© Screengrab via FoxNews.comFox News contributor Liz Trotta.
Unfortunately for the former Washington Times editor, what she actually said isn't going to make the controversy go away - but then, that may have been the point.
After suggesting that the issue of women in military roles has "never gotten a fair and open hearing," Trotta went on to say: "The political correctness infecting the Pentagon has resulted in silly and dishonest fairy tales about female heroism," she said. "Has anyone forgotten the Jessica Lynch story?"
"There are countless other stories of fake heroism or exaggerated prowess in which women are the stars, many of them tailored for The New York Times and its agenda to promote militant feminism, no matter what the truth," Trotta added.
While she's correct that the original story of Jessica Lynch's rescue in Iraq was massively inflated - Lynch was actually safe in a hospital and being treated well, found by U.S. forces long after her captors had left - that's hardly male bravado or hormones taking over in pitched combat. It was one of a long string of carefully planned propaganda events staged to generate support for the Iraq War, not unlike the 2003 destruction of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad.
"The military is not a social services operation, or a testing ground for gender wars," she added. "It is a fighting machine. Yet, male troops are now encumbered with the realities of feminist biology. Women are not as strong as men. Their instincts and reactions to surprises are markedly different. This is a reality the left will not face. Biology is destiny."
What Trotta fails to mention is a recent Congressional Research Service report (PDF) issued late last year, which explains that the decision to allow gender equality in combat roles was not one taken quickly. The report notes that after a decade of war in the middle east, females have seen their military roles expand tremendously, and in every sector some have risen to the challenge and proven themselves capable soldiers.
"In 10 years of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of female members have been deployed, and hundreds wounded and/or killed," the report explains. "According to the Department of Defense (DOD), as of August 31, 2011, over 26,000 female members were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. On numerous occasions women have been recognized for their heroism, two earning Silver Star medals. This outcome has resulted in a renewed interest in Congress and beyond in reviewing and possibly refining the role of women in the military."
In addition to women earning Silver Stars, only given to soldiers who show valor in the face of the enemy, President Barack Obama recently nominated the second female ever to serve as a four-star general, picking Air Force Lieutenant General Janet Wolfenbarger as the first women ever selected from the Air Force for the role. The first woman to ever make four-star general is Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, who took a seat at the military's top command structure in 2008, after 33 years of commanding Army soldiers at virtually every level.
It's not clear why those accomplishments fail to meet Trotta's standards of a "fair and open hearing" on the matter of women in the military, but the Department of Defense certainly believes it meets theirs.
This video was broadcast by Fox News on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.
Stephen C. Webster is the senior editor of Raw Story, and is based out of Austin, Texas. He previously worked as the associate editor of The Lone Star Iconoclast in Crawford, Texas, where he covered state politics and the peace movement's resurgence at the start of the Iraq war. Webster has also contributed to publications such as True/Slant, Austin Monthly, The Dallas Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Weekly, The News Connection and others. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenCWebster.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter