Don't ask, don't tell was Clinton's thing. I thought it was a chickenshit way to NOT handle the issue then, and that opinion never changed. I think he did it because of military leaders bitching, but they bitched when the services were integrated racially and when women won a larger role. Most of the time, in the military, you can bitch, but you'd better do the job.

The military does not make laws, and aren't the sole developers of policy. When I was in the Air Force, I used to wonder why women weren't allowed to do certain things, and the answer was ALWAYS, "The American public would not stand for it."