2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHillary Clinton’s State Department Gave South Sudan’s Military a Pass for Its Child Soldiers
I met a few of them in the town of Pibor last year. These battle-tested veterans had just completed two or three years of military service. They told me about the rigors of a soldiers life, about toting AK-47s, about the circumstances that led them to take up arms. In the United States, not one of these soldiers would have met the age requirements to enlist in the Army. None were older than 16.
Rebel forces in southern Sudan began using child soldiers long before seceding from Sudan in 2011. The United States, on the other hand, passed a law in 2008 that banned providing military assistance to nations that use child soldiers. The law was called the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, or CSPA, but after South Sudans independence, the White House issued annual waivers that kept aid flowing to the worlds newest nation despite its use of child soldiers. President Obama stated in 2012 that the waiver that year was in the national interest of the United States.
The presidents move was criticized by human rights activists and others. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican from Nebraska and the author of the CSPA, described the use of child soldiers as an unthinkable practice. The U.S. must not be complicit in this practice, he said. The intent of the law is clear the waiver authority should be used as a mechanism for reform, not as a way of continuing the status quo. Because of the requirements of the law, the waivers were issued by the White House rather than the State Department, so Obama was the target of most of the criticism.
Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state when the first waivers were issued, was apparently never asked to comment on them, and the State Department never provided any explanations about its role. Clinton had spent years vowing to defend the rights of children worldwide in 2012, she railed against modern-day slavery in the introduction to a State Department report on human trafficking that took aim at the unlawful recruitment or use of children by armed forces. Yet she does not appear to have publicly explained her role in allowing South Sudan and other countries to receive military support despite using children as combatants. In fact, the State Department played a central role in issuing the controversial waivers, according to two sources, including a former State Department official."
https://theintercept.com/2016/06/09/hillary-clintons-state-department-gave-south-sudans-military-a-pass-for-its-child-soldiers/
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)Given that fact, why is there no mention of Obama in your post? Your post exposes your agenda.
NWCorona
(8,541 posts)Skwmom
(12,685 posts)She was the SOS.
amborin
(16,631 posts)and inclinations of Obama,Biden,Gates, etc
ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...for setting up SOS Kerry's Iran deal? She was just following the President's lead, yes? So in fact, why is her tenure at State an argument for her "vast experience", if all she did there was follow the President's orders?
You might want to think this through a little more.
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)NWCorona
(8,541 posts)yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)We shall soon see.
ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...yes, it is. But whatever the site's owners decide to do, truth is still truth.
floppyboo
(2,461 posts)as a 'foreigner' and my interests being more on a global level, I plan to spend most of my time there, as I did before the primaries, after the 16th. It won't reach the Hillary supporters, but they wouldn't read it in GD-P anyways.
djean111
(14,255 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)djean111
(14,255 posts)the campaign blathery ones.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Sancho
(9,067 posts)This decision was not in her office.
This is just bash and trash Hillary hate. It's flame bait, and not even worth discussion. The new rules will likely not allow it.
NWCorona
(8,541 posts)I'm a strong Obama supporter but he's not without fault. This is one of those instances.
This article is pertinent as Hillary is running for president and she was SoS during this time frame.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)The SoS is busy enough without taking on something that is by law NOT in her office.
Also, no one knows why Obama made the decision he did...or what information he had in hand. Everyone likes to make these arm chair criticisms. We don't get to read the reports from the field or see the satellite pictures. I trust that Obama made a good decision.
Do you REALLY think that Obama or Hillary approve of child soldiers!!???! That is such a stupid meme that it rivals birth certificates and UFOs.
No, Obama and Hillary do not approve of child armies - take my word for it. Posting such a silly OP is something for FR, not DU.
Hillary is the Democratic nominee, and she will support child welfare. Take my word for that one too. Obama is good for kids too. Neither are child killers nor approve of child killers.