In Vast Jungle, U.S. Troops Aid in Search for Kony

Interesting Fact: Uganda is just south of Sudan (which was recently split into Oil Sudan and Non-Oil Sudan). Would make the perfect staging base for US operations into Oil Sudan right?

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I for one think we need to be operating on the African continent. We and the Russians abandoned them after the Cold War and now China is extracting African assets for pennies on the yuan. There are plenty of ops that provide good training and a base from which to deploy. I don't know if Kony is dead but there are sources that state he has not been seen in 5 or 6 years. If alive though, his death or capture makes for a worthwhile project.

The US Military has been making moves to go into Africa for years, its not talked about but we have bases in Africa that our Military use, don't want to go into too much detail though.

"Ad hoc global 'counter-terrorism' efforts that began under President George W. Bush, and were encouraged by Obama, have now become institutionalized -- and the bureaucracy that wages U.S. 'secret wars' will continue to expand for the next couple of years, particularly in Africa," Oxford Analytica observed in a recent assessment. "Reliance on Special Forces and the CIA will increase in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future as conventional force numbers decline and move into a supporting role." This marks a significant shift in the U.S.-led strategy in Afghanistan from conventional military power, as the Americans and their allies scale down forces in Afghanistan after an inconclusive 11-year-old war. As al-Qaida's organization has broken into regional networks because of heavy losses suffered by al-Qaida Central from drone strikes in Pakistan, these groups have become independent operationally and have had some successes in North and West Africa.

The Americans' ability to wage Special Operations wars on a global scale has been strengthened by the creation of relatively small, often unobtrusive, military bases. "Washington is in the process of a massive expansion of what are referred to internally as 'lily pads' that allow it a global strike capability," Oxford Analytica noted. These include facilities in Kenya, Uganda, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa. Western military sources say the Americans are seeking to establish a base in newly independent South Sudan as well. It's not hard to see why the Americans are suddenly so interested in Africa after virtually ignoring it for decades.

West Africa is emerging as a vital oil-producing zone, that's attracting China and India because of its mineral resources, including arable farmland, which they need to sustain their burgeoning economies. East Africa is on the cusp of a major oil and natural gas bonanza, which makes it of particular interest to Beijing and New Delhi because its energy and mineral wealth can be shipped directly eastward across the Indian Ocean. Some analysts view the Indian Ocean as a future conflict zone between China and India because of its sea lanes. In 2007, the United States inaugurated the Africa Command to coordinate U.S. military affairs with governments across a continent wracked for decades by war and famine.

Read more: U.S. expands its secret war in Africa - UPI.com

Clinton said the international community must stand up against extremists who she said are exploiting popular frustrations in the Middle East and North Africa. "Unity on this throughout the international community is crucial because extremists around the world are working hard to drive us apart. All of us need to stand together to resist these forces and to support democratic transitions underway in North Africa and the Middle East," she said.

Clinton said the Obama administration is trying to help societies leave behind old animosities, and look ahead to new opportunities, by backing reformers who build accountable institutions and combat the corruption that stifles innovation, initiative, and hope. "Countries that are focused more on fostering growth than fomenting grievance are racing ahead. Building schools instead of burning them. Investing in their people’s creativity, not inciting their rage." she said. "Opening their economies and societies to have more connections with the wider world, not shutting off the Internet or attacking embassies."

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Libyan city of Benghazi earlier this month following protests against an Internet video mocking the Prophet Muhammad that was produced by an anti-Muslim group in California. Civilians in Benghazi demonstrated against that violence Friday, showing what Clinton called their forceful rejection of extremists in their midst, reclaiming the honor and dignity of a courageous city.

"The democracy movements that have sprung up worldwide create exciting possibilities for countries that have been ruled for years by dictators. But they also pose, as we have dramatically seen, great challenges as people grapple with how to turn their democratic ideals into functioning governments and prosperous economies," she said. Clinton spoke at a development forum organized by her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, in conjunction with this week's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

Source

This is what it's all about people.

Before the discovery of huge oil deposits the U.S. could care less if all the Ugandan jungle bunnies killed each other by the tens of thousands.

But now Kony is suddenly terrorist #1 in Africa and we must do the humanitarian thing and help the people.


"Uganda has confirmed the discovery of an additional one billion barrels of oil in the country.

In 2010, it had announced it had discovered commercially viable deposits of 2.5 billion barrels.

However, the commissioner for petroleum exploration told the BBC that deposits were now at least 3.5 billion barrels"

BBC News - Uganda confirms new oil deposits

I'm going to defend th US on this one - I don't think the search for Koney has anything to do with oil, or with Somalia.

I think it is a genuinely humanitarian action, and one the US probably feels is due given th failure of US to play a part in Rwanda or Liberia recently.

The head of security for Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony was killed in a military operation Friday, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Defense. Kony’s rebel Lord's Resistance Army waged a bloody insurgency in northern Uganda for 20 years, before moving into neighboring countries in 2006. Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

He and small bands of LRA fighters have been moving between the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. Kony’s chief bodyguard was a man known as Brigadier Binani. He was also in charge of supplying child soldiers, says defense spokesman Felix Kulayigye. “He had been in charge of gathering food and collecting abducted children for Joseph Kony,” said Kulayigye.

Although no one knows for sure where Kony is hiding, Kulayigye says finding Binani means Ugandan forces are on the right track. “It is a big accomplishment. Once you get the chief bodyguard of the leader himself it means you are quite near. [And] two, it means that the intelligence being collected is good, and the collection methods are good as well,” added Kulayigye. In 2011, the hunt for Kony was given a boost when U.S. President Barack Obama sent a group of U.S. special forces to Uganda to help track him down.

Kulayigye says with Binani dead and LRA fighters defecting, the noose around Kony is tightening. “In addition to these ones who were killed and captured, a number of children and former abductees had been escaping," said Kulayigye. "So sooner or later the man either will commit suicide or will be captured or killed in action.” Last week, President Obama announced a cash reward would be offered for tips leading to Kony’s capture. At the moment, Kony is thought to be hiding out somewhere near the border of the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

Joseph Kony?s Bodyguard Killed in CAR

Last week, President Obama announced a cash reward would be offered for tips leading to Kony’s capture.