"I have a poster on my office wall. Ten boys posed in two lines, brandishing make-believe weapons. They all appear young, a range of about age 6 to 12.

The toys aren't sophisticated: Most are play rifles made out of sanded wood. One is braced together to look like an automatic weapon, complete with a make-believe ammo belt. Another holds a wood model, rocket-launcher. Three boys show off metal, rusty and tape-covered Kalashnikov assault rifles.

These toys are the weapons used in these boys' real world. As young as they are, they probably already know the sounds of rapid machine-gun fire or a burst of a grenade."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: It's time for a cease-fire for the 'war generation' (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 7/4)

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