Word: congresses
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ERIC HOLDER, U.S. Attorney General, on the prospects of the al-Qaeda leader ever being put on trial, during questioning by members of Congress about trying terror suspects in federal civilian courts...
...strongly opposed lifting the ban. While opposition today isn't as high - and the public supports doing away with the ban - it remains a sensitive political issue, as Bill Clinton painfully discovered. He simply wanted to let gays serve by changing the regulation barring them from doing so. But Congress got so upset at that prospect that it passed the compromise "Don't ask, don't tell" law, which has allowed gays to serve secretly - that's the "don't tell" part of the law. The "don't ask" portion bars the military from asking recruits if they...
...Obama Administration's three-act drama to keep the President's campaign pledge to lift the ban. The first act came last month when Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told Congress he had no problem with gays in uniform. With Mullen's backing, Gates on Thursday took the next step by relaxing enforcement of the ban. The final act - getting Congress to repeal the law - is months, if not years, away...
Elaine Donnelly, head of the nonprofit Center for Military Readiness, a conservative group, predicted Congress will stick with the ban. "I remain confident that members of Congress ultimately will retain current law," she said, "which is important to protect recruiting, retention and readiness in the all-volunteer force." (From TIME's Archive: The dawn of "Don't ask, don't tell...
...Defense chief said he would await that report before deciding if the ban should go. "There is a great deal we don't know about this [possible repeal] in terms of the views of our service members, in terms of the views of their families and influencers," Gates said. Congress, in turn, is likely to delay any action on a repeal until that report is finished. That means the next eight months - and how those in uniform react to Gates' changes, which take effect immediately - are likely to play a key role in the ultimate fate...