Figure 1.--This is a group of Ashbal Saddam. The boys look like younger teenagers. They wear black uniforms and carry AK-47s.

Saddam Hussein's Bath Pary has an extensive youth movement. Children are enrolled at age 5. There are five levels of membership which continue into the teen years. The failure of a child to participate actively in the organization can be dangerous for his or her parents. The parents also have to be careful about what they say at home, least the child innocently repeat some to youth group leaders that he does not understand is dangerous. We have, however, been able to find little published information about the Bathist youth organization. The only government agency that we can identify at this time is the General Union of Iraqi Youth. We have noted press reports on something called the Ashbal Saddam or Saddam's Lion Cubs. This is not a mass organization like the Hitler Youth, but rather a small elite group. There may be as many of 8,000 of these boys. They appear to be primarily orphans who have been raised to be fanatically loyal to Saddam Hussein. The children of regime officials are not recruited to this group as the children of NAZI officials were to the Hitler Youth. Some of them may have been recruited to the Fedayeen Sadam, fanatically loyal Bath Party cadres who have been used as an internal security force.

Bath Party Youth Movement

Saddam Hussein's Bath Pary has an extensive youth movement. Children are enrolled at age 5. There are five levels of membership which continue into the teen years. The failure of a child to participate actively in the organization can be dangerous for his or her parents. The parents also have to be careful about what they say at home, least the child innocently repeat some to youth group leaders that he does not understand is dangerous. We have, however, been able to find little published information about the Bathist youth organization. The only government agency that we can identify at this time is the General Union of Iraqi Youth.

Saddam's Lion Cubs

We have noted press reports on something called the Ashbal Saddam or Saddam's Lion Cubs. We are not sure how Ashbal Saddam relates to other Bath Party youth organizations. This is not a mass organization like the Hitler Youth, but rather a small elite group. There may be as many of 8,000 of these boys. They appear to be primarily orphans who have been raised to be fanatically loyal to Saddam Hussein. The children of regime officials are not recruited to this group as the children of NAZI officials were to the Hitler Youth. Some of them may have been recruited to the Fedayeen Sadam (Saddam's Men of Sacrifice), fanatically loyal Bath Party cadres who have been used as an internal security force. Both Saddam's Lion Cubs and the Fedayeen Saddam seem to wear black uniforms with little detailing, although our information is limited.

Sources

"Ashbal Saddam (Saddam's Lion Cubs)" Iraqi News, April 7, 2003.

Peter Singer, "Facing Saddam's Child Soldiers" (Brookings Institute).