Army general backs off court martial rule for pregnant soldiers

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"I just swallowed a watermelon, sir!"

A U.S. general in Iraq who listed pregnancy as a reason for court-martialing soldiers now says he'd never actually seek to jail someone over the offense.

In a conference call with reporters yesterday, Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo said the policy he issued last month allowing soldiers who become pregnant and their sexual partners to be court-martialed, was merely intended to underline the seriousness of the problems created when pregnant soldiers go home and leave behind a weaker unit.

"I need every soldier I've got," Cucolo said. "I need them for the entire duration of this deployment."

I have never considered court-martial for this, I do not ever see myself putting a soldier in jail for this," said Cucolo, who oversees U.S. forces in northern Iraq.

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