Do gays in the military lower the morale any more?

[james_bond_3rd]

It seems that General SHALIKASHVILI has had a change of heart
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/o...af632cb6e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

The concern among many in the military was that given the longstanding view that homosexuality was incompatible with service, letting people who were openly gay serve would lower morale, harm recruitment and undermine unit cohesion.

That was then,

I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces.

This is now. Why the sudden change?

Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job.

I see. The gays didn't get any better. The military just got a lot worse.

Another casualty of the Iraq war.