{"id":927,"date":"2009-08-30T18:39:35","date_gmt":"2009-08-31T00:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/?p=927"},"modified":"2009-08-31T09:46:41","modified_gmt":"2009-08-31T15:46:41","slug":"women-and-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/?p=927","title":{"rendered":"Women and War"},"content":{"rendered":"

This war is different. Although many things are the same, such as
\n elder statesmen sending young people into battle, this time, for
\n the first time, we can’t say “sending young men into battle.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The story of the daring Hollywood script rescue of wounded soldier
\n Jessica Lynch changed all that. The entire country has realized
\n that “women in the military” means more than making coffee for
\n officers and typing.<\/p>\n

Now, granted, women have served on the front lines administering
\n to the wounded since Florence Nightingale, but I think this is the
\n first time American women soldiers are carrying guns and using
\n them.<\/p>\n

Other countries call upon women to serve. Since the
\n establishment of Israel in 1948 all 18 year-old women are drafted
\n the same as men, although they don’t have to serve as long and
\n not in combat units.<\/p>\n

Although Lynch was in a support unit, she was prepared for
\n combat.<\/p>\n

I followed the story with fascination as it unfolded, surely to come
\n to us soon on the big screen. I read how she fought on even after
\n her wounds incapacitated her, even after her comrades were
\n dead, how she suffered mistreatment from the enemy and how a
\n brave Iraqi who couldn’t stomach what was happening went way
\n out on a limb to make sure she was rescued.<\/p>\n

If any story convinced me of the evil of Saddam’s regime it was this
\n one of an ordinary Iraqi man who knew the nature of the Fedayeen
\n and knew what fate awaited a vulnerable, wounded woman in their
\n custody. He said, “It cut my heart.”<\/p>\n

I still don’t like the idea of our country waging an aggressive, not a
\n defensive, war. I still agree with Jimmy Carter who said war is
\n always a failure. And I hope, with the fall of Baghdad, this is now
\n the end of it.<\/p>\n

I’m struck with these young women fighting alongside their
\n brothers. I know the nature of women and there is an intense
\n fierceness there under the surface-just try threatening a
\n woman’s child.<\/p>\n

It also gives me hope that the feminine characteristics of nurturing
\n and peacemaking, characteristics certainly not exclusive to
\n women, will come forward now. I was heartened by the news
\n coverage of our young soldiers gracefully accepting appreciation
\n from some of the Iraqis.<\/p>\n

My heart bleeds for all the violence over there.
\n I have had trouble sleeping since the war
\n started. Pictures of wounded children and
\n death and destruction haunt me. It has been
\n a difficult two weeks, even from this far away.<\/p>\n

One picture in particular has been
\n disturbing with it’s mixed emotions.
\n Two Iraqi children, little boys, stand smiling
\n at a huge American convoy passing by.
\n One is holding his fingers in the victory or
\n peace sign, the other is saluting.<\/p>\n

\"NYTimesphoto\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I can only pray this is the end of it now.
\n I pray for all soldiers, both men and women,
\n I pray for the decision-makers and I pray for the
\n Iraqi people.<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

April 12, 2003
\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This war is different. Although many things are the same, such as elder statesmen sending young people into battle, this time, for the first time, we can’t say “sending young men into battle.” The story of the daring Hollywood script rescue of wounded soldier Jessica Lynch changed all that. The entire country has realized that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=927"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1015,"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927\/revisions\/1015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rockaria.net\/bluebirdprairie\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}