Short Summary: Child Soldiers And The Moral Dilemma

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102-31-653 Child Soldier 's and the Moral Dilemma
The popular saying, "all is fair in love and war" has been used through time by writers, poets, and artists of different concentrations; although for this paper "war" is all we need. For an expression that has been repeated through time by some of earth 's finest, how much accuracy lies behind it? In times of war, every and anything is done in order to accomplish a political goal. Leaders often overlook the moral dilemma of certain actions in war, especially if it yields successful results. However, war is a human activity and all human actions must be governed by law; thus, bringing about the moral justification of war. Children often fall into this conversation, especially in combat. Children are often used as combatants in wars, and although this may be …show more content…

The child soldiers are aware that they are killing but may not be morally responsible for their actions due to their age, culture, and the conditions that led them to be forcibly turned into juvenile soldiers. Given their youth, the questions is raised about whether they possess mens rea, the guilty mind, to know beyond a reasonable doubt whether they are innocent. In the haze of war, there is no time to know whether the child soldier is acting freely on their own will and in control of their actions. To be viewed as a non-combatant, these juveniles must be unable or unwilling to defend themselves, while these juveniles are able to kill. "Consequently, decision makers in conflict zones, unavoidably, rely on normative and socially constructed conceptions of innocence and vulnerability (Gade 238). These concepts, in which women and children are always viewed as the innocent. This brings on a moral dilemma into whether it is right to kill as collateral damage or right intention, a means to an