Blog Posts for 2011
We were one part incredulous and two parts scandalized by Limbaugh’s belief that the Lord’s Resistance Army was a pious group of Jesus-lovers that just wanted to help free the widows and orphans from the oppression of the Ugandan government. And he expressed this belief, on air, to his audience of approximately 13 million listeners.
We meant to blog about this earlier in the week, but, fortunately, other developments since Obama’s announcement have demanded our more immediate attention.
But it’s Friday, and so we’re going to do a little media round-up of what followed Limbaugh’s absurd commentary on the LRA.
Friday, October 14:
Hours after Obama’s letter to Congress is released (which lays out in plain language the murderous nature of the LRA), Rush Limbaugh goes on air with a bit titled “Obama invades Uganda, targets Christians.”
Excerpt: “So that’s a new war, a hundred troops to wipe out Christians in Sudan, Uganda, and — (interruption) no, I’m not kidding. Jacob Tapper just reported it.”
Several minutes later, Limbaugh, after a bit of confusion, says,
“Is that right? The Lord’s Resistance Army is being accused of really bad stuff? Child kidnapping, torture, murder, that kind of stuff? Well, we just found out about this today. We’re gonna do, of course, our due diligence research on it. But nevertheless we got a hundred troops being sent over there to fight these guys — and they claim to be Christians.”
Saturday, October 15:
Foreign Policy’s blog was one of the first to react with this piece that expressed the “Is this a joke, or did he really say that?” sentiment that everyone who is familiar with the LRA was feeling. Limbaugh’s statements were just too ludicrous to even fathom.
Tuesday, October 18:
Meet Evelyn Apoko, an escapee of the LRA. The Atlantic published an article with a video letter from Evelyn to Rush. She tells him that she can attest that Joseph Kony and the LRA are not Christians. “I know that there is nowhere in the Bible that says Christians should treat humans like animals. I have witnessed the spirit of Joseph Kony and it is not from God.” Then she advocates on behalf of the children who still live under the threat of the LRA: “I don’t want any more children to go through what I went through…We need a strong voice to help those atrocities which are continuing in the Congo.”
Wednesday, October 19:
Stephen Colbert brings us home, and I think we can call it a day. In a way that only Colbert can, he makes Rush Limbaugh look like a…well, like a fool. “That why it’s called ‘re-search.’ If you do it before, it’s called ‘pre-search.’”
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Friday, October 21:
We move on. And we work doubly hard, inspired by Evelyn’s efforts, to spread the truth about who the LRA is, and why something must be done to stop them.
-Azy
I think it’s safe to say that Members of Congress got a few more calls than normal yesterday! Thank you to everyone who participated!
BUT, if you didn’t get a chance to call your senators and representative yesterday, it’s not too late! Go ahead and call them today. What matters is that they hear, from as many people as possible, the same message– a hearty “thank you” for supporting the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act and a strong show of constituent support for the President’s decision to send advisers to central Africa.
If you’ve already called in your support, then take it to the next level and reach out to them via Facebook or Twitter. And don’t forget to encourage your family and friends to make calls, too.
Gaby Peguero lives in Virginia, and she made a phone call yesterday to her member of Congress, Rep. Bob Goodlatte. This is what she wrote to Resolve about her experience:
In a call to the office of Representative Goodlatte, I shared my gratitude for his support of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. The staffer on the other line responded by saying, ‘Wow! Thank you so much for letting us know. I will be sure to pass that on to him. We hardly ever receive any thank you calls….This means so much.’ It sounded like she was shocked to receive such a call, and she continued to express her thankfulness for it. I let her know that I wasn’t the only one who was thankful. There are quite a few other VERY happy constituents.”
See? Your congressmen want to hear from you. And your “thank you” will be a welcome change from the usual calls they get.
-Azy
We want to take a moment to send a huge “thank you” to our members of Congress who have already made statements in support of U.S. efforts to help end the threat of the LRA.
That’s one reason that today’s national call-in day is so important: it’s where our grassroots efforts can serve to remind policymakers that we want to see this strategy effectively through to completion.
Notice how support for the efforts to stop the LRA is coming from both sides of the aisle. There’s no better proof that this is a bipartisan issue:
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) released a statement and then spoke for 15 minutes on the Senate floor.
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs released a statement saying, “Joseph Kony and his followers are guilty of horrific crimes against humanity, and the international community has a responsibility to help protect innocent civilians. That’s why I support President Obama’s decision to deploy U.S. military personnel to central Africa to advise regional forces in their effort to counter the LRA and capture or kill Joseph Kony.”
Former Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), who co-drafted the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, expressed support in an interview.
Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) issued a joint statement.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said he “supports efforts to assist our partners in central Africa in combating the LRA” even as he criticized Obama for not consulting Congress before deploying 100 troops. We’re just grateful that Senator McCain is supportive of the overall intention.
The media attention that followed President Obama’s October 14 announcement is immeasurable. We can hardly keep up with our Google alerts…and that is a very good thing. Some misconceptions about why the U.S. is deploying advisers to central Africa have already arisen, and so it’s more important than ever to quell the misunderstandings by spreading the truth.
The media attention that followed President Obama’s October 14 announcement is immeasurable. We can hardly keep up with our Google alerts…and that is a very good thing. Some misconceptions about why the U.S. is deploying advisers to central Africa have already arisen, and so it’s more important than ever to quell the misunderstandings by spreading the truth.
So in addition to Members of Congress, we want to thank these thought-leaders for supporting U.S. efforts to stop Joseph Kony:
Jonah Goldberg, conservative journalist and author, wrote an editorial in the LA Times concluding that this is a purely humanitarian issue.
Sarah Margon and John Bradshaw, of the Center for American Progress and The Enough Project, respectively, co-authored this article for Think Progress.
Michael Gerson, President Bush’s former speech writer, wrote an editorial for the Washington Post.
J. Peter Pham wrote this thoughtful article for the Atlantic Council.
We express our sincerest thanks to everyone who has expressed their support publicly. This is nowhere near a comprehensive list, and nowhere near adequate thanks, but it’s a start.
-Azy
P.s. Don’t forget to call in today and thank your senators and congressman!
It’s been a historic week at Resolve. Just days ago, President Obama announced his decision to send a team of advisers to central Africa — an unprecedented act of U.S. leadership to help protect civilians from LRA violence and capture Joseph Kony. Mainstream media has put a spotlight on the LRA like never before, and more people than ever are learning about Joseph Kony’s terrors.
In the midst of all the excitement, one thing is for certain: you made this possible. Your voice is powerful and it can move things in Washington. This week proved it.
Now, we’re asking you to use your voice one more time to ensure that Congress continues to work with the President — and all of us — to see LRA violence ended. Starting today, join our nationwide call-in campaign.
Take just two minutes today. Give your representatives a ring and letting them know just how excited you are about the President’s announcement. Here’s all you need to do:
#1: Click here to where you can enter your zip code to get the contact info for your Representative and two Senators.
#2: Take two minutes and make those phone calls. It’s a simple message of appreciation, and there’s a sample script on our site if you’re feeling a little nervous.
#3: After you’re done, share the love with everyone else by posting a comment on our Facebook page.
Remember: a little thank you goes a long way. Ready, set, GO.
- Lisa
We’ve blogged before about how much we admire Discover the Journey’s (DTJ) work and treasure their friendship. Their most recent video, “Reportage: Let the World Know,” gives a Camboni nun named Sister Giovanna the chance to give testimony of LRA atrocities and appeal for help on behalf of affected communities in the region. She appeals to our common humanity, in spite of the distance between us, on the grounds of brotherhood and sisterhood. Senator Inhofe referenced Sister Giovanna on the Senate floor yesterday, reading aloud her horrific descriptions of how the LRA kills and mutilates civilians — including children.
Sister Giovanna is just one example that the people — and governments — of central Africa are fervently requesting the world’s help to stop Joseph Kony and protect civilians from LRA violence. For years they have been asking for help, and President Obama’s recent decision to send 100 advisers to the region is proof that their voices are finally being heard, thanks in large part to artists and storytellers like the team at DTJ and to advocates like you.
Soak in this beautiful piece of film that thoughtfully serves to magnify Sister Giovanna’s voice:
DTJ’s blog on Sister Giovanna and the video:
DTJ is honored to present our first Reportage piece profiling Sister Giovanna, a Camboni nun the DTJ team met in South Sudan last year. Sister Giovanna has lived through several decades of violence committed by the LRA and has watched friends survive mutilation, abduction and has grieved the deaths of those lost to the LRA side by side with Ugandans, Congolese and Sudanese. Her perspective is unique as she is a rare foreigner who has closely witnessed the long path of atrocities committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army during her over 25 years of living and serving in Africa. Just yesterday, Senator Inhofe read a letter from Sister Giovanna to the Senate, describing in detail the horror of the LRA, coming on the heels of President Obama’s recent decision to send 100 US advisers to the region to address the ongoing violence and stop the terror of Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, which our friends at Resolve and Invisible Children have been working tirelessly for. As Sister Giovanna asked DTJ to share her words with the world, we hope you will too. She asks what brother and sister really mean unless, she says, we actually DO something. Could this recent development be that something? At least the beginning? We hope so.
And look for more posts from the Reportage series over the coming months.
