/edit: Originally posted on the other article, but I wrote a lot, so I'm reposting.

/edit2: Read The Graves Are Not Yet Full if you're interested in African issues. From Publisher's Weekly:

>"This is a book about evil." With these words, Berkeley launches into a gripping exploration of some of the worst African atrocities of the past 20 years, which he has covered as a journalist for the Atlantic Monthly and other publications. Focusing on several flash points the genocide in Rwanda, the political violence in Zaire and South Africa's apartheid killings, for instance he avers that the violence that has permeated these societies is born of the same evil that motivated Hitler to kill six million Jews: racially and ethnically based tyranny, which, he says, is the result of Western colonization, not "age-old" hatreds. Berkeley is at his best when he is reporting; he conducted interviews with African leaders, such as Liberia's Charles Taylor, with ordinary people and with high-level American officials involved in formulating African policy, like former Assistant Secretary of State Chester A. Crocker. He is particularly effective at pointing out the links between longstanding Western attitudes and policy and Africa's atrocities ("Tribalism solved the colonial dilemma of how to dominate and exploit vast numbers of indigenous inhabitants with a limited number of colonial agents"), and he shows how maniacal tyrants have exploited ethnic divisions. But the reader is still left wondering how so many people could have taken part in the mass killing of their own countrymen. Though Berkeley writes that "most African tribes live side by side without conflict," the book leaves the opposite impression. (Apr. 1)Forecast: This is one of several books about Africa due out this spring. Perhaps the critical mass will turn the interest of serious readers toward that strife-ridden continent.

I just want to point out that while there may be/are concerns with the Invisible Children campaign, I feel that people should be able to donate money to any cause they see fit. I don't think they are necessarily misrepresenting the dangers of the LRA, and if you watch the video, they clearly state that the LRA has moved out of Uganda. And they also state that they want to keep advisers, not necessarily start a military intervention with the US acting unilaterally or even leading.

As for the "national" politics of Africa (which is misleading in itself, since its like referring to the national politics of North America or Asia), of course there is major stability. European (and American) nations basically made the vast majority of Africa dependent on Europe and the US in order for these African 'countries' to survive, and once these nations stepped out, they left instability in their wake. A major cause of this instability is a result of the European division of Africa into countries in way that purposefully grouped peoples that fought against each other and divided those who allied with each other. Africa did not develop with huge ethnically-identifying groups, like Europe did, but rather many, many small groups with a shared history. No wonder political/social/military strife often crosses borders nowadays -- these borders were politically and imperialistically drawn, not a result of a natural progression. One can hardly act in one country (Uganda, for example) without affecting another country, as eluded to in the wiki article for the LRA (edit: this also supports the claim that the IC does not necessarily want direct military involvement since they support this action in the video):

>On October 14, 2011, President Obama announced that he had ordered the deployment of 100 U.S. military advisors (with a mandate to train, assist and provide intelligence) to help combat the Lord's Resistance Army.[66] It has been reported that the bulk of the troops are from the Army Special Forces.[66][67] Obama said that the deployment did not need explicit approval from Congress, as the 2010 Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act already authorized "increased, comprehensive U.S. efforts to help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability". The military advisors will be armed, and will provide assistance and advice, but "will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense". The advisers will operate in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, subject to approval by those states. The military advisors will not operate independently of the host states. Human Rights Watch welcomed the deployment, which they had previously advocated for.[68] General Carter Ham, the head of US Africa Command, said that his best estimate was that Joseph Kony was probably in the Central African Republic, not located in Uganda.

But I digress.

All of this is to say, whether or not you agree with the IC's Kony 2012 campaign, I think they have a right as a non-profit to get their message out. Of course their aim is going to be narrow and involve special interests, that's what non-profits are. As for their finances, that's up for the BBB to deal with, but people can give their money to what ever campaign they want to (look at Kanye's "charity"). And that's their choice, whether or not you agree.

I do agree that people should do their research and look into what they are supporting, but I think that one should critique the organization, not the idea. Yes, IC may be sketchy, but I think that it is important to get the word out about those committing crimes against humanity, even though it's a bit delayed (better late than never).

And by the way, the IC makes it very easy to get out the word on Kony without giving them any money (providing PDFs for free; posting the video; using social media; signing a petition) so I don't feel bad at all when I think that Kony should be apprehended for this:

>There are 33 charges, 12 counts are crimes against humanity, which include murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement and rape. There are another 21 counts of war crimes which include murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, and forced enlisting of children into the rebel ranks. Ocampo said that "Kony was abducting girls to offer them as rewards to his commanders."

