Obama Quietly Okays Military Aid to Countries That Use Child Soldiers | Common Dreams

8.10.13

Obama Quietly Okays Military Aid to Countries That Use Child Soldiers | Common Dreams: "Obama is becoming an expert at waiving human rights laws," writes Ken Hanly in Digital Journal. "He waived part of a law last month that banned the US from supplying lethal aid to terrorist groups so he could send aid to Syrian rebels. In the case of Egypt, Obama has refused to call the coup by the armed forces a coup and by doing so does not run afoul of a law that would ban aid to a country where there had been a military coup."

"Human rights are to be promoted but only insofar as they do not conflict with US national interest as understood by the president," he added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has come under criticism for filling its own military ranks with hundreds of thousands of teenagers, including 17-year-olds who can enlist with parental consent.