The Feminine Art of War
“The feminine art of war”; is there such a thing? Of course. Women have been in the military and warfare for thousands of years. From the ancient Eurypyle, who led an all-female expedition against the city of Babylonia in 1760 B.C.E, to the well known “all American woman”, Rosie the Riveter.
I came across an article through my Google reader aggregator from The Washington Post that reports that al-Qaeda is using women as suicide bombers now. According to Kim Gamel from the Associated Press…
“A top U.S. commander said Saturday, that two bombings carried out by women wrapped in bombs that killed nearly 100 people in Baghdad underscored that al-Qaida in Iraq remains a serious threat…”
Well, of course al-Qaida remains a serious threat, why would anyone think otherwise. The “female suicide bomber” is a new trend that has been slowly making it’s way into “Iraqi Freedom”. The first female suicide bombing of 2008 was on January 16 during the preparation of a Shiite ceremony.
Throughout the 20th century up until the last decade, the U.S has refrained from sending women into combat, especially since the 2003 Jessica Lynch “rescue”. This is probably because of the values we hold in this country. So does that mean that al-Qaeda doesn’t have any values, or does it simply mean that they’re finally thinking practical? So, I guess the issue isn’t whether they want to use women, but the fact that it’s practical to use people with mental disorders.
If that’s true, then what’s to stop them from using children with mental disorders? If this is a new trend for al-Qaeda, then the few and the “proud” will have to get used to shooting women too.
The article I used for this blog has been taken off the Washington Post for some reason. However here is another link to the same story…New York Times
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and QAIS MIZHER
Published: March 18, 2008
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Women going on suicide missions. Hmmm I’m not sure if I will ever get used to it. The idea of a child going into suicide missions is also very disturbing. Both images are difficult to get out of your head once your imagination kicks in. But lets think about it, they are in a time of war. If people do not participate in times of war, the whole group looses.
In the Vietnam war, the Viet Cong used children and woman too. To me that is a last resort to go to. I do wonder why commanders would ever go to such extreme because when I think about those images, they do give me an emotional disturbance. But I guess in time of war, commanders rarely use their emotions to handle situations. They stick to their objectives and carry it out no matter what the consequences are.
I wonder when will the US start deploying children to go fight the war? We really do not have to worry about this because this country is full of people who are willing to die for a big incentive. Money is the answer to all problems. With that said, I believe that is also the driving force for women and children to enter the war even though they did not want to in the first place. Poverty.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:53 pmIt is pretty crazy for us to think that they would send in women as suicide bombers. (However, it is a different culture with a different religions and ways of life.) The fact of the matter is that they are using children and as sad as that is that really is the new look of terrorism. Having children with guns and bombs, brain washing, and then sending them out.
Now some could say that we did that in the past, from a viewpoint of the Vietnam War. Not completely brain washing them but setting them out in to war telling out young boys that it is what God wants them to do and its for our country you are doing what is good. When they get there, they realize that things are not the way they appear.
I wonder if that is what these women and children think as well to some degree. It is a wonder though to think about how we treat out women when it comes to war. Talk about the glass ceilings but we did have women that helped fight in the Vietnam War and a lot of the them (according to other people) “were damn good soldiers.”
April 15th, 2008 at 7:26 pmIts unbelievable to think that women would be suicide bombers. But this is what people believe in. Children and women being brainwashed to kill using terrorist tactics is heartbreaking. I just don’t believe war is a place for a woman. Don’t get me wrong,I believe women play an extremely important roles in war, just not on the battle field. There are tough women out there but I believe war is a mans domain.
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April 16th, 2008 at 9:44 am