Military Commanders

KABUL, Afghanistan -- In his first visit to Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said terrorist attacks from across the border in Pakistan had significantly increased, fueling a growing rift between the two countries and concern that the Taliban has set up shop in the lawless border areas of Pakistan. But Gates added that Pakistan was one of the strongest allies of the U.S. in the war on terrorism. He also said that if U.S. military commanders asked for more U.S. troops here, he would be strongly inclined to recommend an increase to the president.

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge in New York, accusing the Clinton administration and Congress of giving in to "irrational prejudices" against homosexuals, ruled yesterday that it is unconstitutional to discharge military service members just for saying they are gay or lesbian.The ruling by Judge Eugene H. Nickerson of Brooklyn against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was the first on the constitutionality of the main features of a compromise worked out in 1993.The judge's decision struck at the heart of the policy: a provision that allows homosexuals to remain in the service -- a change from a long-standing former policy that banned all homosexuals -- but allows them to remain only if they do not admit they are homosexual or if they can convince their commander that their admission of homosexuality was wrong.

PHILADELPHIA -- Should we set a timetable for leaving Iraq? Last week, Rep. John P. Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, a decorated former Marine and respected defense hawk with close ties to many military commanders, called for full withdrawal in six months. No Cindy Sheehan he. Senate Republicans rejected the Democrats' plan for a timetable and both parties vetoed a call for an immediate pullout. But even Republicans demanded that the administration clarify its Iraq plans. So is it time to set some dates?

MOSCOW -- Decisively defeating Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Soviet armed forces, Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin yesterday won top commanders over to his vision of a post-Soviet commonwealth, sources said.At the same time Mr. Yeltsin said yesterday that two more republics, Armenia and Kirgizia, had decided to join the Commonwealth of Independent States, increasing the chance that the alliance formed over the weekend by Slavic leaders will attract most of the Soviet republics.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Clinton administration claims that U.S. pressure and an international economic embargo have created significant splits in the Haitian military are just wishful thinking, diplomatic and military sources here say."There is nothing to indicate that members of the high command are at each other's throats or that the lower ranks are ready to revolt," said one long-serving diplomat from a country that opposes the armed forces' rule here."There are strains; there always have been.

Congressional leaders are expressing apprehension about President-elect Bill Clinton's plans to lift the military's ban on homosexuals, urging him to move slowly or risk creating an uproar in Congress and the armed services."

"It's time for the military to change, and those Americans who want to serve their country, those Americans who say their sexual orientation is homosexual, if they can satisfy all other requirements, if they meet all other standards, we should allow them to serve."So Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska concluded a moving speech on the Senate floor yesterday. Had he not lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Bill Clinton last year, he could have been making that statement from the White House -- as a directive, not a plea.

WASHINGTON -- With a nod to the active role played by servicewomen in the Persian Gulf war, the Senate voted yesterday to throw out a 43-year-old law banning Air Force and Navy women from flying combat missions.Lawmakers also voted to allow the defense secretary to test women in other combat roles.The pilots' statute was overturned on a voice vote as the Senate followed in the footsteps of the House, which has already approved a similar provision.If signed into law by the president, their action would give the Air Force and Navy authority to make their own rules on female pilots.

WASHINGTON - The House is poised to approve a broad reorganization of the nation's intelligence community, after White House and congressional negotiators struck a deal yesterday that won the backing of a senior Republican who had led a revolt in his party's ranks over the bill. Leaders worked late into last night hammering out an agreement, endorsed by Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, that is expected to pave the way for Congress to send President Bush the measure this week. Winning the support of Hunter, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee whose vehement opposition stalled the bill two weeks ago, was a crucial step toward enactment of the measure, which would create a new director of national intelligence with broad authority over spy agencies.

PHILADELPHIA -- For anyone trying to make sense of the white-hot American political debate over Iraq policy, let me offer a few tips from a recent trip to Baghdad. Much of the debate is a reaction to Pollyanna-ish claims by the White House that we will achieve stability and democracy in Baghdad. It's past time for the White House to level with the public. Yet, far away from the Washington blah-blah, U.S. military forces in Iraq are pursuing far more pragmatic goals that the public needs to be aware of. So here's a reality check, based on interviews with U.S. and Iraqi officials in Baghdad.