Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has just issued a thinly veiled warning to GOP opponents, led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., of repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ban on gays in the military: if you don’t repeal the law now, the courts inevitably will, causing much more disruption in the force.

McCain spokesperson Brooke Buchanan said, “Senator McCain and his staff are currently in the process of carefully reviewing the Pentagon’s report regarding the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.”

Gates noted that the repeal language requires certification by President Obama and the Pentagon that the military is ready for implementation, adding there will also be no dawdling because the president will be watching. The Pentagon chiefs met with President Obama yesterday.

Gates said the survey revealed “discomfort and resistance” among fighting combat units and special operations forces which “remain a source of concern to the service chiefs and to me,” but he said these can be overcome with proper education and training.

He referred to these troops as “serving at the tip of the spear in America’s wars,” saying their concerns should be listened to and repeal done with “an abundance of care and preparation.”

However, he said repeal “can be done and should be done without posing a serious risk to military readiness.”

The report is available here.

Military scholars gathered by UC Santa Barbara’s pro-gay Palm Center, including scholars from West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Post Graduate School and the Naval War College, said “The debate about the evidence is now officially over….The only remaining rationale for ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is prejudice.”