As an update to yesterday’s post on women soldiers in combat, a watered-down ban was just passed which will bar women from engaging in direct ground combat, reports MSNBC News.

The House Armed Services Committee approved the narrower restriction after the Army and Democrats said that the original amendment -- which would ban women from combat support and service units-- would close almost 22,000 jobs to women, restrain operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and undermine women’s morale.

The amendment was part of a bill that approved $442 billion in defense programs for the next fiscal year that the committee approved 61-1 late last night.

It’s good to see that Democrats are still objecting, saying that the narrower amendment is confusing, unnecessary, and an insult to the women serving in Iraq. “Women don’t deserve the kind of shabby treatment this committee’s been giving them the last week,” said Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark.

While it is a good thing that the original amendment wasn’t passed, I’m so fucking tired of these “compromises” being made to appease us. It’s appalling that any ban was passed in the first place. In other words, ‘tis a pretty shitty day for U.S. female soldiers.

Check out Echidne's take on this as well.