'Don't ask, don't tell' under review

Clinton says policy 'out of whack.'

By KALPANA SRINIVASAN

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON --- President Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military was caught in the crossfire Sunday, a day after he declared it isn't working.

His top security adviser downplayed the significance of Clinton's comments, saying the Pentagon already is working to retool the policy.

And the president came under fire from GOP presidential hopeful John McCain, who questioned the timing of Clinton's comments --- a week after his wife sharply criticized "don't ask, don't tell."

The exchanges highlighted the continued sensitivity concerning the terms under which gays should be allowed to serve in the armed forces.

In an interview Saturday, Clinton said his policy hadn't been implemented as it was intended.

"It's out of whack now, and I don't think any serious person can say it's not," Clinton told CBS News. He said he hoped to work with the Pentagon to bring the policy closer to its original intent --- to allow gay soldiers to remain on duty without being persecuted.

Under the policy, the military isn't supposed to ask service members about their sexual orientation, unless there is evidence of homosexual conduct. Still, soldiers who say they are gay may be discharged.

Clinton said the policy was never supposed to facilitate rooting out people who are gay or allow for harassment. He has cited repeatedly the case of a gay soldier who was beaten to death in Kentucky.

But the Pentagon said Sunday that it already is working to fine- tune its policy. It has developed new training guidelines that are expected to be issued shortly, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said in an interview.

Those guidelines, announced in August, would require all troops to undergo periodic anti-harassment training and assign investigations of homosexual activity to more senior leaders.

"We are as determined as the president is to see that the policy is implemented fairly," Bacon said.

Clinton's top national security adviser delivered the same message. And he stressed that the president's comments weren't different from the conclusions of an internal Defense Department review.

Defense Secretary William Cohen "has issued new rules and regulations to bring it back in line with its original intent. Let's see how that happens," National Security Adviser Sandy Berger said on "Fox News Sunday."

Clinton's comments Saturday were prompted by questions about Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said last week that she didn't support the policy. Clinton didn't go as far as his wife did, saying he understands why she wants to allow gays and lesbians to serve without discrimination in the military.

Clinton has often drawn fire on the gays in the military issue, and Sunday was no exception. McCain --- running for the GOP presidential nomination --- questioned why Clinton was calling for a re-evaluation of the policy in a news interview rather than launching a formal review.

"Naturally, suspicions will arise that he's following on to help his wife's candidacy for the Senate," said McCain, appearing on "Fox News Sunday." "It's an inappropriate comment, especially in the context in which he made it.

"It seems to me that that kind of statement undermines the men and women in the military who are trying to implement a policy that has been in existence for seven years," he said.

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