CHILD SOLDIERS

There's a UN convention against use of children as soldiers, but this seems one of those international edicts (like the Geneva Convention) that some countries choose to ignore. Thus, the following headline and first sentence of an article in Environmental News Service

Afghanistan: Schoolchildren Used to Eradicate Opium Poppies
MAZAR-e-SHARIF, Afghanistan, June 2, 2006 (ENS) - It's a day out in the country for Noor Mohammad, as he stands in the middle of a field with a stick, beating energetically at the opium poppy plants around him.

Of course, whether we use adult soldiers with high-powered weapons such as tanks and planes, or kids swinging sticks at poppies, the only thing that counts is the likelihood of winning the war. So who's taking bets on the outcome of this battle?


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