MSNBC--ambush underscores hardships of keeping women away from combat

[lebkuchen]

4 women among 6 troops slain in Iraq bombing
Lethal ambush underscores hardships of keeping women away from combat

The lethal ambush of a convoy carrying female U.S. troops in Fallujah underscored the difficulties of keeping women away from the front lines in a war where such boundaries are far from clear-cut.

A suicide car bomber slammed into a 7-ton U.S. military vehicle in Fallujah, killing five Marines and a Navy sailor, Marine Corps sources told NBC News, adding that at least four of the dead were women.

The U.S. military officially confirmed the deaths of four Marines. A Marine and the sailor were missing and presumed dead. Eleven of the 13 wounded troops were female.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8202434/

Question: What part of Iraq isn't a combat zone? Let's face it. If you're in Iraq, you're in combat. The boundaries should be obvious to everyone.

And now, Bush is about to extend those boundaries into Iran. Should we be surprised when female soldiers get killed there as well?

[rodeodance]

1. you got it-there is no such thing as a front line--

[KharmaTrain]

3. It Goes With "Rules Of War"

War is irrational madness. There are no "rules" or "fighting fair". It's time this country woke up that we're not playing a video game here...these are real people, real lives and we're going to have to deal with the aftermath of this fiasco for generations to come.

[lebkuchen]

4. It's crazier than even that

We don't know who the "enemy" is, and most Americans don't know what the mission is, rightly so.

[catnhatnh]

2. Or the REAL question...

....does it matter if they are female, and if so why?

[lebkuchen]

7. It doesn't matter to the Bushies

Men, women...just more boots on the ground.

It matters to many Americans, however, I suppose for the same reasons as it matters whether the army accepts gay recruits, or, going back to WWII, whether units could be integrated or not.

I think it was Clinton's commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who said that it had often been the US military leading drives toward progressive social change, often against its own will.

[LibDemAlways]

5. I read that the female soldiers are used to search

Iraqi women when the troops break down doors. Horrible and demeaning for the soldiers following orders and the civilians subject to the humiliation and intimidation.

Goddamn the BFEE for creating this mess.

[ConfuZed]

6. IF WOMEN DON'T GET TO SERVE ON THE FRONT LINES...

An 18 year old boy shouldnt serve either I thought we were past the man-go-hunt-woman-stay-home-and-cook days.

[Rex]

8. What a BS thing to say! NBC shows stupidity towards the military.

NO one could have predicted a car bomber would broadside them but they should expect it in Iraq. They make this sound like women aren't smart enough to see an ambush - well it wasn't an ambush it was a car bomber!

Stupid MSM.