How can you ask a woman to be the last woman to die for a mistake?
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How can you ask a woman to be the last woman to die for a mistake?
On Monday, President Obama hailed the pioneers who in 1848 first fought for women's rights at Seneca Falls.
On Wednesday, Obama's Pentagon sent America's female troops charging up Hamburger Hill, metaphorically speaking.
Leon Panetta, the outgoing defense secretary, has decided that for the first time U.S. women troops will be eligible for front-line combat infantry or artillery jobs that have long been restricted to men -- first by tradition and after 1994 by official Pentagon policy, according to multiple news accounts.
The move will not be publically announced until Thursday and will take some time - possibly as long as three years -- to implement, but it's clearly a landmark event in the centuries-long fight for women's equality in America.
The move is also a bit of a mind-bender — effusively praised by many liberals who've also marched over the years to have fewer Americans of any gender waging front-line conflict overseas.
Timothy Lange, writing on the popular progressive blog Daily Kos, hailed the decision, noted that female soldiers have already been lauded for bravery under fire while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then added: "Now, if only we could engage in fewer wars for them and men in uniform to fight."
The irony, of course, is that as female enlistment in the armed forces has increased over the last couple of generations while U.S. military operations have expanded overseas, women have already engaged in combat - and died. In fact, it's estimated that roughly 20,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, with more than 800 wounded and some 130 killed.
Indeed, the story of America's post 9/11 military actions are laced with tales of "womanity," of bravery like Capt. Allison Black who — despite the restrictions — navigated a AC-130H gunship to fight off the Taliban in Afghanistan, and of loss like Cpl. Jennifer Parcell, who was making security checks in Iraq's Al Anbar Province and died when one exploded a suicide vest.
In the 1970s, the notion that a woman like Parcell would die in a war was a main argument of those who led the successful fight to reject the proposed Equal Rights Amendment.
Now, the decision to be announced by Panetta - opening up as many as 238,000 front-line slots that were once reserved only for men - is clearly a victory for equal rights, without the capital letters. It ensures that more female soldiers and sailors will win well-deserved promotions to combat leadership roles and ultimately to top brass.
Still...
It feels kind of kind of bittersweet that this is the biggest victory for women's rights in this generation — when we've devoted such little energy to ending the rampant spirit of militarism that has sent so many men and women into conflicts that have dwarfed World War II in length — wars that polls now show a majority of Americans think weren't worth it.
Maybe the thought of someone’s daughter dying on the battlefield will make policy makers think twice before the next misadventure - but I seriously doubt it.
Ironically, it was the likely new secretary of state, Sen. John Kerry, who famously asked in 1971 after fighting in Vietnam: "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"
Time marches on. Today, we can ask ourselves: How do you ask a woman to be the last woman to die for a mistake?
If women can serve on the front lines they also can be drafted. Women should have to register for the draft.— CD75- Has anyone thought that the women in the armed services have asked for this?
I'm sure some have enlisted knowing they would not have to go to the front lines and are there to get money for education. Just as some men hope for the same thing. Going in thinking that this would never happen at some point is insane. Then there are others wanting front line duty.
God Bless them all!— gibby58 - How can you make a weasel who threw someone else's medals over the White House fence Secretary of State?— tr88
- Fox News' Brit Hume: "Clinton dominated Benghazi hearings."
"They blew it", said Hume, of the goobers' Congressional hearings.
Secretary Clinton - well done! We'll see you in 2016!— wokmaster - I'm not sure why you responded to my comment with that since it wasnt referencing Clinton. But since you did, perhaps you would enlighten us by rattling off her top 3 or 4 achievements as Secretary of State? — tr88
- That's really a stupid question. Can you name the top 3 or 4 "achievements" of any Secretary of State? Colin Powell? Condi Rice? Go ahead, I'll wait... — wokmaster
- I couldnt think of any either. — tr88
- Didn't think so. — wokmaster
- I was referring to Clinton. What made her a great Secretary of State? Besides the media telling us she was, that is? — tr88
- Of course you were. What makes any Secretary Of State "great"? You have no idea, do you? nope. You're just afraid that Hillary will be our next President. You and the other wingnuts thought you could make some political hay out of this but it backfired. She came off as responsible and capable while McCain Rand "if I were President" Paul and Ron Johnson came off as bumbling fools. — wokmaster
- Agree with Arch. Until the Republicans get off their 1956 butts and pass the Equal Rights Amendment and Violence Against Women Act renewal, and stop harassing women over Roe v Wade, they have no standing in a conversation about women in combat.— Jeff West
- Impressive gender sensitivity. I can almost smell the estrogen coming from your comment. — tr88
- What exactly does this dope who can't even pronounce corpsman know about waging battle? The despicable America-hating Obama and our despicable America-hating media just want the opportunity for our women soldiers to be taken hostage by his co-religionists so that they can be raped, brutalized, and paraded in front of the television cameras for all the world to see. You saw how our despicable media gave us 24/7 coverage of the capture of Jessica Lynch. There are a multitude of reasons why women haven't fought on the front lines in all of human history.— teardownthisfishwrap
- Let's get real here!
Are you naive/ignorant enough to think that men soldiers are not brutalized or raped???
Just because nobody is willing to talk about it does not mean it does not happen! Actually rape is considered a bigger insult for a man in most cultures!
The only consideration here should be whether a person is both physically and mentally ready for combat!— EIK - @jonline- It's all well and good for Hillary to ask who cares now who knew what when. Barry has been reelected. I wonder why then it was such a big deal to find out who knew what when when Bush was bashed for not finding (or lying as some claim) about WMD? Wasn't that, too, over. Everything is 'over' when hearings begin. Watergate was over too, but punishment and responsibility were assigned. Instead of firing underlings at SOS, Hillary should have fallen on the sword and REALLY 'took responsibility' for four deaths.— Wiseman6
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