Free Republic

The simultaneous news coverage of the war in Iraq and the rape scandal at the U.S. Air Force Academy exposes again the feminist double standards and hyprocisies. Feminists complain about sexual harassment by American men, but if committed by ruthless enemy men, feminists applaud it as progress made towards a gender-neutral military. Most Americans were shocked to learn that at least one U.S. servicewoman, Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, 30, of Fort Bliss, Texas, is a prisoner of Saddam Hussein. One more servicewoman, Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 22 of Tuba City, Ariz., is listed as missing in action. Another, Army Pfc....

The daring rescue of American POW Private First Class Jessica Lynch is the feel-good story of the war, not least because of the heroic role played by an Iraqi named Mohammed. The 32-year-old lawyer risked his life to tell US marines Lynch was being held captive at the hospital in Nasiriyah where his wife worked as a nurse. Motivated by compassion, Mohammed told reporters how "my heart cut" when he saw the bandaged 19-year-old blonde being slapped around by a Fedayeen commander. No wonder Hollywood is vying for such a tale of bravery and human goodness that transcends war and...

(CNSNews.com) - The debate over whether military women should serve in difficult military operations has re-ignited following the capture of two American female prisoners of war by Iraqi troops. The heroic story of one of those women notwithstanding, conservatives believe that Clinton-era policies allowing women more access to the battlefield need to be reassessed. Army Private First Class Jessica Lynch, rescued this week from an Iraqi hospital, was captured March 23 when her supply company, operating in support of the advancing 3rd Infantry Division, took a wrong turn and was ambushed near the southern city of Nasiriyah. Lynch reportedly continued...

The captured American Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, by all accounts, had no intention of becoming a feminist icon. A note of unseemly glee has greeted the tragedy of her falling into the hands of the Iraqis, as if to say, "Look, women can be prisoners of war, too!" The New York Times ran an editorial titled "The Pinking of the Armed Forces," hailing Johnson's capture a reminder of how the American military has evolved, slowly and sometimes reluctantly, into an organization where the dangerous jobs of war are performed by both sexes." One can only wait for other leaps ahead...

<p>One of the five U.S. soldiers captured by Iraqi forces and questioned on Iraqi television is the first female POW since the Clinton administration's military leaders repealed a rule barring servicewomen from positions with a high risk of encountering enemy fire or capture.</p>