Jarrett: 'If There's One Thing We Should All Agree On, It's Protecting Women From Violence'

Just a couple minutes ago, presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett, who is personally close to President Barack Obama, tweeted, that "If there's one thing we should all agree on, it's protecting women from violence."

If there's one thing we should all agree on, it's protecting women from violence. Congress needs to pass the Violence Against Women Act.

— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) January 23, 2013

Jarrett's tweet comes the same hour Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Obama administration would allow women to serve in combat. The AP reports:

Senior defense officials say Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is removing the military's ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after more than a decade at war.

The groundbreaking move recommended by the Joint Chiefs of Staff overturns a 1994 rule banning women from being assigned to smaller ground combat units. Panetta's decision gives the military services until January 2016 to seek special exceptions if they believe any positions must remain closed to women.