But...
I keep having this nagging thought, what happens after you remove Kony? It feels very like the Iraq invasion of a decade or so ago
ok, now we won, removed Saddam, now what?
So how do you bring peace and stability to a corner of the world that is still very feudal and fractured along religious and ethnic lines?
Looking at the individual pieces...
The Local Area
The conflict in the region has been going on for over two decades. What happens to the vacuum when you remove Kony, likely someone else, also as unsavoury as Kony, will step in. The LRA will likely disperse and join other factions. I doubt very much it will end the war or bring peace and stability to the region. All that happen is that we'll have a Joe Warlord 2013 campaign.
The Politics
I'm not saying Kony 2012 should be dismissed, but politicians want the quick hit in the polls, and are looking to maximize their political capital from it. The less glamorous side of actually helping people isn't political dynamite as grabbing one high profile chap and then bugging out is.
I would like to see a cohesive plan of engagement and assistance on all levels. Problem is how to get the morons that are in it for the flashing light bulbs to see that. What happens if the US gets involved in peacekeeping in Uganda, providing boots on the ground to keep people safe. Either we go all in or we don't go in at all. It's not fair to the people to go in as long as it's popular or convenient as evidenced by the first gulf war and what happened to the Kurds afterwards.
The Vision
It's a good idea in principle, though I think it lacks depth of vision, so.... you arrest Kony and extradite him to the ICC.... ok....now what? Come to think about it the US isn't even a member.
Does Obama issue a capture/kill order? So now we execute people based on a verdict handed down in the court of public opinion and not a court of law?
How do you stop the next warlord assuming the space left by him? A lot of people are so focused on grabbing Kony, but what about the day after? Or will this be Iraq Mk2? Kony is just one piece of the puzzle, what really needs to happen is empowerment of the local people, give them the protection, tools, and education to be able to govern themselves in a structured plan. Don't just go in, grab kony, and go home.
The How
Easy peasy...there is a Reaper base in Djibouti :)
People need to get over the armchair activism idea and start thinking a little further than the initial goal.
Looking at the individual pieces...
The Local Area
The conflict in the region has been going on for over two decades. What happens to the vacuum when you remove Kony, likely someone else, also as unsavoury as Kony, will step in. The LRA will likely disperse and join other factions. I doubt very much it will end the war or bring peace and stability to the region. All that happen is that we'll have a Joe Warlord 2013 campaign.
The Politics
I'm not saying Kony 2012 should be dismissed, but politicians want the quick hit in the polls, and are looking to maximize their political capital from it. The less glamorous side of actually helping people isn't political dynamite as grabbing one high profile chap and then bugging out is.
I would like to see a cohesive plan of engagement and assistance on all levels. Problem is how to get the morons that are in it for the flashing light bulbs to see that. What happens if the US gets involved in peacekeeping in Uganda, providing boots on the ground to keep people safe. Either we go all in or we don't go in at all. It's not fair to the people to go in as long as it's popular or convenient as evidenced by the first gulf war and what happened to the Kurds afterwards.
The Vision
It's a good idea in principle, though I think it lacks depth of vision, so.... you arrest Kony and extradite him to the ICC.... ok....now what? Come to think about it the US isn't even a member.
Does Obama issue a capture/kill order? So now we execute people based on a verdict handed down in the court of public opinion and not a court of law?
How do you stop the next warlord assuming the space left by him? A lot of people are so focused on grabbing Kony, but what about the day after? Or will this be Iraq Mk2? Kony is just one piece of the puzzle, what really needs to happen is empowerment of the local people, give them the protection, tools, and education to be able to govern themselves in a structured plan. Don't just go in, grab kony, and go home.
The How
Easy peasy...there is a Reaper base in Djibouti :)
People need to get over the armchair activism idea and start thinking a little further than the initial goal.
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