Defense Secretary Les Aspin explained to NEWSWEEK that the Pentagon last April set up two groups to look at the issue from different perspectives the Rand group and a panel of three-star generals and admirals. “At each stage of the process, you’d take the conclusions from one study and match them against the conclusions from the other study,” said Aspin. “We kept developing both of these alternatives until it came time to choose, We eventually chose the military working group alternative.” One key reason: the Joint Chiefs of Staff were flatly opposed to gays serving openly, he said. Aspin said the Rand study will be made public.
Surprisingly, Aspin told NEWSWEEK, negotiating the new policy on gays did not further strain the relationship between the president and the armed forces. “In a very interesting way, working out this whole thing has helped bring about a better relationship between Bill Clinton and at least the senior uniformed military,” he said. “If you work something out together, it sometimes creates a certain amount of togetherness. I think that’s what happened. [It] created a bond.”
