Gen. John McHugh: I Take It Back

Secretary of the Army Gen. John McHugh is backpedaling on yesterday's comment that he would cease ejecting soldiers over DADT.

Army Secretary John McHugh apologized Thursday for mistakenly telling journalists the Department of Defense would place a moratorium on discharges of homosexual servicemembers while the Pentagon conducts a year long study on the impact of changing the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military leadership have made clear they'll uphold the current law while the study is being conducted. Recently Gates announced new standards for discharging gay servicemembers, including raising the ranks of officers who can conduct an investigation and requiring all testimony from peers and outside parties to be given under oath. But Gates never said gay service members would not be dismissed in the interim.

McHugh's comments to a defense writers group on Wednesday were published on major wire services and newspapers, including the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post". His apology today: "Yesterday, in response to a series of questions from reporters regarding "Don't Ask Don't Tell", I made several statements that require further comment. "First, while President Obama has asked Congress to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell", it is and remains the law of the land... Second, I was incorrect when I stated that Secretary Gates had placed a moratorium on discharges of homosexual service-members. There is no moratorium of the law and neither Secretary Gates nor I would support one."

BAH.