-Azy
ABC’s Jake Tapper had an exclusive interview with President Obama. Tapper asked him about his recent decision to send 100 military advisers to help the central African governments combat the threat of the LRA, and President Obama gave an eloquent and informed response that is copied below. This is huge. It’s one thing for President Obama’s office to write a letter to Congress. It’s quite another for the President to explain to the press, in his own words, in a face-to-face interview, the horrific nature of the LRA, his conviction that Kony must be stopped, and that sending military advisers is the best first step towards that end.
This is monumental. Truly…monumental.
-Azy
Here’s the interview from ABC.com:
On Friday we learned that President Obama authorized the deployment of 100 Special Forces troops to Central Africa, to help regional armies remove from the battlefield senior leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which is known for committing horrific crimes as well as using child soldiers.
Today in our exclusive interview with President Obama, I asked about the “process of agreeing to deploy troops in a situation like this where you know that these Special Forces might have to return fire and they might be firing upon child soldiers. How difficult is that as a decision to make?”
The president responded that “none of these decisions are easy. But those who are familiar with the Lord’s Resistance Army and their leader, Mr. Coney [sic], know that these are some of the most vicious killers, they terrorize villages, they take children into custody and turn them into child soldiers, they engage in rape and slaughter in villages they go through. They have been a scourge on Uganda and that entire region, Eastern Africa.
“So there has been strong bi-partisan support and a coalition — everything from evangelical Christians to folks on the left and human rights organizations — who have said it is an international obligation for us to try to take them on,” he continued. “And so given that bipartisan support across the board belief that we have to do something about this, what we’ve done is we’ve provided these advisers, they are not going to be in a situation where they are called upon to hunt down the Lord’s Resistance Army or actively fire on them, but they will be in a position to protect themselves.
“What they can do is provide the logistical support that is needed, the advice, the training and the logistical support that hopefully will allow this kind of stuff to stop,” he said.
Everybody can use a bit of moral support now and then. President Obama and our Congressmen could use some this week. On Friday, the President announced that he would be deploying 100 advisers to help apprehend Joseph Kony and stop the LRA, in response to the bill that we worked so hard to pass last year. So let’s tell our president and policymakers that we’re in their corner on this issue.
Invisible Children made this video clearing up some misconceptions about what these advisers will be doing once they get to central Africa, and the folks at IC came up with a great way to show our support. Basically, take a picture of yourself holding a sign that says “Mr. President, I support your efforts to stop the #LRA.”
Notice how beautifully Michael and Lisa and instagram demonstrated their support. If you go to IC’s flickr site, you will find that more than 1,500 people have already shown their support this way. So once you’ve taken a picture of yourself holding that sign, make it your Facebook profile pic, then email your picture to president@invisiblechildren.com so that you can be sure that your support will be added to that of your peers, and President Obama will see that.
Stay tuned…we have more ideas of how we can show our support for this hugely important decision.
-Azy
Yesterday Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) made a statement on the Senate floor expressing his support for President Obama’s decision to send 100 advisers to central Africa. He laid out the unique features of the LRA conflict that warrant U.S. intervention and provided context for the 25 year war. He also took time to correct misconceptions that the Obama Administration is sending in combat troops. “We are not at war with them. We are specifically precluding our troops from any kind of combat in that area.”
He emphasized that U.S. help has been repeatedly requested and is now welcomed by the region. Removing Joseph Kony from the battle field is a top priority for the presidents of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the newly-born South Sudan.
With the testimony of our friend and hero Sister Giovanna, and the aid of some unsettling images of mutilated civilians—cut-off lips, ears, hands, and noses—he drove home his point that LRA violence is exceptionally brutal and the victims are often children.
You can watch his statement here:
We found these remarks especially compelling:
“…This guy here with his nose cut off, his ears cut off, his hands cut off, all of this, this is going on today, right now, this moment as we’re speaking.
So I stand behind the president in his decision…I don’t very often stand behind this president, but I do in this case because we passed it without a dissenting vote. Every member in here, there is not one that voted against it, so let’s keep that in mind that that’s the truth about what is happening now with the LRA [emphasis mine].
With that, I yield the floor.”
Senator Inhofe continues to be a strong Congressional champion in the effort to end LRA violence. He spoke eloquently and truthfully yesterday, and we offer our deep gratitude to him and to his staff for their unrelenting commitment to stopping Joseph Kony and seeking justice for the families who have been affected by this crisis. Thank you, Senator Inhofe!
-Azy
Photo credit: US Army
Earlier today, we told you about the exciting White House announcement that a team of U.S. military advisers will soon deploy to central Africa to strengthen regional efforts to protect civilians from LRA violence and bring senior LRA commanders to justice.
