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Giuliani Alters His Pre-9/11 Criticism of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

March 14, 2007 2:52 PM

ABC News' Jan Simmonds Reports: Monday's comments by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace about gays in the military has raised the question, where does Rudy Giuliani stand on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy?

During the former Mayor of New York's U.S. Senate campaign in 1999 against Hillary Clinton, his aides said Giuliani had been critical of the "don't ask, don't tell policy" from the beginning.

Then in 2000, during an appearance on NBC's "Meet The Press" Giuliani went a step further. "I think if you want to serve the United States and you want put your life at risk, you should be judged on the merits, and you should be judged on your ability to handle the pressures of it, your ability to be able to do it..." Giuliani told Tim Russert. "There should not be a specific focus on someone’s sexual orientation. I think that’s the direction we should move it," he added. The Giuliani campaign notes that he has never directly stated that he would or would not overturn the policy if elected President.

Giuliani's previous public statements on the subject of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", all came before the terror attacks of 9/11. Yesterday, in responding to Gen. Pace's comments, Giuliani said "We're at war and now isn't the time to question our military's admissions policy," in a statement released to ABC News. Giuliani is clearly saying that the times and the issues the military is facing have changed, but he leaves the question, as to whether "Don’t Ask, Don't Tell' should be revoked, to be answered further down the road.

March 14, 2007 in Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (1)

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Posted by: georgembush | Mar 14, 2007 5:45:57 PM

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