Panetta moves to permit women in combat, so the headline reads.
Since there is nothing that the obama administration does without some form of his agenda being moved forward, I puzzled why Panetta decided to make this his swan song move as he sailed out the door. No doubt to take a lucrative position as a lobbyist. Setting aside the arguments regarding the negatives of permitting this as opposed to the political opportunism, the answer may be more simple then we think. Of course, once the equality is made, conscription is possible for both sexes. Great move Obama. Thinking ahead, way far ahead on this one.
Now that the Pentagon is lifting its ban on women in combat, does this mean that women could potentially be drafted, too?
And as a practical matter: When women turn 18, will they now need to register, as men do, so that they can be conscripted in the event of a World War III, or any military emergency where the US government decides it needs troops quickly?
It’s a thorny question, raising what may be a difficult prospect societally. But the legal implications are obvious, analysts argue.
“The answer to that question is clearly yes,” says Anne Coughlin, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville. “The legal argument is clear: If it comes to that kind of wrenching emergency where we have to press young people into service, there is no legal justification for saying that men alone need to shoulder that burden.”
The wars of the past decade in Iraq and Afghanistan have been fought by an all-volunteer force, since the US military discontinued the draft in 1973. Males between the ages of 18 and 25, however, are still required to register for the Selective Service. More at News Yahoo
Posted by Bunkerville: God, Guns Guts, Comrades
RECOMMENDED: Are you smarter than a US Marine? Take the recruitment quiz
BUNKERVILLE | God, Guns and Guts Comrades! 