"The Naval Academy also has been reaching out to students in seventh and eighth grades to emphasize the importance of developing math and science skills to help raise chances of admission."
I thought ONLY TERRORISTS RECRUITED 13- and 14-year-olds!!!!!
"Promise of action, adventure draw indigenous youths to Colombia rebels" by Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times | October 18, 2009
TORIBIO, Colombia - Craving adventure and escape from his broken home, Jerson enlisted with leftist guerrillas when he was in his early teens. He saw it as a way to emulate Che Guevara and bring social justice to this impoverished region of Colombia.
Plus, the rebels offered him new clothes and a cellphone.
Rebels, huh?
"undercover US agents posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym, FARC"
Yeah, it is GOVERNMENTS -- as in the case of AmeriKa, it is the racist hate groups -- that ALWAYS NEED to KEEP THAT "ENEMY" in front of you!
So three years ago the indigenous youth found himself in the Sixth Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which patrols the mountains of Cauca state. Two months later, chafing under strict rules and horrified by the killing of a childhood friend and fellow recruit by Colombian soldiers, he fled the rebel ranks....
Related: Keeping Up the Colombian Lie
He fled, or they sent him out on a propaganda mission.
Was he even a rebel at all?
Studies by Colombia’s public defender and independent researchers indicate that the FARC and other armed groups increasingly are focusing their recruiting efforts on youths like Jerson, who declined to give his full name for fear of reprisal. Their success underscores the difficulty of ending the country’s decades-long violence.
Based on interviews with 8,000 rebels who have been captured or have surrendered since 2002, a recent study found that 64 percent were 14 or younger when recruited, said Natalia Springer, a dean at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá and a specialist on children and armed groups.
The FARC, right-wing paramilitary groups, and drug traffickers see young people as prime candidates for recruitment because of their poverty, poor education opportunities, and isolation, Springer said.
And THERE is your U.S. CONNECTION!
Also see: Covering Up the CIA'S Colombian Drug Ring
Even the military at times presses youths to serve as informants or spies, human rights groups say. “The kids are attracted by the arms, the uniforms, the adventure, and the money they are offered,’’ Springer said in an interview in Bogotá. “But they don’t have the intellectual tools or maturity to make a decision by themselves. They are seduced.’’
Young people living on Indian reservations, which provide indigenous Colombians with a degree of autonomy, are increasingly targeted by recruiters.
Related: Colombia's Ghandis
Springer said nearly half of those joining armed groups have indigenous backgrounds. “Armed groups don’t just recruit anyone anywhere,’’ she said. “They take a strategic approach in targeting vulnerable communities.’’
“It’s a general problem not limited to rebels or paramilitary groups,’’ said an official with the Association of Indigenous Councils of North Cauca, a regional advocacy group known by its Spanish initials, ACIN. “The army and police are using us as informants and militia members.’’
But it is the FARC that is the problem, huh, MSM?
He spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The Colombian public defender’s office calls it “a grave human rights crisis.’’I don't hear any U.S. officials creaming about it.
--more--"
Related: Colombia's Body Counts
Oh, right, when WE ARE BEHIND SUCH THINGS they get COVERED UP and BURIED!
