This is going to take a while but it's worth it to frame the discussion. Watcht this video; it's 30 minutes long but you can spare 30 minutes to learn about how kids are being brutalized, abducted, raped, and converted into monsters can't you?
Pretty heavy stuff isn't it? Would you be prepared to spend the next ten years of your life fighting to stop this kind of stuff? You would think it would be a no brainer to support going after Kony right? I mean, who in their right mind would say this guy shouldn't be stopped and that sending in some troops to collect him isn't a good idea? Well, things aren't that cut and dry. Surprised? You probably shouldn't be. Here, go read this posting that explains some of the issues with supporting the Invisible Children's Fund and their approach.
This Shit is Complicated
Honestly, sometimes there just isn't a clean and easy answser. The critic I linked to talks about how the peace process has broken down in the past. The video discusses it too. But the critic doesn't like the idea of military intervention - he thinks that killing any of the kid body guards needs to be avoided. Basically, by putting that limitation in effect he is saying nothing should be done. Kony clearly isn't interested in giving up - he's been doing this horrible stuff for 20 years and playing the peace process to his advantage each time. There is only one way to stop his behavior and that is to stop him. He has to die or be imprisoed; either at the hands of the International Criminal Court (ICC) or via some bullet deep in the jungle. There is no middle ground - he and his cronies can only be dealt with in absolutes.
You'll notice I mention his cronies; here are their names: Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen. They are also on the ICC most wanted list (but not mentioned in the video). Just getting rid of Kony won't bring about a resolution to the problem. Heck, just getting rid of Kony and his partners won't either. It's naieve to think that suddenly the children of Uganda and the surrounding countries will be safe if the leaders of the Lord's Resistence Army (LRA) are removed from the scene.
But it is a start.
The problem is in how we have to do it. The US won't/can't just send in a batallion of soldiers to take this guy out instead we will continue on with our role of supporting advisors to the Ugandan Army which has it's own list of problems including abduction, raping of kids, and mutilation. What The Fuck is going on in Uganda where this is so common place? You mean in order to get rid of a rapist, mutliating, child abducter we have to ally with a rapist, mutiliating, gang of child abducters?
Yes, we do.
But once we get in bed with that devil we need to remember it's a very temporary partnership to rid the world of a common enemy. Then we need to get rid of our temporary ally as well. I don't mean we in just the "US" either I mean we as in mankind. The critic I referenced earlier said the desire to bring about salvation to this part of the world was eerily reminiscent of the white mans burdern - he's close; it is "mankinds burden" to make sure human's are totally fucking over other humans. Nobody should accept this kind of behavior anywhere by anyone (disclaimer: I am a white man).
Kids Will Die
Look in the process of getting rid of Kony and his cronies kids will die. That sucks but it is truly an unavoidable consequence of making sure even more kids don't die, aren't abducted, and that a 20+ year long war actually ends. Those kids who die are a tragic price for peace and it is a horrible fact that we have to accept if peace is actually ever going to happen where the Lord's Resistence Army (LRA) is concerned. We don't live in a video game or a movie where one silent assassin can just creep into their base, kill all the leaders, and deliver the kids there to salvation. Any attempt to capture or kill the leaders will result in kids on the LRA side being killed. Not attempting to capture or kill the leaders will result in kids on the LRA side being killed and killing others while they abduct more kids.
Sometimes there is no good answer and there really is just the better of two horrifically bad choices.
If the Ugandan Army is our best bet for forming a group that can take out the LRA then I think we should support them until that mission is accomplished. At which point we need to just as vocally and forcefully oppose the Ugandan Army's mistreatment of the people in and around Uganda. If that means replacing the leadership of the Ugandan Army and bringingin people from around the world to help the Ugandan people form a government and military that will not kill, abduct, and rape it's people then that's what should happen.
United Nations
This is stuff the whole world should agree on - and is the stuff the UN should be doing. THere is no better purpose for the UN than stopping this kind of stuff from happening. This is the stuff the UN security council should actually be fighting for. There should be no polticial grandstanding around it where one nation vetos an action becuase they have some financial or political opportunity for keeping some inhumane thugs in charge.
The guy in the video said he wants to leave the world a better place for his child. He has spent the last ten years of his life trying to do that in a way that he thinks will bring that about. You may not agree with his approach but his tenacity and willingness to at least try are comendable. Something has to be done. Doing nothing is NOT an option. The critic mentions that doing something isn't always better than doing nothing (and then links to a complaint about the Invisible Children group dated in 2007). Commentors on that complaint speak about how the people in Uganda are better equipped to solve their problems. They probably are. But the problem hasn't been solved. Should the rest of the world just sit back and wait? Hell no. It's time to find a good something and do it because the option right now is between having two child abducting rapist groups or just one. Half of all that evil is still evil but at least it's a little bit less of it.