FOREIGN POLICY: Children of the Caliphate: The Islamic State is raising an army of child soldiers, and the West could be fighting them for generations to come.
They’re used for blood transfusions when Islamic State fighters are injured. They are paid to inform on people who are disloyal or speak out against the Islamic State. They are trained to become suicide bombers. They are children as young as 6 years old, and they are being transformed into the Islamic State’s soldiers of the future.
The Islamic State has put in place a far-reaching and well-organized system for recruiting children, indoctrinating them with the group’s extremist beliefs, and then teaching them rudimentary fighting skills. The militants are preparing for a long war against the West, and hope the young warriors being trained today will still be fighting years from now.
Hey, remember when Glenn Beck was talking about the Caliphate stuff five or six years ago and everybody said he was crazy?