Hezbollah Youth

While the story is troubling, the picture itself gives me shudders.

Hezbollah's Mahdi Scouts look like a reincarnation of Germany's Hitler's Youth from the pre-World War II era. The training of Mahdi Scouts for Islamo-fascist hegemony replicates the Nazi regimen of creating "Ayran supermen" who were prepared as leaders for the "Thousand Year Reich" during the Nazi era.

The Times notes that Hezbollah's "Mahdi Scouts have a reputation of being a feeder for Hezbollah's armed wing."

In World War II, crack troops comprised of Hitler Youth cadres fought with "ferocity" against British and Canadian forces during the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Here's this from the Times article:

Hezbollah’s influence on Lebanese youth is very difficult to quantify because of the party’s extreme secrecy and the general absence of reliable statistics in the country. It is clear that the Shiite religious schools, in which Hezbollah exercises a dominant influence, have grown over the past two decades from a mere handful into a major national network. Other, less visible avenues may be equally important, like the growing number of clerics associated with the movement.

Hezbollah and its allies have also adapted and expanded religious rituals involving children, starting at ever-earlier ages. Women, who play a more prominent role in Hezbollah than they do in most other radical Islamic groups, are especially important in creating what is often called “the jihad atmosphere” among children.