Widow Testifies at a Military Court

[ShadowHM]

This topic is still troubling me.

Yet again you throw in the arbitrary issue of age/child. Captured while one is participating in a war, and in his case quite possibly as an unlawful combatant, gets one behind the wire.

Of course the age distinction is arbitrary. See my response to Nystul above. An ‘arbitrary’ line is drawn in the sand for other matters. You seem to believe that activity in a war setting is categorically different but you have not conveyed to me why that should be so.

Please define 'lawful combatant', for purposes of this discussion about child soldiers. You seem to be placing a great deal of importance to the distinction.

That is one of many facets of war, good, bad, and ugly. The bomb doesn't care how old you are when it blows you to bits. If you participate in the war, you are subject to its down side.

No argument on that point. War is a nasty business, whether you bring it on or it is brought to you. However, we are talking about the aftermath, not the activity.

Protesting relative innocence, which appears to be your argument, takes us back to the relative innocence of conscripts, who don't really want to be there ... non starter.

Citizenship has both privileges and duties. And conscripts, at least in our respective countries, are legal adults – full citizens. It is the fate of child conscripts in other countries that we are discussing.

In this case, I think those of us that have been in situations where being blown up by a grenade tossed by an eight year old was a real concern will have a different perspective than those who've never had that privilege. The veneer of civilization which is stripped off in war never fully regrows.

I understand that in the heat of battle, many things are thrown out the window. But once the war is over and the warrior is home, there is time to re-consider, rather than remain frozen in the emotions of that time. Insisting that the child is completely blame-worthy smacks to me of the internal justification we are all prone to doing, wherein we decide that since we are good guys, the opposition must deserve what they got/get.

I am arguing in favour of a much more nuanced view, and, apparently, failing. I believe that the there is a spectrum of responsibility that can be expected from a child, depending on a combination of their age and maturity, before they get to that ‘arbitrary’ number wherein full adult responsibility is incurred. (And a parent’s job is to give them an ever-lengthening tether so they learn how to make responsible decisions on smaller things before that day arrives when they are held legally accountable for all actions.)