To be filed under cupidity or stupidity?

This is what you get when smart psy-ops contractors try to sell the U.S. military on the notion that women might have a stake in reducing violent opposition.

When we see menacing images of men dressed in black wielding swords we should recognize that educated women might be their un-doing. And they know it. That is why Boko Haram abducted over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls. That is why fourteen-year-old year old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the face on her way to school — not just anywhere but symbolically — on her way to school. That is why acid attacks target girls attending school rather than girls in brothels. It is the potential danger that educated girls represent that scares extremists most.

Educated women and girls have the potential to do what drones, bullets and boots on the ground cannot do; they can counter extremism from the inside. Therefore, the U.S. and its allies should adopt an approach that empowers women on the ground in conflict zones to preempt and counter violent extremism. Instead of viewing women in war zones only as victims, we should view them in an irregular warfare context as potentially powerful allies.

... Aligning U.S. security interests and the security interests of women in conflict zones, establishes a platform to develop strategies and programs to empower women and counter extremism. ...

Well, maybe. Women, educated or not, do want peace and security. Actually, so do most men.

But I still suspect that the first instinct of most women where our warriors (of both sexes) are implanted might be to wish the foreigners would stop shooting and go away. The second instinct sometimes is to shoot back.

Photo of a Nicaraguan historical mural showing locals in revolt against U.S. adventurer William Walker's attempt to make himself a pro-slavery president of the Central American country in 1856.