ABSTRACT
But the lack of transparency still creates problems for accountability. The policy inevitably leaves a great deal to the discretion of individual military officers to decide what is to count as “telling” and what is to count as “credible information” sufficient to launch an investigation. Given the nature of the policy, this discretion is likely to be exercised in private at least in the initial stages. But there have been accusations that some officers have abused this discretion by undertaking investigations without sufficient evidence. It would seem then that greater accountability, a degree of publicity at least within the government, is necessary. Yet the more public this process becomes (even within the military), the consequence is the same as if the accused himself did in fact “tell.” He is now known to be gay. The lack of transparency brings about a deficiency in accountability-not for the policy itself but for its application.
