Apparently, women’s emotions may not be in the “best interest” of combat missions, according to Rick Santorum.
Politico has a transcript of what Santorum responded to when CNN’s John King asked him how he feels about women on the front lines of combat missions.
“Look, I want to create every opportunity for women to be able to serve this country, and they do so in an amazing and wonderful way. They’re a great addition to the – and have been for a long time – to the armed services of our country,” Santorum said. “But I do have concerns about women in frontline combat.”
He added, “I think that can be a very compromising situation, where people naturally may do things that may not be in the interests of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved. And I think that’s probably – you know, it already happens, of course, with the camaraderie of men in combat. But I think it would be even more unique if women were in combat. I think that’s probably not in the best interests of men, women or the mission.”
*Sigh*
This comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Defense unveiling a plan to allow thousands of women to serve in roles closer to the front lines.
Defense officials say the new rules will still mean that woman are barred from serving as infantry, armor and special operations forces — considered the most dangerous combat jobs. But the changes will open the door for more opportunities and promotions for women by allowing them to perform jobs they are already performing, but in battalions, which are closer to the fighting and once considered too dangerous for women.
A 1994 combat exclusion policy bans women from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level. A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each. Historically, brigades were based farther from the front lines and often include top command and support staff, while the battalions are usually in closer contact with the enemy.
In the past decade, the necessities of war propelled women into jobs such as medics, military police and intelligence officers, and they were sometimes attached — but not formally assigned — to battalions. So while a woman couldn’t be assigned as an infantryman in a battalion going out on patrol, she could fly the helicopter supporting the unit, or move in to provide medical aid if troops were injured.
I can’t help but to wonder if Santorum believes women are inherently incapable of serving on the front lines in active combat due to his belief that our roller coaster emotions make us more susceptible to making decisions that aren’t in the best interest of the military. I guess by stability he means having soldiers who think before photographing themselves urinating on dead Taliban soldiers, pillaging Iraqi villages and raping Iraqi women before killing them.
Santorum’s comments got me thinking, though, about how women in general continue to be viewed as the weaker, less capable gender. Women’s emotions and our priorities when it comes to health care are debated and analyzed by Santorum and politicians like him as if we are the red-headed step children of real, meaty, pressing issues that plague the country.
