‘Children at War’ is a disturbing work of non-fiction that must be read by anyone who seriously cares about the future of the world’s children. Simply put, the book is a global examination of the rapidly expanding strategy of armies and warlords alike to aggressively recruit and train children as soldiers and terrorists. It is frequently frightening reading, especially when we are presented with the words of children Singer encountered. “Sometimes, when I was angry, I’d kill some of my fellow rebels,” says a 12 year old.

The credentials of P.W. Singer to tackle his subject are impeccable. He is an internationally recognized expert in twenty-first century warfare, a National Security Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and has served extensively as an independent advisor to the U.S. military on the issue of confronting armed children. No armchair analyst, Singer has traveled the globe for years researching and interviewing child soldiers.

Singer tells his readers that he wrote ‘Children at War,’ the first comprehensive book on the subject, because “little was understood of the issue” including “what it means and, most importantly, what to do about it.” Singer astutely points out that the rise of children as soldiers “has clear policy implications that should concern us all.” Alluding to current explosive situations around the world, Singer states, “We cannot even begin to think that we have a handle on what to do about the dynamics of present-day armed conflict until we have a better understanding of the role of children in it.”

Without doubt, the rules of war are changing dramatically today. An apt example is the recent debacle concerning the torture, maiming, and murder of POWs and foreign nationals by American troops in Iraq, Cuba, Afghanistan and elsewhere. American military leaders once considered torture completely taboo, but that is now changing. The definition of “torture” by White House and Pentagon policy makers is now subject to all sorts of dizzying semantically gyrations. Even so-called human rights activists and professionals have jumped into the fray. Michael Ignatieff, director of Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, has come under fire of late for attempting to morally and politically justify torture as a legitimate means of preserving and expanding democracy. Given Ignatieff’s naive and twisted logic it seems only a matter of time before Harvard minds propose Herod-like sweeps of newborn infants in foreign lands as a way of stifling child warriors. (Readers may want to note that Ignatieff’s argument was first delivered as a 2003 Gifford Lecture at the University of Edinburgh and is now fleshed out in a book entitled, ‘The Lesser Evil.’)

Singer’s approach to his challenging subject is a welcomed one. It holds passion, caring, and common sense high and still expertly examines a very thorny and difficult issue. Society has an obligation to protect children, Singer writes. “Their understanding of the power and consequences of their acts is often limited. Indeed, children’s immaturity and inexperience is often the very reason they are exploited. It is the innocence of youth placed within the context of war that is perhaps the most difficult to deal with.”But deal with it we must. P.W. Singer’s ‘Children at War’ is one of this year’s most important works on non-fiction.

H.P. Albarelli Jr. is a writer and investigative reporter who lives in the United States. His novel, THE HEAP, which concerns a startling discovery made by a group of street children, can be found in bookstores worldwide.

© 2005 Laura Hird All rights reserved.