National Security

Vital Women's Work in Afghanistan

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | February 17, 2011 | +

So much of what’s being done by U.S. troops in Afghanistan isn’t bullets and bombs. Here’s a fascinating peek at one of the most important of those so-called “non-kinetic” endeavors — the deployment of female Marines to help and befriend Afghan women. Because Afghan society frowns upon their women talking to men outside their families, the Female Engagement Teams are a key tool to win over skeptical Afghan mothers and wives. Rebecca Sell, an Ohio filmmaker who also teaches at Ohio University, recently spent three weeks with several FET members in Helmand Province, letting her camera capture these distaff Marines grappling with two distinct cultures: Afghan and Marine.

Related Topics: female engagement teams, rebecca sell, National Security

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  • Paul-no not that one

    Spare no expense.
    .
    If a few elderly women die in the US because of cuts to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program…well so be it.

  • newfreedomblog

    Our brave men and WOMEN. God Bless America!!

  • afguy

    Better yet, let’s bring THEM home so they can spend more time with THEIR own families.

  • pintortwo

    If this was the only sort of thing we were doing there, it would be far more beneficial to our security at a fraction of the cost. Tragically, I expect that any benefit from the FET is negated when we raze whole villages and send its women and children into the wilderness.

  • Paul-no not that one

    OT but the morning read thread is the usual daily nonsense.
    .
    From 8 minutes ago—
    .
    “MADISON, Wis. – Police officers were dispatched Thursday to find Wisconsin state lawmakers who had apparently boycotted a vote on a sweeping bill that would strip most government workers of their collective bargaining rights.
    .
    The lawmakers, all Democrats in the state Senate, did not show up when they were ordered to attend a midday vote on the legislation.
    .
    The proposal has been the focus of intense protests at the Statehouse for three days. As Republicans tried to begin Senate business Thursday, observers in the gallery screamed “Freedom! Democracy! Unions!”
    .
    Republicans hold a 19-14 majority, but they need at least one Democrat to be present before taking a vote on the bill.”
    .
    http://www.startribune.com/local/116399599.html

  • newfreedomblog

    Hmmm, sounds like typical “cut and run” democracts. When times get tough, they are either not to be found or vote “present”.

  • apr2563

    Watch the documentary Restrepo. It covers 15 months of our soldiers duty in Afghanistan, the wounded, the killed and their frustrations. Bring them home.

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