Human Rights Watch is an international organization which tries to prevent human rights violations. The group, however, often complains about things that are about as far from human rights violations as anything could be. Today's target from the HRW is the mistreatment of what it calls "ISIS children" by the Iraqi government. It seems that the Iraqis have arrested large numbers of "children" for fighting with ISIS and the government is in the process of holding trials and convicting these poor children for what they did. At least, that is what Human Rights Watch says.
I searched further, however, to see what the full story is. First of all, the "children" in question are nearly all 17 year olds with a small number of 16 year olds mixed in. I'm sorry, but in a sane world a 17 year old jihadist who wielded a weapons to kill Iraqi and allied soldiers in support of ISIS is not a child. In Iraq and across the Middle East, there is no nicety of waiting for the 18th birthday before a soldier becomes and adult. I have no sympathy for murderers, thugs and jihadists who kill in the name of ISIS and its hateful ideology.
Then there's the question of the "fairness" of the trials. Human Rights Watch wants the trials conducted as if they were taking place in the USA. But they're not. These trials are in Iraq and are being conducted pursuant to Iraqi laws and standards. Human Rights Watch doesn't get to impose its own ideas as to how a trial should proceed in any country. Iraqi law should control.
So what we have is ISIS soldiers who happen to be just shy of their 18th birthday and who are being tried under Iraqi law in Iraq being made by HRW into poor children who are being mistreated. I know that one of the main precepts of the left is that victims are always favored. These men, however, are victimizers, murderers, thugs and jihadists. They are anything but victims. We shouldn't forget that these are the vanguard of a group that committed genocide, oppression and mass murder in the name of their disgusting ideology. They should never be portrayed as victims.
I searched further, however, to see what the full story is. First of all, the "children" in question are nearly all 17 year olds with a small number of 16 year olds mixed in. I'm sorry, but in a sane world a 17 year old jihadist who wielded a weapons to kill Iraqi and allied soldiers in support of ISIS is not a child. In Iraq and across the Middle East, there is no nicety of waiting for the 18th birthday before a soldier becomes and adult. I have no sympathy for murderers, thugs and jihadists who kill in the name of ISIS and its hateful ideology.
Then there's the question of the "fairness" of the trials. Human Rights Watch wants the trials conducted as if they were taking place in the USA. But they're not. These trials are in Iraq and are being conducted pursuant to Iraqi laws and standards. Human Rights Watch doesn't get to impose its own ideas as to how a trial should proceed in any country. Iraqi law should control.
So what we have is ISIS soldiers who happen to be just shy of their 18th birthday and who are being tried under Iraqi law in Iraq being made by HRW into poor children who are being mistreated. I know that one of the main precepts of the left is that victims are always favored. These men, however, are victimizers, murderers, thugs and jihadists. They are anything but victims. We shouldn't forget that these are the vanguard of a group that committed genocide, oppression and mass murder in the name of their disgusting ideology. They should never be portrayed as victims.
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