war on terrorism.

The number of military members discharged under the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals rose by 11% last year, the first increase since 2001, officials said Wednesday.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, said 726 service members were discharged under the policy during the 2005 budget year that ended Sept. 30. That compares with 653 discharges the year before. She released the figures after a gay rights group said it had obtained the statistics on its own.

Hat tip to Steve Benen