House Drops Women in Combat Limit Bill

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- In a retreat, House Republicans decided Wednesday against seeking to limit the role of women in combat.

Under pressure from the Pentagon and lawmakers of both parties, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California was ready to offer an amendment to a pending defense spending bill. The language would allow the services to open or close any jobs to women 60 consecutive legislative days after notifying Congress of their plans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/25/AR2005052500269.html

[rigel99]

1. disfigured women strolling home, one day alone, my personal guilt...

To whom atone?


SILENT POETS...
the poet in me reigns free
this eve
though of nothing I implore thee

my mind aloof, my spirit grey
and heart astray
i shall not beg you words to weigh

this war it rages on today
so far away
yet knowing this I’ve naught to say

words hang heavy - deep inside
souls defiled
since guns mean profits, blood missiles

hunger hangs, as vulture’s crow
frightened foes
how did our greed attain such lows?

disfigured women strolling home
One day alone
my personal guilt to whom atone?!?

but if I must and yes I must
Remove the dust
and speak my mind with courage thus

why then I’d speak
with passion bleak
and voices meek
i’d whisper in a softened tone
SILENT POETS DESTROY OUR WORLD!
Please let the poets speak!!

[UCLA Dem]

2. I don't see how they can. Everywhere is a combat zone over there.

It would be impossible to enforce.

[stanwyck]

12. Exactly

The conservatives don't want women serving on the front lines....only these people are so out of touch with the reality of Iraq they don't realize there are no front lines.
Maybe if a few of these chickenhawks had actually served in the military...they might not be quite so absurdly ill-informed.
But they're the guys who don't walk it like they talk it.

[cally]

3. So why couldn't we have the ERA?

Must be because of the horrors of sharing bathrooms.

For those who missed the ERA fights--conservatives used the argument that the ERA would lead to women in combat. They also used the argument that it would lead to shared bathrooms. It was seen as appalling if men and women had to share a public bathroom.

[Skarbrowe]

4. When I was in the military, years ago, I shared a bathroom with the boys!

I would stand at one sink brushing my teeth, while a cute young fellow would be at the next sink shaving. :)

We did have a sign on the door that said male or female if you had to do some private business and there was a lock on the shower door. It really had much more of a camaradarie feeling than "let's have an orgy in the latrine" garbage.

The one major point that people should never forget, is that there will always be men that will rape women. It will happen in every walk of life. I knew women in the military that had been raped. One while I was stationed in Germany was raped in her barracks by a fellow soldier. He was punished and she held her head up high and finished her time in service. I had a lot of nasty things said to me by men who didn't want to see women in the military. I still ended up with several letters of recognition and an Army Commendation Medal.

Women have to be tough. Mentally almost more than physically. A good number of women who join the military understand and accept the fact that they have possible enemies within their own ranks, much less a foreign enemy they may be sent to fight. It makes you one hell of a fighter.

Guys, a good female soldier has definitely got your back. Be proud of her.

[Nothing Without Hope]

11. Great post! Thank you! I feel it's important to have women as a balance

to the men - they are complementary and things get ugly when women are barred from decisions. It's only only unfair and illegal, it's very bad policy in terms of what comes out of it.

I view the defeat of this attempt to bar women from combat as a victory for womens' rights. When they say "women have their place" we have to respond "and you have no right to tell us what place to choose!"

I would have recommended this thread if I had found it soon enough. This is an important victory over the women-suppressors in the neocon/fundie cartel.

[brooklynite]

5. Coming to their senses...

...or just desperate to hold onto as many warm bodies as possible?

[amandabeech]

6. They're trying to avoid drafting all those nice young men who

supported * and the war. No women, no draft, no Iraq. And, let's not forget that any congresscritter who seriously votes for a draft is going to have a lot of "'spalinin'" to do back home.

[cap]

7. it's not just that...

women score higher on the mental aptitude tests for the military.

[amandabeech]

8. I'm not too surprised. But what does the brass say?

nt

[cap]

9. the brass wants female participation

they are too short handed without the draft

[stanwyck]

13. my twins, male and female,

both took some kind of military aptitude test while in high school...both said it was for "fun" and a way to get out of regular class. (nice..just what Mom wants to hear). My daughter scored extremely high. When both were in their second year of college, my son decided to join the Marines. He was, as you might expect (this being 2003) very warmly received by the recruiter. He took more tests and scored well. Plus, being a soccer player, diver, and lifeguard, he was in very good physical condition.
While meeting with the recruiter on a follow-up visit, the recruiter said, "you know, we really need to get your brother in here. He'd make an excellent Marine. I have his exemplary aptitude tests right here." Well, Jess is actually Jessica. And she stayed on campus as a liberal activist and secretary for the Young Democrats.

[erpowers]

10. Unpopular War

Women in combat is not why this war is unpopular. The number of women who died in this war is not why this war is unpopular. If you asked people how many women died in this war most would not be able to tell you becuase they do not know. The reason why this war is unpopular and why Bush's numbers are falling is that people are beginning to realize they were lied to about the reasons for this war. People are not beginning to get angry that kids are dying in a war that was based on false evidence. They are getting angry because no WMD were found in Iraq. People are seeing young kids come home wounded or dead and this is making them angry. It is not who is coming home dead that is making them angry it is that someone is coming home dead at all. In addition, Bush keeps telling people if they catch this person or that person things will get better. Well they have caught many people and things still have not gotten better. That is what is making people angry.