“Adm. Mike Mullen, the nation’s top uniformed officer, made a strong appeal for allowing gays to serve openly in the military, a shift that highlighted the Pentagon’s growing support for lifting the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law. Adm. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee he believed the ‘don’t ask’ restrictions — which require gay troops to keep their sexual orientation a secret — could be eliminated without harming military morale, recruitment or readiness. With the comments, Adm. Mullen became the highest-ranking military officer to ever endorse repealing the restrictions, a source of controversy within the Pentagon since they were put in place by the Clinton administration in 1993.” (02/02/10)