There are thousands of West African boys right now, as we speak, whom the world would probably be well well served if they were rounded up and executed. I know that seems harsh, but so did they, when they were assaulting defenseless villagers in the nation of Sierra Leonne, hacking off arms and legs, mutilating their victims in unspeakable ways. They did all this, to countless people, on the orders of the followers of Charles Taylor, former strongman leader of Liberia. They were hopped up on cocaine when they did all this, and were purposefully addicted. The cocaine was the method of subduing them, of corrupting them, and of insuring their loyalty. The cocaine, in addition to food and shelter, was their reward for the bags of limbs they would return to their adult commanders. They showed absolutely no mercy to anyone, whether man, woman, or child, and no entreaties of mercy was sufficient to acquire any slight amount of mdiation in their cruelty, their sadism. In fact, pleas of mercy and the sight of their victims filled with terror towards them probably inspired all the more cruelty, like a vicious animal whose appetite is heightened by the smell of fear, and by the taste of blood.
Taylor of course is no longer in power and may soon face justice in the Haque, who will doubtless refuse to execute this piece of human excrement. But he should be executed, and a consortium of his surviving victims should be given the opportunity to each take a piece of him. I know it sounds barbaric. So what? This is exactly the kind of justice these kind of people understand, and it should be meted out to them, slowly. Torturously. One might make the case the death penalty doesn’t really serve as a deterrant to crime. I think it does, but even if it doesn’t, it’s beside the point. I can promise you with every damn assurance I can muster it would damn well be a deterrant to dictators that might consider using these vile and abominable methods. It would at least give them some pause.
As for the child soldiers that Taylors forces employed, in my view they are worthless now. They are worthless to themselves and they are a danger to civilized society on any continent. No, they should not be allowed to immigrate here. Yes, they are children. But once you go so far down certain roads, at any age, there is no turning back in anything like a meaningful way.
