Lionesses

Our troops in Iraq have found that including at least one woman with every group that may have to search or interrogate female Iraqi citizens is a very good idea. Taking things a step further, the Marines created some all-female teams (3-5 women) and called them Lionesses. There are no shortage of volunteers. Guess what? The female marines tended to get useful information out of the women they searched. Iraqi women were surprised, and often awed, when they encountered these female soldiers and marines. The awe often turned into cooperation. Most Iraqi women are much less enthusiastic about fighting the Americans than their men folk (who die in large numbers when they do so.) Being a widow is much harder in the Arab world than it is in the West. What can I say? The ladies are very effective.