US army criticised for 'gay sackings'

From ABC.net.au

A decision by the United States army to sack six homosexual linguists specialising in Arabic has been criticised as a threat to national security.

One of those dismissed, Alastair Gamble, has spoken out against his country's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for gays in the military.

He says the timing of the decision could not have been worse, taking into consideration America's increasing engagement in the Middle East.

"Discharging six linguists, excuse me, Arabic linguists at the time where we're facing a war with Iraq and with the war on terror still raging, we need to keep the qualified personnel in the military service regardless of their sexual orientation," he said.