Innocent Weapons

          In the movie The Hurt Locker we see one of the several ways children are used as weapons. One of the main characters, Sergeant First Class William James, who plays a member of an elite bomb squad, was forced to defuse a body bomb that was sewn into the corpse of a young boy.
         Children have increasingly become a popular weapon for terrorists and insurgent groups. They are used for body bombs, militia, menial workers such as cooks, planting bombs, and even as suicide bombers. Children are recruited for several different reasons. One reason would be that they are vulnerable or easily coerced into doing what they are told. People are also not as wary of children because they are viewed as innocent so its easier for them to not get caught before the act is done. Children don't always join of their own free will, some are threatened and forced to comply. Some are promised protection, food, money, and a chance at a better life if they join the fight. John Horgan stated in his special for CNN that   the TTP , a terrorist group in Pakistan, have been recruiting children as operatives for years.

        The children are recruited, taken, or even given to the Taliban by their parents. They are trained in special camps to do whatever the group orders. Most of the children told of horrible treatment, beatings, and, for some, even rape. A rehabilitation center for the children who are arrested or captured by officials, named Sabaoon, works hard to help them turn their life around and escape from the Taliban.  
       Children in the program are helped by a team of psychologists and spend anywhere from 6 months to 3 years in the program. Since it was created in the 2000s, Sabaoon has had 188 students graduate. Just like any program, Sabaoon is not 100% effective, but most graduates never return to the fight. The children trained to do unspeakable things get a new chance at life and a bright future. Wether or not the child is innocent or completely rehabilitated is something to question.  Can you really rehabilitate someone who has spent their whole childhood brainwashed to kill innocent people? Are these children truly innocent?