Women In The Combat Zone
KAYE: We're continuing our conversation with former U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen. And, Mr. Secretary, while I have you, I'd like to ask about some news happening today at your old workplace. The Pentagon is relaxing restrictions on women troops in combat roles. I mean, is that a natural progression, do you think, given the blurry state of combat nowadays?</s>COHEN: Well, I think it is. And we've seen a move from a point of view that women shouldn't be anywhere near the combat field, but they have been over the years. I know that back in the '80s, for example, I questioned the chief of the Air Force as to whether or not women pilots could withstand the g forces as well as men. And the perception was because that women were smaller, lighter, that they couldn't handle a g force. It turns out to be just the opposite. Because of their lighter weight, they were better able to withstand the g force in our high performance aircraft. So we've come a long way in understanding that women can contribute to the military object. It shouldn't be a social equality agenda that's being fulfilled, but can women contribute effectively to the military mission. That's what the Pentagon chiefs are looking at. And to the extent they feel they can, they should be allowed to do so, achieve the mission and they can contribute. They have been contributing. I think it's a natural progression, as you suggested.</s>KAYE: Let me ask you about the Pentagon downsizing U.S. military. Half a trillion dollars give or take now coming out of the Defense Department budget over the next few years. Do you fear that this could have an impact on national security?</s>COHEN: Well, I think Congress, number one, has mandated that they called for $487 billion over 10 years, 259, I believe, in the first five years. So Congress is the one who's saying we've got to save. And the Defense Department has to contribute. I think the Defense Department can handle that particular size cut over that 10 year period. The difficulty is going to be when we talk about sequestration, namely when the ax falls because the special committee, super committee, couldn't reach an agreement on the $1.2 trillion cut that they were supposed to try and achieve. Now they're talking about across the board cuts. That would be another $500 billion out. That would certainly compromise our national security. I think everybody is working under the assumption that that money will be put back in or the sequestration, rather, will not fall and the ax won't fall. The money, if it were to be cut, will be put back in. It's not a way to run the military, in terms of the planners trying to say what will we have to work with. I was with Secretary Panetta in Munich just a few days ago and he indicated that the military is not planning on any further cuts beyond the $487 billion. That's why I think that's a pretty strong signal that the administration is going to work with the Congress to make sure we don't cut any deeper during the next decade.</s>KAYE: Mr. Secretary, so nice to have you on the program and spend some quality time with you. Appreciate that. Thank you.</s>COHEN: Great to be with you.</s>KAYE: Remember all the furor over drug testing welfare recipients in Florida? Well now another fight is brewing, this time in New York, over fingerprinting those recipients. It's something the state still does, but is it fair? That's next. But first, you probably want Emily Clark as your neighbor. She's a former firefighter who's battling cancer. But that didn't stop her from risking her own life when she noticed a neighbor's home on fire. With no one else around, Emily took action.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started banging on the back door and still didn't hear anything.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I grabbed the kids and I took off running to their bedroom to get out. Well, somebody had already kicked in the back door, which we didn't know it was on fire.</s>KAYE: The family says Emily not only saved their home, but their lives. And that makes Emily today's rock star.