Reply #4: The longer this drags on, the more inevitable women in combat becomes

[Azathoth]

And when they finally start putting them in combat, two things will happen:

1) Female recruitment levels in the military will plummet, at a time when the military ain't exactly on a recruiting high.

2) Joe "I-like-Bush-cause-he-kicks-Arab-ass" Sixpack will have to come to terms with the fact that young girls will be coming home in boxes. Suddenly the whole macho element will disappear, and perhaps that will lead him to reconsider whether or not this whole thing is worth it.