I've had a couple of people ask me what I think about the president using American forces to help capture Joseph Kony, a fair question in light of my well-known (at least for people that actually read my articles) anti-war, non-interventionist views.
The short answer?
Joseph Kony is an evil monster. President Obama has charted a reasonable course of action in sending military advisers to help the Ugandan army capture him. Rush Limbaugh is an idiot for defending Kony and accusing Obama of sending American troops to kill Christians. (In Limbaugh Land, with Obama being a Muslim and all, of course he's out to kill Christians)
If you're unfamiliar with Kony's crimes, watch this video:
KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
As for how do I reconcile my (semi) pacifist views with supporting the use of (limited) force to capture a war criminal....
That's a much bigger discussion, but if I could sum it up in a few words I would say that every ideology has its limits. Ideologies are useful only to the extent that they promote actual justice in the real world. When ideological purity gets in the way of justice, that's when ideological purity needs to be set aside.
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2 comments:
I struggle being the 'world police' when we have so many issues in the home front. But I also think standing by and watching crimes against children happen is horrible. But again, we have issue at home also that need to be addressed. I dont know much about Kony but im careful not to jump on the band wagon of the month.
The US Government has been sending money and military 'advisers' since 2008 to help bring him down. Uganda needs to take its own trash out. I guess in short I would not support sending our military men and women in harms way to take care of him. Its time for someone else to step up to the plate.
Hi Andy,
It's great to hear from you. I TOTALLY get where you're coming from. I've known about Kony for a long time because of my travels to Africa (including Uganda). Because this is such an extreme situation, I don't think the President is being unreasonable in his course of action. On the other hand, I'm not sure why we can't provide training and support to the African Union to take care of this matter. As you said, "It's time for someone else to step up to the plate." That's hard to argue with.
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