Soon after we received word of today’s announcement, Resolve’s Director of Advocacy, Paul Ronan, attended a White House briefing with senior Administration officials to discuss this new development. We want to share with you a bit about what Paul learned and bring further clarity to what this announcement means.
So for starters, let’s clarify exactly what was announced today.
The White House officially stated today that the U.S. plans to send military advisers to LRA-affected areas of central Africa. In a letter to Congress today, President Obama explained that, “these forces will act as advisers to partner forces that have the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership of the LRA. Our forces will provide information, advice, and assistance to select partner nation forces.”
Ok, let’s stop there for a moment. It’s important to recognize that the U.S. is not deploying combat troops, as some recent media headlines have mistakenly stated. President Obama went on to emphasize in his letter that these U.S. forces “will only be providing information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces, and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense.”
So let’s put that fire out right now. This was not an announcement about the deployment of U.S. combat troops to take out Kony. Moving on.
At the White House briefing today and in a statement from the State Department, Administration officials stressed that the deployment of these advisers is one component in a broader effort by the State Department to implement President Obama’s LRA strategy, released last November. They also emphasized that the Obama Administration plans for these advisers to focus equally on efforts to improve civilian protection and encourage defection of LRA combatants, as well as on the apprehension of Joseph Kony and top LRA commanders.
So to put all of this in perspective, we’ll say this: today’s announcement is a big deal – and very encouraging. As we mentioned today in a joint press release with our friends at Invisible Children, The Enough Project, and The Voice Project, the deployment of U.S. advisers shows decisive leadership from President Obama to help regional governments see an end to LRA violence once and for all.
We can also say with confidence that this new display of U.S. leadership toward the LRA crisis is in large part due to the committed efforts from hundreds of thousands of young activists across the country and key champions in Congress.
There is still much more to push for in the coming months in order to see the President’s LRA strategy adequately implemented, but today’s announcement should provide all of us with a renewed understanding of the power we have to move things in Washington and put peace within reach for LRA-affected communities.
- Lisa
P.S. Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them below — but let’s keep it civil, folks.
Resolve joined with partner human rights groups to release a joint statement welcoming today’s announcement that the Obama administration will be deploying military advisers to central Africa, where they will help regional governments protect communities vulnerable to LRA attacks and bring Joseph Kony and other LRA commanders to justice.
We would happily re-post President Obama’s letter to Congress in its entirety, but for brevity’s sake we’ll just give you this teaser and encourage you to read it yourself:
“I believe that deploying these U.S. Armed Forces furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy and will be a significant contribution toward counter LRA efforts in central Africa….The total number of U.S. military personnel deploying for this mission is approximately 100. These forces will act as advisors to partner forces that have the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership of the LRA. Our forces will provide information, advice, and assistance to select partner nation forces.”
This is a historic step forward for efforts to end LRA atrocities. Though these advisers are not a silver bullet for ending the crisis, we support their deployment for several reasons.
First, they can help fill a huge intelligence gap. By connecting U.S. military advisers with regional militaries tasked with protecting civilians and pursuing Joseph Kony and his top commanders, the U.S. can help them respond faster to LRA attacks on civilians and reports of LRA commander locations.
Second, U.S. advisers will be able to investigate reports of human rights abuses by government militaries and (hopefully) hold them accountable to a higher human rights standard as they interact with civilians across the region. Local communities have been increasingly concerned about this.
And third, U.S. budget resources devoted to the conflict are limited. These military advisers will be well-situated to advise the most effective way to use these limited resources to support regional efforts.
Our Directory of Advocacy, Paul Ronan, was invited to a special briefing in the White House just before the announcement was made. Officials at the briefing emphasized that the deployment of military advisers is just part of broader White House efforts to implement the Obama Administration’s comprehensive LRA Strategy. The Obama administration released a four-pronged strategy in November of last year in compliance with the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009, which was unanimously passed by Congress in May 2010. Referring to this bill, Obama said in his letter, “Congress also expressed support for increased, comprehensive U.S. efforts to help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability.”
We are also pleased to hear that White House officials are emphasizing that improving protection of civilians and encouraging LRA fighters to defect, two of the four strategic objectives of President Obama’s LRA strategy, will be keystones of the advisers’ portfolio. The administration has also announced plans to boost civilian early-warning systems by expanding mobile phone and radio networks in LRA-affected areas.
This is the one of the biggest concrete step that the Obama Administration has taken towards ending the LRA conflict. We hope that this is just the beginning of a series of concrete steps. Experience has taught us that we are going to have to apply constant pressure if we hope to see action. So that’s what we’ll keep doing. But this is a great start.
-Azy
Photo credit: Associated Press