Robert Byrd, who back in 1993 related the prospect of gays in the military to the fall of the Roman empire, opted this time around to support the concept, endorsing the amendment to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

However, Byrd added additional language to the Lieberman amendment, which is now assured passage in the Senate Armed Services Committee, which adds a 60-day review period to the release of the Pentagon study on implementation. From Byrd’s statement:

“I did not want to blindly assent to repealing this law without giving the Congress an opportunity to re-examine the concerns of our Armed Forces and the manner in which they are being addressed.”

“Therefore, I worked with the Senate and House Leadership, Senators Lieberman and
Levin, Congressman Murphy, the Administration and the Department of Defense to
include a provision in the proposed compromise amendment that would delay the repeal
of the ‘Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell’ policy for 60 days after receipt of the findings of the
Pentagon Review and the determination of the proposed policy and regulation changes.”

“This period of time will allow the Congress, along with the American people, to
thoroughly review the proposed policy recommendations to ensure that these changes are
consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion,
and recruiting and retention for our Armed Forces.”

This delays implementation by 60 days after the December 1, 2010 release of the study. However, it also has the effect of setting a target date for repeal. Sixty days should be plenty of time to have all concerns met. Therefore, everyone will fully expect an executive order and signing ceremony on February 1, 2011. The tension will grow in those sixty days in between. Gay groups will push events toward that day. The President, the Defense Secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs will not be as able to hide behind vagaries. Everyone in this fight will know that, by February 1, gay and lesbian service members should be allowed to serve. And they’ll expect the leadership to act accordingly.

Rep. Patrick Murphy sayshe has assurances from high-ranking members in the Department of Defense that they will “proceed with urgency” after the findings of the study group are released. They now can point to a specific date – February 1, 2011. If DADT is not repealed on that date, we know it was a bait and switch.

That’s provided that the amendment passes both chambers of Congress, along with the underlying defense authorization bill. Senate passage looks pretty good – it’ll get attached to the defense bill in committee, and the opposition doesn’t have the votes on the floor to strip it out. Senate Republicans may try a filibuster, but Susan Collins, at least, is with the Democrats on this one, and I’d be very surprised to see Jim Webb, the only Dem opposition to repeal thus far, filibuster the underlying bill. As for the House, Murphy says he has the votes to attach the repeal amendment into the authorization bill; we should expect a vote today or tomorrow.

UPDATE: I think everyone can agree that this, from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is disturbing. LGB leaders need to verify and not trust on this one.