Colin Powell Reiterates Support for Review of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
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In an interview with CNN Thursday, former secretary of State and retired general Colin Powell once again reiterated his support for a military review of the U.S. “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces.

"We should be reevaluating it," he said.

General Powell's evolving views on "don't ask, don't tell" are the source of much interest on Capitol Hill precisely because people think he holds so much sway inside the Beltway. However, his comments to CNN do not represent a change of position. In fact, they parallel those he made at the Aspen Institute in July, when he endorsed reviewing the policy but stopped short of calling for its repeal.

"I agree with [former] Senator [Sam] Nunn -- you can review it, but I'm not prepared to say that you should do away with it until you have talked to the people who have to execute it and implement it -- the armed forces leadership," Powell said while being interviewed by Walter Isaacson. Nunn chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee when the policy was adopted in 1993.


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