Toby Westerman, Editor and Publisher                                                                                   Copyright 2003

Return to INA TODAY.com  homepage The following selections are made available for our readers' consideration. If you find them interesting -- support this site, buy a book -- or books! International News Analysis -- the in-depth print report -- covers threats to our nation and views other media, from the right or the left, won't address. INA has no hidden agendas, "sacred cows," or "unspoken understandings" that restrain our news coverage. We filter nothing. INA uses sources others cannot -- or will not -- use to report on topics the other news organizations won't touch. Order 12 issues of International News Analysis for only $29.95 (U.S. funds; $39.95 Canadian and overseas). International News Analysis provides in-depth background on the events reported by INAToday.com. International News Analysis gives readers unique perspective on world events, since 1996. Send subscriptions to: International News Analysis. 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Save on Your Taxes With A Donation to International News Analysis Institute Corp! Inatoday.com is sponsored by International News Analysis Institute Corp, a tax deductible, nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization. Your contribution will help the real story to be told on overseas events, untainted by the dominant media. We provide the news other sources can't or won't tell you about. Inatoday.com directly benefits you. Please provide us with your support. You may contribute by credit card: -- or by check to: International News Analysis 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Young but deadly -- desperate Saddam to use child-soldiers January 29, 2003 By Toby Westerman Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today www.inatoday.com Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who once fancied himself as the successor of great Near Eastern monarchs of long ago, is resorting to measures more reminiscent of the cornered Adolph Hitler in 1945. Baghdad is already fortified for a "last stand," and now there is a report that Saddam will use child-soldiers in a suicidal defense of his regime. Just as Hitler used German boys in a desperate attempt to avoid complete defeat, Saddam is using Iraqi youth to support his hated regime. The "Lions Club" and the "Ashbal Saddam" are Saddam's two main child-soldier organizations, which consist of children from 10 to 15 years old who are ready to "fight a bitter house-to-house battle" against U.S.-led forces invading Iraq, according to a recent report from the German news magazine, Der Spiegel. Trained in the use of small arms, and steeped in a militant interpretation of the Koran, the child-soldiers pose a special danger to U.S. troops who may face them. "Children understand nothing of tactics and do not see the total picture…[but] if they come under attack, they fight wildly," cautioned Major Jim Gray of the British Royal Marines. U.S. and allied soldiers must be ready for the shock of encountering child-soldiers, warned Gray. Child-soldiers can be ferocious opponents, capable of "shocking cruelty," more ready to take risks and display greater unpredictability than adult troops, according to Peter Singer of the U.S.-based Brookings Institute, and quoted in Der Spiegel. The British have had recent experience with child-soldiers. In the African nation of Sierra Leone in 1991, 150 British commandos came under fire from a group of underage troops, resulting in 12 dead. After the fight with the child-soldiers, many of the British soldiers experienced depression and post traumatic stress disorder, according to Der Spiegel, citing a report from the Brookings Institute. Baghdad is thought to have 8,000 child-soldier defenders, Der Spiegel reported. Along with the use of underage soldiers, Saddam is becoming increasingly suspicious regarding the activities of "traitors". In a recent meeting with army and political leaders and broadcast on Iraqi television, Saddam warned that all "traitors" must be hunted down, describing disloyal individuals as "in principle not even human," according to a report from the online version of the German news magazine, Focus. Several Western European nations and Arab states are attempting to force Saddam from power. These nations want both to avoid the impending U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and are advocating a general amnesty following Saddam's fall, according to both Focus and Der Spiegel. Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today INA Today.com 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Get 12 issues of International News Analysis for only $29.95 (U.S. funds; $39.95 Canadian and overseas). Send subscriptions to: International News Analysis 2364 Jackson St. #301 Stoughton, WI 53589 U.S.A. Return to INA TODAY.com homepage