By Sofia Sanchez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A new poll released Wednesday by the Center for American Progress (CAP) shows the general public is less opposed to allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the U.S. military. 54 percent of those surveyed said they support repealing the current policy, compared to 35 percent who were opposed.

“It’s safe to say that it is no longer a question of if the ["Don't Ask Don't Tell"] policy will be repealed, but how,” said Senior Vice President for external affairs at CAP Winnie Stachelberg during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

Yet another poll shows there is also a shift of support for the repeal among active military members.

“Attitudes are changing among career oriented service members,” said Brendan McGarry, of Military Times, who also took part in Wednesday’s call.

A study conducted by Military Times shows attitudes are shifting in support of allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. 30 percent of active-duty military members support ending “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” That number is up compared to 2003 when only 24 percent supported open service.

The Military Times study also found that two percent of active duty members identify themselves as being gay or bisexual. In addition, the study also found that women in the military were three times more likely than men to report being gay or bisexual.

“The military will be stronger, not weaker if this change is made,” said Stan Greensberg, with the public research group Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

For more information on The Center for American Progress study visit: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/02/dadt_poll.html

For more information on The Military Times study visit: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2010/02/military_dont_ask_dont_tell_021510w/

By Leah Valencia – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) chided Republican leadership Monday, claiming the minority party has acted irresponsibly by using obstructionism to slow down the legislative process.

“No one expects Republicans to roll over for President Obama,” Hoyer said during his remarks at The Center for American Progress. “But the ‘Party of No’ strategy is so disappointing because the history of Congress is full of loyal oppositions that shared responsibility for governing in trying times and shaped some of the most important legislation of their eras.”

The Majority Leader said using such tactics lessens the overall effectiveness of Congress, saying that in the Senate the use of filibuster has turned from a rare tool “of passionate oppostiton” into a “routine hurdle.” Hoyer added that 70 percent of all major bills face filibuster tactics as compared to only eight percent in the 1960’s and 70’s.

“The hard choices that are being forced on our country demand engagement from both parties,” Hoyer said. “It is almost impossible for one party to take them on alone.”

Hoyer noted past Republican legislative work on Medicare and Social Security bills to demonstrate the merit of bipartisan partnership.

“It is not asking too much for today’s Republicans to rise to those examples,” he said. “The history of constructive minorities shows how much more we should expect and demand of them.”

The Leader said he would welcome Republicans into debates on today’s key issues such as health care and climate change for the good of constituents nationwide.

“It’s easy to say that Democrats actually want extremism to be the face of the opposition…that we would be happy for the ‘Party of No’ to keep saying no, but that’s not true.” Hoyer said. “When we say no to the work of legislating, we do real harm to the institution of Congress and our nation’s future.”

Center For American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb says during a conference call Monday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has requested U.S. support for the next five years. (0:13)

 

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Center For American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb says during a conference call Monday that the U.S. must set a timeline to encourage Afghan military forces to take over. (0:11)

 

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Center For American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb says during a conference call Monday that sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan would be a significant increase. (0:20)

 

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Center For American Progress Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb says during a conference call Monday that Afghan forces must begin taking the lead within a year to begin relieving American troops. (0:23)

 

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By Leah Valencia – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Several Center for American Progress (CAP) officials said during a conference call Monday that the United States must find a sustainable method to fund the cost of the war and military aid in Afghanistan.

“It is important, and I can’t stress it enough, that we do not continue to accumulate more debt and borrow more money to deal with this situation,” said CAP Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb.

The CAP discussion took place on the day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to reveal his new strategy in Afghanistan. With military operations expenditures in Afghanistan on the rise – current costs amount to an average of $3.6 billion per month – Obama has been under pressure to explain how the U.S. will continue to fund future efforts there.

“It has been a disgrace that we have fought these two extended conflicts, in Iraq and Afghanistan, without paying for them; it is time to stop that now,” Korb said. “This is the first extended conflict we fought, where we have basically borrowed money.”

Obama is expected to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, 10,000 fewer than were requested earlier this year by NATO Commander General Stanley McChrystal.

White House budget director Peter Orszag has estimated that sending an additional 30,000 troops there will cost the U.S. an additional $30 billion dollars a year.

By Ravi Bhatia – Talk Radio News Service

Director of Policy Planning for the U.S State Department Anne-Marie Slaughter said Monday that a new study aimed at plotting out the future of the department, the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, could yield improvements in international relations.

“[Following the success of the QDDR] we would have much greater capabilities in the building of a new global architecture of cooperation,” said Slaughter. “[This] would include a greater capability and greater strategy in building bilateral partnerships with emerging nations and with our traditional allies. We would have a far greater capacity to work with non-state actors.”

According to the State Department, the QDDR hopes to provide a short, medium, and long-range blueprint for U.S. diplomatic and development efforts by showing how the current and future administrations should develop foreign policy, allocate resources, deploy staff, and exercise authority. The Review’s final report will be presented to President Barack Obama and Congress.

Slaughter spoke about the QDDR’s efforts at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C. Her remarks coincide with the release of the center’s recommendations for Obama’s National Security Strategy.

The CAP report states that the NSS should fundamentally change the U.S. response to radical extremists, increase U.S. funding for development in “weak or failing” states and use diplomatic tools to engage with hostile regimes, among other recommendations.

“Everywhere you turn, it is clear that we need not only government power, but the power of the private sector, the power of [non-government organizations], the power of think thanks like [CAP] — all putting in their comparative advantage and resources to tackle common problems,” Slaughter continued.

The Obama administration was required to deliver its first NSS report within five months of the president taking office, according to the CAP report’s executive summary. The administration has yet to issue one.

Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton, who also spoke on behalf of the CAP report, discussed the government’s unresolved issues with allocating resources, which the QDDR and the CAP report seek to correct through their recommendations.

“There is no hard-ass Colonel who is telling people in a directive fashion, in the development of a plan, how you’re going to resource the plan,” he said. “There’s no mechanism today to establish directive authority, to establish tasking authority and to make things happen in a comprehensive, integrated fashion. Until that entity is created, [our diplomatic and development efforts aren’t] going anywhere,” said Maj. Gen. Eaton.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says Friday during an address to the Center for American Progress that meaningful immigration reform should address many issues, including finding a legalization route for the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.. (0:26)

 

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Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says Friday during an address to the Center for American Progress that there is enough U.S. jobs to incorporate both skilled Americans and foreigners (0:39)

 

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