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Talking Points Memo (TPM.com) yesterday published an open letter to the idiots at Fox News who made some very offensive and inappropriate remarks about a female United Arab Emirates (UAE) pilot who courageously took part in allied air strikes against ISIL terrorists last week.
The pilot and squadron commander in question was 35-year-old Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, the first female fighter pilot in the history of the UAE.
Major al-Mansouri was flying an F-16 “Desert Falcon” fighter jet and was part of U.S. and Arab allies’ — Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar — sorties that dropped ordnance on ISIL positions in Syria’s Idlib, Aleppo and Raqqa provinces. Some reports suggest that she even “spearheaded” her country’s mission.
According to a profile in the U.A.E. National, the Abu Dhabi-born al-Mansouri harbored an ambition to join the air force since her teenage years, but had to bide her time until women were permitted to enlist. She graduated Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in 2007 and is now a veteran F-16 pilot.
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In earlier interviews, al-Mansouri has insisted that she received no special treatment because of her gender. “Everyone is required to have the same high level of combat competence,” she told Deraa Al Watan, a U.A.E. magazine.
It is about this UAE officer that Fox commentators, especially Eric Bolling, after berating the President for allegedly showing a lack of respect for those “who put their lives on the line,” made crude and sexist comment that are unworthy of repeating again.
Bolling has already been skewered by a clearly angered Jon Stewart for his “false patriotism.”
Commenting on Stewart’s show, I asked readers to watch the video and said, “You may be tempted to say, ‘Stronger message to follow.’”
Well, that stronger message came, in my opinion, not with epithets or expletives, but in the eloquent words over 50 veterans from all branches of the military who signed the letter addressed to “Dear Mr. Bolling and Mr. Gutfeld.
The entire letter can be read here, and has been discussed here.
The following are what I believe are the most poignant excerpts of a letter that I wish I could have had the opportunity to add my name to — and am doing, after the fact:
We are veterans of the United States armed forces, and we are writing to inform you that your remarks about United Arab Emirates Air Force Major Mariam Al Mansouri were unwarranted, offensive, and fundamentally opposed to what the military taught us to stand for.
First, foremost, and most obvious to everyone other than yourselves, your remarks were immensely inappropriate. Your co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle was so right to call attention to an inspiring story of a woman shattering glass ceilings in a society where doing so is immeasurably difficult. We never heard an answer to her question: why did you feel so compelled to “ruin her thing?”
[The letter then addresses the history of brave and skilled women who have been flying in combat ever since our WASP, reaches into the present and strongly condemns and belittles the commentators’ misogyny]
It closes:
The less obvious implication of your remarks, however, is that by offending an ally and cheapening her contribution, you are actively hurting the mission. We need to send a clear message that anyone, male or female, who will stand up to ISIS and get the job done is worthy of our respect and gratitude.
We issue an apology on your behalf to Major Al Mansouri knowing that anything your producers force you to say will be contrived and insincere. Major, we’re sincerely sorry for the rudeness; clearly, these boys don’t take your service seriously, but we and the rest of the American public do.
Very Respectfully,
It lists the names of the 50 veterans of the United States Armed forces who signed the letter.
“Gentlemen” at Fox, please consider my name added:
Dorian de Wind, U.S. Air Force , Retired.
TPM attributes the letter to “Men and Women of the Truman Project.”
“The Truman National Security Project unites next-generation veteran, political, and policy leaders to develop and advance strong, smart, and principled solutions to the global challenges Americans now face.”
Lead photo: Mariam al-Mansouri, the first Emirati female fighter jet pilot, gives the thumbs up as she sits in the cockpit of an aircraft, in United Arab Emirates on June 13, 2013. Courtesy, Emirates News Agency, WAM
