Sending children to war is as old as war itself. The fictional Johnny Tremain at age 14 was no anomaly in the American Revolution. But recent investigations highlight the grisly, barbaric use of youth—including boys as young as 8—by Islamic State (or ISIS) and others in Iraq and Syria.
“It was like learning to chop an onion,” reported 17-year-old Jomah after sitting in on a lesson by ISIS in beheading. “You grab him by the forehead and then slowly slice across the neck.”
The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 26 reported on the underage training session, where teachers brought in three captured Syrian soldiers, asked for volunteers, and even recruits under age 10, aided and desensitized by watching beheading videos, practiced their skills on the frightened men. “Afterward, the teachers ordered the students to pass around the severed heads,” Jomah, who has since defected, told the paper....
