Stunning and surprisingly successful campaign/ploy by "Invisible Children":
Stunning and surprisingly successful campaign/ploy by "Invisible Children":
Nothing is "coincidental. Read this news article, published by Christian Science Monitor, last year:
LRA leader Joseph Kony: Why Obama sent US troops to Uganda to get him
The feared group LRA is responsible for the murder and rape of thousands in Central Africa. Siding with interventionist advisers, Obama sent the US troops to help remove Joseph Kony from the battlefield.
By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer / October 14, 2011
Washington - By sending 100 US troops to Uganda to help in the battle against one of Central Africa’s most violent and feared armed groups, President Obama is once again siding with those in his administration who favor American intervention against the world’s worst violators of human rights.
On Friday Mr. Obama informed Congress that he has dispatched the “combat-equipped US forces” to assist regional forces in their fight against the Lord’s Resistance Army, a group that has murdered, kidnapped, and raped thousands of Central African civilians and which Obama says continues to commit “atrocities” across several African countries.
Obama said an initial team was dispatched to Uganda Wednesday, and that additional forces would deploy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
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Specifically, the American troops are tasked with assisting in “the removal from the battlefield” of Joseph Kony and other senior leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, Obama said in a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate.
Although the troops will be equipped for combat, officials specified that their principal role would be advisory. “These advisers will not engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense,” said State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland in a statement Friday.
In his letter, Obama noted that Congress has supported US efforts to “help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability” in legislation in 2009 and 2010.
But the president’s announcement Friday is also reminiscent of the decision he made in March to undertake a bombing campaign in Libya targeting the forces of Muammar Qaddafi. At that time Obama’s decision was seen as a victory for the administration’s “liberal hawks” – in particular Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, and White House special adviser Samantha Power – who argued for US intervention on the side of Libya’s threatened civilian population.
That intervention was not favored by other administration officials more cautious about the deployment of US forces – most notably former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
But this new Africa deployment, though modest in scale, would appear to bear the imprint of Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rice in particular. Both women have dedicated special attention to addressing the mass atrocities committed by “terror armies” across portions of Africa, from the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Uganda and South Sudan.
And both women have insisted since the early days of the Obama administration that the horror for Africa’s women of mass rapes must not be left unaddressed.
Early reactions to Obama’s decision suggest support from the “interventionist” wings of public opinion.
“By deploying these advisers, President Obama is showing decisive leadership to help regional governments finally bring an end to the LRA's mass atrocities,” said Paul Ronan, director of advocacy at Resolve, a public policy dispute resolution organization involved in Africa. “These advisers can make a positive difference on the ground by keeping civilians safe and improving military operations to apprehend the LRA's top commanders.”
Resolve’s statement was part of an announcement from a coalition of human rights and anti-genocide organizations applauding Obama’s deployment of troops.
But the decision also garnered support from the right, particularly among some evangelical Christians involved in African issues.
One of the first congressional responses to the announcement was from Sen. Jim Inhofe, (R) of Okla., who cited his own experience in Africa in applauding the military deployment.
“I have witnessed firsthand the devastation caused by the LRA, and this will help end Kony’s heinous acts that have created a human rights crisis in Africa,” Senator Inhofe said. “I have been fervently involved in trying to prevent further abductions and murders of Ugandan children, and today’s action offers hope that the end of the LRA is in sight.”
Inhofe noted that the steps Obama announced Friday were “outlined in our legislation” of 2009 that called for assisting in the “disarmament” of the LRA and in the “recovery” of northern Uganda in particular.
From AP:
By ELLIOT SPAGAT | Associated Press – Fri, Mar 16, 2012
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A co-founder of the group behind a viral video about a brutal African warlord was detained by police and hospitalized after witnesses saw him running through streets in his underwear, screaming and banging his fists on the pavement.
Jason Russell of Invisible Children was hospitalized for exhaustion less than two weeks after the release of the 30-minute video he narrated about warlord Joseph Kony, said Ben Keesey, the group's chief executive officer.
"Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition," Keesey said. "He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday."
"Jason's passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue," the statement read.
San Diego police dispatcher transcripts show neighbors began calling around 11:30 a.m. Thursday to report that a man was running around in his underwear in the city's Pacific Beach neighborhood.
"(Subject) is at the corner, banging his hands on the ground, screaming, incoherent," the transcript continues. "People are trying to calm him down, he's been stopping traffic."
Police Lt. Andra Brown said a 33-year-old man was detained and taken to a hospital for medical evaluation. He was never arrested, and no charges are planned.
"At this point, the police department's involvement in the matter is done," Brown said.
Russell "did some irrational things brought on by extreme exhaustion and dehydration," his wife, Danica, said in a statement that denied alcohol or drug use triggered the behavior.
"We thought a few thousand people would see the film, but in less than a week, millions of people around the world saw it. While that attention was great for raising awareness about Joseph Kony, it also brought a lot of attention to Jason and, because of how personal the film is, many of the attacks against it were also very personal, and Jason took them very hard," his wife's statement read.
Russell, a San Diego native and graduate of the University of Southern California's film school, narrates the video, which has been viewed more than 80 million times on YouTube. In the video, Russell talks to his young son, Gavin, about Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army.
Gavin's birth is shown at the beginning of the film. At one point, the boy sums up what his dad does for a living.
"You stop the bad guys from being mean," he says.
At the video's conclusion Russell says, "At the end of my life I want to say that the world we left behind is one Gavin can be proud of, one that doesn't allow Joseph Konys and child soldiers."
Gavin replies: "I'm going to be like you dad. I'm going to come with you to Africa."
The video's overnight success has brought heightened scrutiny to the San Diego-based nonprofit over its tactics and spending practices.
The group has been criticized for not spending enough directly on the people it intends to help and for oversimplifying the 26-year-old conflict involving the LRA and its leader, Kony, a bush fighter wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
The group acknowledges the video overlooks many nuances but said it functions as a "first entry point" that puts the conflict "in an easily understandable format."
Keesey, the chief executive, released a video on Monday to respond to questions about the group's finances, including the amount of money it spends on travel and operations. He said money that directly benefits the cause accounted for more than 80 percent of its spending from 2007 to 2011.
"I understand why a lot of people are wondering, 'Is this just some slick, kind of fly-by-night, slacktivist thing?' when actually it's not at all," Keesey said. "It's connected to a really deep, thoughtful, very intentional and strategic campaign."
Russell has perhaps been Invisible Children's most public face since founding the group in 2005.
"We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time," Keesey said Friday.
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