Historic news this evening: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is going to lift the ban on women serving in combat, according to multiple news reports. Panetta, who is preparing to leave office, is expected to announce the change tomorrow. I’ll have more then on what it means for the military and Panetta’s legacy.
But for now, it seemed like an appropriate moment to revisit one of the more famous (infamous?) stories in the history of The Washingtonian: Sen. Jim Webb’s essay “Women Can’t Fight.” Given that women have been serving in war zones for years, Webb’s argument has seemed dated bordering on irrelevant for some time. As of now, it becomes an artifact of history.
