Place gun on foot, pull trigger

Okay, I understand the U.S. military is completely homophobic, but you'd think common sense and national security (especially with Osama bin Laden back making audio statements) would have the Army looking the other way on "don't ask, don't tell" for a while.

But noooooooo.

Story here. Snip below.

Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, have been dismissed from the military because they are gay.

The soldiers' dismissals come at a time when the military is facing a critical shortage of translators and interpreters for the war on terrorism.

And later...

The government has aggressively recruited Arabic speakers since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We face a drastic shortage of linguists, and the direct impact of Arabic speakers is a particular problem," said Donald R. Hamilton, who documented the need for more linguists in a report to Congress as part of the National Commission on Terrorism.

One of the discharged linguists said the military's policy on gays is hurting its cause.

"It's not a gay-rights issue. I'm arguing military proficiency issues -- they're throwing out good, quality people," said Alastair Gamble, a former Army specialist.

And with that, I wish you all a restful sleep.