Thai military deploys female troops to battle jihadi insurgents

posted at 12:11 pm on May 29, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Mindful of the fact that the enemy in the current conflict is particularly, shall we say, non-gallant, I’m torn between worrying what will happen if one is taken prisoner and just reveling in the sweet, sweet symbolism of it all.

I mean, really. Chicks with guns waging war on the mujahedeen? That’s not a battle plan; that’s a summer blockbuster.

Along with heart-shaped earrings and a golden bracelet, Napassanan Muensawat accessorises her black uniform with an M16-A1 assault rifle.

The weapon, with a shorter stock and barrel than the standard model, is easier to use for the “iron flowers”, 130 female paramilitary rangers newly deployed to tackle an increasingly brutal insurgency in Muslim majority southern Thailand…

In the dangerously potent mix, the women rangers’ presence is part of a growing female role on both sides – a bomber was identified as a woman for the first time earlier this year.

As well as “hearts and minds” type patrols, the “iron flowers” have been called in to defuse possibly explosive demonstrations of women and children demanding the release of arrested militant suspects — and sometimes to go in, unarmed and in plain clothes, to spy on them…

The rangers say that their sex is a defence in itself — it would be wrong to attack a woman — but one male officer said: “They are very brave, even the male rangers are not as brave as them.“

Exit question: This, in essence, is going to be the plot of “Charlie’s Angels 3″ if it ever gets made, isn’t it?

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