[Lord Nelson]

I know women DID fight in the Israeli forces - in the early days. Everyone had to fight.

I really have no problem with it. If a woman can pull her weight all the power to her.

[highball]

Neither do I, provided she can meet the physical requirements.

If the generals want it, there might be a reason. I can't believe that they're *all* Clinton political employees. Maybe we should at least listen to the ones who know.

[familyop]

"I know women DID fight in the Israeli forces - in the early days."

Issues Tearing Our Nation's Fabric
The Center for Reclaiming America
Women in the Military
Coral Ridge Ministries
Chapter Twenty-Five

Quote:
Among the most interesting testimony was that of Dr. Martin Van Creveld, an Israeli authority on warfare, who reported that, "Contrary to the myth, we have no women in combat [in Israel]. "On the contrary," he said, "the whole point of having women in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is to free men for combat." Women in the IDF are actually part of a separate corps, and any weapons training they receive is "entirely symbolic." Women have many important jobs in the Israeli army, but combat and close combat support are not among them. Van Creveld said there is "no question of giving any woman in the IDF the kind of training you need to become an infantryman."

As the Jewish scholar observed, most of what feminists and liberals have been saying about women in combat is a myth. The boasts about valiant women warriors on the Golan Heights is just an idealistic mirage. No one would argue about the contribution women can make in the military. Just as Rosie the Riveter was vital to the war effort in the 1940s, there are roles that women can serve in keeping the nation strong.

[familyop]

Air University Review, November-December 1978
The Israeli Fighting Women
myth and facts
Maxwell AFB
Cecile S. Landrum

"The image of the Israeli fighting woman, standing side by side with her male peer, rifle in hand, is a vision most Americans believe to be true. Yet it is an idealistic view of a country fighting for its survival. It is a myth."

[brazzaville]

Good evening.
"If a woman can pull her weight all the power to her."

I think our technology has made it inevitable that women will serve in combat roles. I still think humping a rucksack isn't likely, but there is no reason a woman can't operate aircraft and other vehicles that put them in harms way.

I flatly did not believe women had a place on the battlefield until the WOT. Now, with some reservations, I can't see a battlefield without them.

Michael Frazier