Clinton Blames Colin Powell For "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

   (Washington, DC)  --  Former President Bill Clinton is taking retired General Colin Powell to task for the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
   Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when Clinton enacted the policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military back in 1993.
   Clinton told CBS News anchor Katie Couric Tuesday he had to accept "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because the Republican-controlled Congress was getting ready to pass an all-out ban on gays in the military.
   He added that Powell misrepresented how the policy would work.
   Clinton said he was told gay service members would be allowed to be open about their sexuality in their private lives -- including going to gay bars and marching in gay rights parades -- as long as they weren't in uniform.
   The former President added, quote, "That's a very different 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' than we got."  Democrats in the U.S. Senate tried to help overturn the policy Tuesday by attaching it to a defense spending bill.
   Republicans managed to block the measure from moving forward.

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