Since late December, the GLBT community has celebrated repeal of the "Don't Ask; Don't Tell" policy that precluded Gay soldiers from serving openly. Simultaneously, another event has cast a dark cloud over the reputation of all Gay soldiers and potential soldiers who intend to become open about their sexuality.

Matthew Chen

The story concerns the Wikileaks’ scandal that published hundreds of thousands of potentially damaging, “SECRET” US documents on the Internet. Wikileaks, a left-wing, anti-American activist group, headed up by an androgynous-acting fellow named Julian Assange, received these documents from Army Private Bradley Manning, an avowed 21-year-old gay kid, according to the front page of the New York Times.

While may in the Gay community have “celebrated” Mr. Assange and his gay Army accomplice, there are many Gays who find Bradley Manning’s alleged treason an embarrassment to patriotic Gays who currently serve or want to serve in the Armed Forces.

We are told by the New York Times, that Private Manning was working as an “Intelligence Analyst” and had computer access to all these files that have since been published by the Wikileaks organization. We are also told that “poor Private Manning” was so emotionally frustrated by his homosexuality and his inability to express it “openly”, that he decided to do his utmost to embarrass his country and her allies during the difficult Global War on Terror. In fact his e-mails explicitly state that he wanted to create “chaos and disaster”.

For many Gays, this behavior was exhilarating; but some would argue that there are hundreds of thousands of Gay people who have served in our Armed Forces since the days of Valley Forge, and would never – ever – resort to betraying their country or put at risk other American lives, no matter how uncomfortable they felt being emotionally locked up in the proverbial closet.

Private Manning’s betrayal is a hideous disservice to the character and
self-sacrifice of every Gay or Lesbian soldier who has been decorated with Purple Hearts, Medals of Honor, Combat Service Medals, Humanitarian Service Medals; and of course, the Iraqi Freedom Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign and Global War on Terror Medals. And to the thousands who are buried in our military cemeteries.

Furthermore, he has served to embarrass his Commander-in-Chief who has used political capital to make life easier for our nation’s Gay soldiers.

And it is not just President Obama who is let down by this sad excuse for a professional soldier. Many Republican defense and intelligence officials who worked with President Obama to repeal “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell are let down. And that includes George Bush’s Defense Secretary and former CIA Director, Robert Gates (who currently serves as President Obama’s Defense Secretary); Republican US Senators Richard Lugar (IN), the former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Susan Collins (ME) of the Armed Services Committee, Scott Brown (MA) of the Veterans Affairs Committee; and Mark Kirk (IL) a former Marine officer who served in Kosovo and Iraq and on the Homeland Security Committee…all are among the several Republicans who voted for repeal of DADT and stood up for the expected “good character” of patriotic Gays in and out of uniform.

Gay people are entitled to disagree with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; after all, half of the people in the original 13 colonies did not support General George Washington, who faced endless defections and many who hoped the British would kill him to end the American Revolution. But, many Gays will quietly acquiesce that no one, regardless of sexual orientation, is entitled betray our country and allies, however imperfect.

Today, Private Manning sits in isolation behind bars – no longer able to wear head phones listening to his precious Lady Gaga CDs. He awaits his court-martial, which will probably lead to life-long imprisonment. Let us hope that he and his GLBT cheer-leaders understand that not all open Gays stand with them.

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About the Author

Writes Op-Ed's about U.S politics.