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Santorum doubles down: 'Emotions of men' a concern with women in combat
Rick Santorum doubled down in an interview Friday with CNN on controversial comments he made earlier this week suggesting that female combat troops would be less physically able than — and more distracting to — male soldiers.
"If you're out there, for example, in a group, or just two people, and some people, because of women, have — as you know, with respect to physical capabilities, they don't have the same requirements that men do in the military, and may be in a position if someone is injured, has to be brought back," Santorum said.
Santorum also responded to the criticism that had erupted Thursday about his response to the Pentagon announcing it would open frontline roles up to women. Then, Santorum described the move as potentially "compromising" because "people naturally may do things that may not be in the interest of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved.”
Santorum said Friday that it might be men — and not necessarily women, as he had seemingly implied — that were emotional in mixed-sex combat situations.
Santorum said he preferred the model of the Israeli army, which does not assign women to combat roles but has a wider number of overall positions open to women.
"I laid out the rationale Israelis used, because they in fact do have a lot more utilization of different people in their military," Santorum said. "But they have drawn the line here because that potentially undermines the mission that needs to be accomplished."
Santorum's comments have drawn criticism from women's advocacy groups. An ABC/Washington Post poll last year found that 73 percent of women support women serving in frontline roles.
Santorum has also argued that gays and lesbians should not be allowed to serve openly in the military while on the campaign trail, prompting protests from gay-rights organizations.
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