By Melissa Quinn
DailyCaller.com
July 25, 2012
Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe told The Daily Caller he
believes President Barack Obama pressured the military into granting an
unprecedented exception to rules that prohibit participation in
political activities while in uniform.
The Defense Department authorized a waiver to allow uniformed service
members to march in last weekend’s San Diego gay pride parade,
overriding a Defense Department directive‘s specific rules against uniformed service members’ participation in political events.
“The Department of Defense isn’t allowing this to go on, it’s the
president,” Inhofe said in an interview with TheDC. “The secretary of
defense answers to the president, and the military answers to the
commander in chief. Clearly this is Barack Obama.”
In a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Inhofe asked for an explanation of the decision.
“This apolitical stance has served our military well and earned the
respect of not just Americans but nations around the world as being a
professional organization, set aside from policies and agenda,” Inhofe
wrote.
The Pentagon officially said military members could march in their
dress blues and whites because the parade was garnering “national
attention.”
This is the first time in Inhofe’s 25 years in Congress the
Department of Defense has issued a waiver to override the directive, he
said.
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