Ishmael Beah's story

See a video about this young man Here.

I've heard countless stories like this before... a young child's entire family slaughtered before them and then those children forced to become rebels themselves. In this case he was forced into the government army fighting the rebels... but there seems little difference. This same "tactic" is occurring, and has been occurring for many years now, in the Sudan's Darfur region -- on a huge scale.

What do you make of it? A few questions to ponder: what are we to make of Ishmael's killing? In what ethical category do we put his killings? What are we to do when we realize that perhaps large portions, perhaps even a majority of those rebel groups causing such atrocities may very well be all like Ishmael? Listen to the description he writes about regarding how he lined up six people and watched them suffer (for a day) before mecahnically killing them. This, to me, sounds only like something out of the Holocaust. It reminds me chillingly of stories of SS soldiers doing similar things to the Jews in the streets of Eastern Europe.
How do these stories affect, if it all, affect how we can perhaps come up with any answers on how to stop the seemingly perpetual violence in Africa? In a post-holocaust world, how do things like this, situation like this, spiral out of control and happen?
Rwanda, Sierra Leon, Darfur.... and there are many other places, and perhaps more to come.
Any thoughts?

Imposition of will?

Check out this cartoon:














It is of course referencing the recent comments made by Russian President Putin regarding how he believes the US forces it's will on the rest of the world (often through military means).

What do you think? Does Putin here have a point? Are we -- as a combination of being the sole remaining super-power and our leaders administering a rather undeniably interventionist foreign policy of late -- trying to play control with the rest of the world? Are we the world's self-appointed policeman? Or worse... ?

Your thoughts?