From: willreich_77@yahoo.com

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 6:01:01 PM UTC-4, J.Pascal wrote:
> On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 3:11:54 PM UTC-6, Shawn Wilson wrote:
> 
> > On Wednesday, July 30, 2014 11:44:47 AM UTC-7, Will in New Haven wrote:
> 
> > 
> 
> > 
> 
> > > They did not take women out of combat roles because of some lessons they
learned about not doing well. They did it because some old orthodox guys went
all shit-for-brains about the danger of their being _raped_ 
> 
> 
> 
> "Take women out" is less accurate than "bar women from".
> 
>    
> 
> > Who told you that?  Do you think an experienced commander, would give a
fuck about that if combat units with women performed well?
> 
> 
> 
> Were you not paying attention to the war in Iraq at all?

He never pays attention to _anything_ outside his own skull. The Israeli
decision was a political decision, taken above the heads of the military to
appease the leaders of a minority community that largely did not serve in the
military themselves. 

> It doesn't matter what the commander thinks is a good and useful idea.  We
did, in fact, put women directly in harm's way for specific utilitarian
reasons in Iraq.  No, they didn't train as infantry, but they went on patrols
and they went far outside 
the wire to "man" checkpoints.  Some of it Congress found out about and that
was that.  Some of the other of it was what the "commanders" had to screw
around with in order to follow the rules that those "shit-for-brains" orthodox
old men insisted upon.  
We lost an entire busload of female soldiers in one attack... twenty-some dead
women all at once...  because while the *men* stayed overnight at the
checkpoints because it was *too dangerous* to return to the main base between
shifts, the *female* 
soldiers couldn't remain out there bunked with the guys so they loaded them
all up on a bus every single day and drove them out and drove them back.  This
was not a *military* decision... it was pure politics and it got something
like 26 women killed.
> 
> 
> 
> After that women from all sorts of non-combat MOSs volunteered to take the
place of those who died because we NEEDED women to search Iraqi women. 
Because women do understand Duty and they understand Service, and Honor.
> 
>  
> 
> > 
> 
> > > By the way, when I said that you weren't trying to write speculative
fiction it wasn't because you didn't have women in combat roles. Your
reasoning, that no one is doing it now, is the antithesis of speculative
fiction. 
> 
> > 
> 
> >  
> 
> > 
> 
> > Excuse me, but writing SF doesn't mean I have to accept your Progressive
agenda.  I know better how and why society and its components work.  
> 
> >
> 
> > 
> 
> I'm pretty darned sure that neither William nor I are pushing a progressive
agenda.  Leszek might be... 

I don't _care_ what he writes (or even IF he writes) but "nobody does it"
isn't an SF writer's reason for not doing something. 

-- 
Will in New Haven

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