Petition Asks Prez to Direct Military Policy Changes Regarding Women
by Chad Groening and Jenni Parker
December 1, 2003
(AgapePress) - A military pundit says she is continuing to urge George W. Bush to tell the Pentagon to rescind dangerous policies initiated by the Clinton Administration -- policies that unnecessarily put American women in harm's way.Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, says since the launch of her Americans for the Military petition campaign, more than 19,000 people have signed on. She is hoping that with enough signatures, she can get President Bush to act to change problematic policies regarding women in the military.
By now most Americans are aware of the much publicized story of rescued former POW Pvt. Jessica Lynch. Far fewer will recognize the name of Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi Indian from Tuba City, Arizona, who died during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Piestewa -- the first Native American female soldier to be killed in combat -- was a single mother, as is Army Spec. Shoshana Johnson, who was shot through both legs and held prisoner in Iraq for 22 days before her rescue.
Donnelly says female soldiers such as Lynch, Piestewa, and Johnson have been put unnecessarily at risk because of Clinton policy still in place. "At that time -- this was nine years ago -- the changes in the rules were billed as career opportunities for women," she says.
The military expert contends that Johnson was not aware of how these policy changes would affect her. "She wanted to be a cook. She told her family 'I'm not going to be anywhere near the front line.' Well, she found out otherwise because of those Clinton rules," Donnelly says.
CMR's president says the Commander in Chief needs to give some direction in this matter. "In the past he has said, 'Well, the generals and the admirals decide what to do about things like this.'" But Donnelly notes that President Bush told U.S. military officials he wanted Saddam Hussein removed from office, "and the generals and admirals did the job; [Bush] didn't have to micromanage."
Donnelly says Pentagon officials have told her that they are just waiting for President Bush's instructions to get ride of the Clinton policies. She says her Americans for the Military campaign is not an attack against the president, but a respectful petition. "It just sort of tugs on his sleeve and it says, Mr. President, we need to have you give direction to the Pentagon," Donnelly says, "to make changes so that women can serve their country without being exposed to this extra element of risk of capture that was imposed on them without notice by the Bill Clinton Administration."
In addition to addressing the issue of female military personnel's exposure to the risk of capture in or near combat, the petition also asks President Bush to direct Pentagon officials to restore single-gender Army basic training; to review pregnancy and family policies; and to revoke perceived pressures for gender-based recruiting goals and quotas.
