Patricia Schroeder: “I have always thought it was a shame that we had not done more on energy independence so we did not have to be in the…”

“I have always thought it was a shame that we had not done more on energy independence so we did not have to be in the Gulf anyway. One of the problems we have is we are not defending great democracies. I have been very upset about how the Saudis treat our women in the military. They cannot drive, they cannot do this, they cannot do that. I think it is kind of ridiculous that when you are there to protect them, they then make it very difficult and put all sorts of restrictions on. Exactly the same thing had happened in Lebanon. I remember visiting Lebanon as a young member of the Committee on Armed Services, and saying this is an absolute nightmare. They said, this is the only place they will let us be. That is one of the reasons I get so frustrated about burden-sharing. I keep figuring if we are there to help, we ought to be able to use our best military judgment and not have them say, no, no, we want you just over the horizon. We want you here to help, but we do not want you to be seen, and we do not want women out, or we do not want this or that.”