Iraqi teens trade soccer for AK-47s By WAIEL FALEH Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Thousands of boys in Iraq have swapped soccer practice and tennis lessons for light-weapons training and religion lessons as they prepare to defend Iraq, they say, from "our enemies." Firing pistols and AK-47s while studying Islam and history, 1,800 boys between the ages of 13 and 16 are getting three weeks of training at "Saddam's Cubs Training Camp" in a southern Baghdad suburb, one of about 30 such camps scattered across the country. "We are sharp swords in the hand of President Saddam Hussein to be used to fight our enemies," 14-year-old Mustafa Amir said Sunday. "I am looking forward to finishing the course as soon as possible to be able to defend the country when it is attacked," said Amir, clad in khaki-colored fatigues, as he cleaned his gun. Amir and his fellow trainees rise early each morning for days filled with physical exercises, light-weapons training and religious and political classes. The training comes amid speculation that the United States is weighing options to wage war on Iraq. Washington accuses Saddam of producing and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqi government established "Saddam's Cubs" camps throughout the sanctions-strapped country in 1996, five years after the country was driven out of neighboring Kuwait in the Gulf War. The United Nations imposed sanctions on Iraq following the war. The sanctions can only be lifted once weapons inspectors verify that Iraq's non-conventional weapons program has been dismantled. Another young trainee, 15-year-old Sinan Abid Salman, said he had been worried about going to the camp but soon got used to its regimen. "I was scared in the beginning, but when I was acquainted with the people and the weapons, the days started to pass fast," Sinan said. "It is a pleasure to be trained to say that I am able to defend my family and country." Amir, meanwhile, said he liked the camp from day one and had joined to learn "to be able to fight like a man." "Most summers I go to clubs to play sports like tennis and soccer, but I am having as much fun in the camp as I do at the clubs," he said.
SCARY! Hell, I know how to fire a weapon, and have taken classes, but that doesn't mean I know how to fight in combat.
rockHEAD, If you are going to do these types of posts, at least find the photo that goes with the article. <A HREF="http://www.iraqdaily.com/p/3b/b8dbabb56e44.html">The underground world of Saddam</A> <i>Members of Saddam´s cubs, an Iraqi military youth group, train during a summer camp program in Baghdad 11 August 2002. SADDAM Hussein has likened himself to Winston Churchill and insisted that Iraq, like Britain facing Hitler, would never surrender. AFP photo </i>
What good is learning to fire an AK-47 going to be when your enemy is two miles above you dropping laser guided smart bombs?
Wars are never won with smart bombs...and they aren't exactly cost-effective in dealing with troops. I just hope our government has a clue in what they hope to accomplish in Iraq. Given the populace, the best case scenario is a moderate democracy that doesn't support the radical Islamic factions? That kind of sounds like Pakistan. Unfortunately, they have problems dealing with the radicals as well. Life sucks, doesn't it? I guess I can't see the point in going to war with Iraq. None of these countries are going to change until their economies make it obvious to parents that their kid's lives, and their lives will be better by going to technical schools than religious schools.
The worst thing about this article is realizing that our troops may be fired upon by a teenager, not even old enough to drive in the States, and these youngsters, with their whole lives ahead of them, will die in combat. Think also of our troops that will fire back on these kids. How will their conscience weigh on them? Terrible.
spiffy uniforms. How many nations have MANDATORY military service? Is it more often than not? Rocket River just curious
I think Most Euproean countries have some type of mandatory military service. I know that Spain does.
uh... thanks. but in this case, the moniker came from the movie "Sid & Nancy" after a punk in the movie named, "rockhead".... from the movie... "C'mon rockhead, impress us with your drugs!" "The rockhead does not do drugs" I was going to use rockethead, but I think at the time, it was taken... regardless, I never have and never will do coke...
This was, appaerently, one of the big things that happened in Somalia. In most of the interviews with the troops that I've seen regarding this subject, they seem to have been pretty OK with it. I'd imagine that the fact that they could see the AK's pointed at them probably helped. If you shoot a child shooting at you, you at least have a sense that your survival directly depends on it. I'd imagine that it's sort of like when they break up those cockfights. You have to kill the chickens, even though you know that it's not their fault that they are the way that they are. Ultimately, I think it'd just deepen your resentment for the person who made them what they are, which in this case would be Saddam. Ultimately, however, this tells me that Saddam has been reading his Vietnam history books, looking for what demoralised the US troops there. Consistantly, one of the things that you see in the accounts of Vietnam was an uneasiness among the infantry because they could never distinguish between friendly civilians, and enemy soldiers.
