women in combat. marine commandant general james amos. saying quote, if the numbers are so small regarding qualification, there may very well job fields that remain closed. those will be few and far between. the general went on to say you have only one or two female servicemembers in the unit that would make it difficult for the women to assimilate and succeed. what about all this? general jack keane is fox news military analyst, former army vice chief of staff. you were on the other day with us making an argument with kt mcfarland that you were against this idea in the first place. this man apparently agrees with you. what do you think of his statement? well, i sort of agree with him. he is on active duty. let s put it that way. i think he is absolutely spot on. i admire making public statements. the pressure in the pentagon is absolutely to bring women into our direct combat units and to find ways to make it happen and make sure the
admit it, fed money printing doesn t hurt it. bill: the payroll tax is playing with the heads of a lot of people. their heads and their wallets, that too. catch you on fbn. hemmer@foxnews.com is the e-mail. on twitter @billhemmer. fire away for chuck payne because you asked. martha? martha: let s talk a little bit what s coming up this morning. we have an american citizen who is sentenced to eight years in one of iran s most brutal prisons. why? because he is a christian. what is it like? there are people who do not survive evin prison. we ll speak to somebody who spent more than three years there about how they did just that. bill: also the military lifting a ban on women in combat. why the country s top marine says, some of those jobs will be off limits.
party, georgia democrat sam nunn and john warner. joining me now, florida senator bill nelson and new hampshire senator jeanne shaheen. thank you both for joining us today. big day for chuck hagel. senator shaheen, what is your notion right now, do you think he can get past all the criticism he s had from groups concerned about his positions on nuclear weapons, on israel, on iran, on women in combat, big issue for you, i know, from your work on the defense appropriation bill, and also the gay community? well, i had some serious questions for chuck hagel when we sat down last week, but he answered them satisfactorily. i think senator cochran from mississippi came out and supported him, he s had a recent letter with a very strong bipartisan list of former defense secretaries, including colin powell and gates and a
bottom of the hour. well, a lot of reaction, new reaction on this sunday after the pentagon lifted the ban on women in combat. defense secretary leon pa net making that announcement last week opening up thousands of front lines and potentially elite commando job opportunities to women in the military. our steve centanni is live with the news tonight in washington. steve, what is the argument against women serving in combat. well, people say it could lead to problems with unit cohesion and combat readiness, but with the stroke of a pen last week, as you mentioned, harris, outgoing panetta made it official, women can serve with men on the front lines. and some argue, there s a basic question of physical strength in combat situations. when women are put in those kind of demanding roles, they begin to break down. there s difference in the the physicality of women and men. they re not in the nfl.
now, these are all the examples that the right wing has said down the years about the president. the president is doing what all republicans refuse to do by answering him. he s stepping up to rush and fox. joining me now is joe madison and margie omara. thank you both for joining me tonight. thank you, reverend sharpton. joe, let me start with you. this is clearly a calculated move by the president. can he stop some of the right wing vile that is coming he has way? well, of course he can. because, again, he has the pulpit of the white house. but, you know, rushl lim burks augh said the reason we stand out like a sor erksz thumb is because of abc. no, the reason they stand out at fox and limbaugh stands out is what limbauh said about women in combat. he said they have a fighting force. that s why they stand out. the reason they stand out is because sarah palin thinks that