Gates Cautious on Repeal of Ban on Gays in Military

NEWPORT, R.I.-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made clear on Thursday that any repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law would have to be undertaken slowly, and suggested that it might not happen at all.

"If we do it,'' Mr. Gates told reporters on his plane enroute to Rhode Island, "it's important that we do it right, and very carefully.''

Mr. Gates was expanding on his answer to an officer's question earlier in the day at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., where the Defense secretary was asked about the policy that allows gay men and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation secret. "Everybody in this room knows that this is a complex and difficult problem,'' Mr. Gates responded.

Then he noted that President Harry S. Truman had signed an executive order integrating the armed services in 1948 "and that it was five years before the process was completed.''

Mr. Gates added: "I'm not saying that's a model for this, but I'm saying that I believe that this is something that needs to be done very, very carefully.''

President Obama pledged during the presidential campaign that he would work to repeal the law and allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly, but both the White House and Pentagon leadership have since made clear that they are reluctant to tackle the issue in the first year of the new administration. On Thursday, Mr. Gates said, as he has in the past, that he had only begun conversations on the matter with Mr. Obama and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. Gates also said that "if we do go down that road,'' it was important that "we do it right and in a way that mitigates any downsides.''

In the session with reporters on his plane, Mr. Gates said that it was hard to gage opinion about changing the law within the military. "To get people's real feelings about it, you have to have almost a one-on-one private conversation,'' Mr. Gates said. "I think it's very difficult for people to speak in front of their peers about this issue.''