Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, in PageOneQ

Submitted by Evergreene Digest Contributing Editor Ken Mitchell

The government's more afraid of its own gays than international terrorists, said MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

After firing over 300 gay translators under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which prevents gay and lesbian personnel from serving openly, the military is now preparing to offer retention bonuses of up to $150,000 to those who remain, as the Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday (August 5). The policy that put the military in such a position, which Olbermann called "moronic," he notes, remains in place, as costs to replace the translators, in bonuses alone, could reach $45 million.

"George Bush," Olbermann said, "has told us for seven years that Iraq is the front line in the 'War on Terror.' John McCain has screamed it at us for seven months and talked about needing to keep an American presence there from anywhere from a month to a millennium. But we're kicking out Arabic translators who want to stay, while we're offering $150,000 to the ones who want to leave."

"The U.S. military, the presidential administration, and our nation as a whole are officially more afraid of American gays than of Middle East terrorists," he closed. "That is insane."

The following segment is part of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann...

Related:

Lift the Ban - Combating "Don't Ask Don't Tell", Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)