That's because you and I have the gift, or rather the curse of foresight, these people had to interpret the consequences of their actions based purely on assumption and I wouldn't be as pessimistic as you about their success. We have had our share of days under the sun thanks to some very well thought out maneuvers, the support for a nascent People's Republic of China and our stance on the FMTC being just two of the situations.
I disagree with the assumption that women cannot fight like men, if it were hand to hand then I would be inclined to agree with you but that too in most cases, not all. However, the nature of fighting we are looking at, with 12.7s and RPGs have little to do with physical strength or speed, its about who is more effective behind the sights and that has nothing to do with gender. I have seen some very good women shooters.