Part Two: Children of the Taliban

1) Children join the Taliban for a few reasons. One of which is the way the Taliban expose young boys to propaganda. The Taliban establish Madrassas, religious schools that do not teach traditional subjects such as Math, English, and History, but only teach verses of the Koran or the ways of the Taliban. By preaching to the children in school, the Taliban is able to instill values in these impressionable young children so that they believe exactly what the Taliban believes. This method creates a large support system of children who will eventually for the Taliban. Because the schools also provide food and shelter for the children who live there, these children are inclined to help the Taliban and eventually work for them. As very young children, boys are also merely interested in the weapons the Taliban use. As described by one member of the Taliban, sometimes boys will approach the Taliban and simply ask to see or carry their weapons for them. Also, the Pakistan and US forces attack some places in Afghanistan that result in the death of the friends or family of some of these children. These children then believe that the US/Pakistan forces are the source of all evil, and want to join the Talib effort to destroy these people.

2) The war in Pakistan has greatly impacted children, leaving a forever lasting impression. One obvious way that the war affects children is how a child's family can be killed, sometimes leaving them without parents to fend for themselves. Sometimes, family's who have been affected by attacks (such as those who have lost other family members or who have been permanently injured or disfigured from the way) are forced from their homes and to move to rehabilitation camps. Young girls are also not allowed to attend school or university and must also wear burkas. Regardless of that fact that girls may not attends school, the Taliban destory many schools and children attend Madrassas instead. The presence and violence of the Taliban is especially frightening to some young children, who stay home when the Taliban are said to be in these children's villages.

3) The attacks are effective because of how brutal they are. Although, not all of these effects are positive. The drones that bombed parts of Afghanistan destroyed the homes of over 30,000 people (half of whom are children), creating 30,000 refugees. These bombs also destroy many schools and Madrassas. After a strike as brutal as the one in the particular village in Afghanistan, the Taliban will often recruit young children and adults because they use this bombing as an example of US violence. These bombs kill many members of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and the leader of the Pakistan army admits that the civilian causalities are unfortunate, but feels that their strategy is working overall. He says that the boys whose villages have been destroyed and who want to join the Taliban are most likely part of the problem. Here, I almost get the sense that he implied that he would like to see these boys dead along with the Taliban.

4) The Taliban continues to grow because of the growing interest in children to join the Taliban and commit jobs for them, sometimes even suicidal. When the US/Pakistan forces kill members of the Taliban, this merely angers their supporters, (including children) and causes these supporters to want to carry out the work and ideals of the Taliban. Often times, the Taliban will go into hiding and will emerge when the US forces think they have found all members of the Taliban.