By Andrew L. Jaffee

… A U.N. study of suicide attacks documented cases of children allegedly used as suicide bombers by the Taliban … “Most of these children were between 15 and 16 years of age and were tricked, promised money or forced to become suicide bombers.” …

Associated Press, 11/24/08

Here we have yet another one of the many horrors perpetrated by Islamists in their war against civilization — a war to reclaim the Stone Age. But let’s give credit where credit is due: “Afghanistan’s security forces” are also using children as pawns in their war. And in one of the most sickening revelations about Afghanistan, we find from the U.N. study as presented by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that:

… “Violence against children, specifically of a sexual nature, occurs particularly during times of instability,” he said. “The practice of ‘bacha-baazi’ (boy-play) consists of boys kept cloistered and used for sexual and harmful social entertainment by warlords and other armed group leaders.” …

More from the report:

… In his first report to the Security Council on the Afghan war’s impact on children, Ban said other problems include sexual abuse of children, especially boys, and a “worrisome increase” in the number of child victims caused by militant attacks on civilian targets. …

Ban said monitoring abuses of children in Afghanistan has been difficult because of increasing violence and the difficulty of obtaining and checking victim and eyewitness accounts. He said much of the available data is not broken down by age and sex.

“The report focuses on grave violations perpetrated against children in Afghanistan and identifies parties to the conflict, both state and non-state actors, who commit grave abuses against children,” Ban said. “In particular, the report highlights the fact that children have been recruited and utilized (as fighters) by state and non-state armed groups … .”

He said children have been used as soldiers by all factions during 30 years of wars in Afghanistan. …

How can the West hope to impose change on Afghanistan? This is a place where strength is most appreciated, and weakness is disdained. Perhaps current U.S.-led Coalition efforts in Afghanistan have been too soft-handed. Do people remember what it took to convince the neo-Bushido Japanese and fascist Germans to capitulate? It wasn’t soft-handedness. It was terrible but necessary actions like carpet bombing, the Dresden fire-bombing, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki which drove the enemy to surrender.

I am certainly not one to revel in violence of any kind. The events which ended WWII were horrific. But those very tough military tactics paled in comparison to the crimes committed by the German and Japanese fascists. al-Qaeda and the Taliban may never capitulate because of nation-building and foreign aid, but only by a show of strength to end all shows of strength.