In Kagan stance on military, a complex history

Members of the Harvard Law School Lambda group in October 2005 protested the decision to allow military recruiters back on campus.


In Kagan stance on military, a complex history
As dean of Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan sent an e-mail to students each fall criticizing the military’s ban against gays and lesbians serving openly as “wrong — both unwise and unjust.’’

Now, those messages — and Kagan’s decisions about on-campus military recruitment during her 2003-2009 deanship — have fueled intense scrutiny that threatens to become a flashpoint in her Supreme Court nomination bid.

Conservative critics have derided her as antimilitary and have predicted she would be an “activist judge’’ bent on imposing her personal views on the Constitution. At least one Republican senator has vowed to block her confirmation because of her 2004 move to prevent the military from officially recruiting Harvard Law students — a decision she was later forced to reverse under the threat of federal sanctions.

But supporters of Kagan, the US solicitor general, say her role in the law school’s complicated history with the military has been oversimplified and misinterpreted. They also dismiss accusations of an antimilitary bias.

Her yearly letters to students outlining her views against “don’t ask, don’t tell,’’ they say, also describe the military as a “noble profession,’’ a “path — as deeply honorable as any I can imagine.’’ She also held annual dinners to honor students with military service.