Speaking with reporters after he addressed the CPAC crowd this morning, Santorum continued to occupy the far right lane of the social policy highway. As about the current push to eliminate the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and allow homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces, Santorum said he worried what changing the policy might do for military readiness.
Santorum said he's heard advocates of eliminating DADT say that if homosexuals weren't allowed to serve, the military would lose 13% of its active-duty personnel. "I have doubts if it would be 13%," he said. Santorum added that he thought that the military could suffer more losses from heterosexuals who would quit if forced to serve side-by-side with open homosexuals.
Which is not to say that Santorum thinks that homosexuals shouldn't serve at all. He just thinks the current policy requiring them to hide their sexuality while in uniform for the military than a shift to serving openly. That's not the take on DADT offered by some of the nation's highest-ranking military leaders, who have advocated for an end to DADT.
But Santorum said he questions that opinion, telling reporters he fears those leaders are worried more about doing what's "politically correct" than giving an honest take on DADT. He said he thinks the upcomingPentagon review of the policy might not be enough to get the truth about what eliminating the policy might mean for the American military.
In his speech to CPAC this morning, Santorum outlined his concerns about the DADT review, as Dave Weigel reports.
"I'm not so sure that we have now so indoctrinated the officer corps in this country that they can't see straight to make the right decision," Santorum said to the crowd, according to Weigel.
He called for a outside panel of experts to review DADT when speaking with reporters after the speech. "I'm suspect of what this analysis might be," he said of the Pentagon review.
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