In reply to wahoowa0711 on "Am I the only one who is suspicious about Invisible Children, the organisation behind Kony 2012?":

> /edit: Originally posted on the other article, but I wrote a lot, so I'm reposting.
>
> /edit2: Read The Graves Are Not Yet Full if you're interested in African issues. From Publisher's Weekly:
>
> >"This is a book about evil." With these words, Berkeley launches into a gripping exploration of some of the worst African atrocities of the past 20 years, which he has covered as a journalist for the Atlantic Monthly and other publications. Focusing on several flash points the genocide in Rwanda, the political violence in Zaire and South Africa's apartheid killings, for instance he avers that the violence that has permeated these societies is born of the same evil that motivated Hitler to kill six million Jews: racially and ethnically based tyranny, which, he says, is the result of Western colonization, not "age-old" hatreds. Berkeley is at his best when he is reporting; he conducted interviews with African leaders, such as Liberia's Charles Taylor, with ordinary people and with high-level American officials involved in formulating African policy, like former Assistant Secretary of State Chester A. Crocker. He is particularly effective at pointing out the links between longstanding Western attitudes and policy and Africa's atrocities ("Tribalism solved the colonial dilemma of how to dominate and exploit vast numbers of indigenous inhabitants with a limited number of colonial agents"), and he shows how maniacal tyrants have exploited ethnic divisions. But the reader is still left wondering how so many people could have taken part in the mass killing of their own countrymen. Though Berkeley writes that "most African tribes live side by side without conflict," the book leaves the opposite impression. (Apr. 1)Forecast: This is one of several books about Africa due out this spring. Perhaps the critical mass will turn the interest of serious readers toward that strife-ridden continent.
>
> I just want to point out that while there may be/are concerns with the Invisible Children campaign, I feel that people should be able to donate money to any cause they see fit. I don't think they are necessarily misrepresenting the dangers of the LRA, and if you watch the video, they clearly state that the LRA has moved out of Uganda. And they also state that they want to keep advisers, not necessarily start a military intervention with the US acting unilaterally or even leading.
>
> As for the "national" politics of Africa (which is misleading in itself, since its like referring to the national politics of North America or Asia), of course there is major stability. European (and American) nations basically made the vast majority of Africa dependent on Europe and the US in order for these African 'countries' to survive, and once these nations stepped out, they left instability in their wake. A major cause of this instability is a result of the European division of Africa into countries in way that purposefully grouped peoples that fought against each other and divided those who allied with each other. Africa did not develop with huge ethnically-identifying groups, like Europe did, but rather many, many small groups with a shared history. No wonder political/social/military strife often crosses borders nowadays -- these borders were politically and imperialistically drawn, not a result of a natural progression. One can hardly act in one country (Uganda, for example) without affecting another country, as eluded to in the wiki article for the LRA (edit: this also supports the claim that the IC does not necessarily want direct military involvement since they support this action in the video):
>
> >On October 14, 2011, President Obama announced that he had ordered the deployment of 100 U.S. military advisors (with a mandate to train, assist and provide intelligence) to help combat the Lord's Resistance Army.[66] It has been reported that the bulk of the troops are from the Army Special Forces.[66][67] Obama said that the deployment did not need explicit approval from Congress, as the 2010 Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act already authorized "increased, comprehensive U.S. efforts to help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability". The military advisors will be armed, and will provide assistance and advice, but "will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense". The advisers will operate in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, subject to approval by those states. The military advisors will not operate independently of the host states. Human Rights Watch welcomed the deployment, which they had previously advocated for.[68] General Carter Ham, the head of US Africa Command, said that his best estimate was that Joseph Kony was probably in the Central African Republic, not located in Uganda.
>
> But I digress.
>
> All of this is to say, whether or not you agree with the IC's Kony 2012 campaign, I think they have a right as a non-profit to get their message out. Of course their aim is going to be narrow and involve special interests, that's what non-profits are. As for their finances, that's up for the BBB to deal with, but people can give their money to what ever campaign they want to (look at Kanye's "charity"). And that's their choice, whether or not you agree.
>
> I do agree that people should do their research and look into what they are supporting, but I think that one should critique the organization, not the idea. Yes, IC may be sketchy, but I think that it is important to get the word out about those committing crimes against humanity, even though it's a bit delayed (better late than never).
>
> And by the way, the IC makes it very easy to get out the word on Kony without giving them any money (providing PDFs for free; posting the video; using social media; signing a petition) so I don't feel bad at all when I think that Kony should be apprehended for this:
>
> >There are 33 charges, 12 counts are crimes against humanity, which include murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement and rape. There are another 21 counts of war crimes which include murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, and forced enlisting of children into the rebel ranks. Ocampo said that "Kony was abducting girls to offer them as rewards to his commanders."
>

At 2012-03-07 15:48:40 UTC, bdobba wrote [+25 points: +32, -7]:

> > Yes, IC may be sketchy, but I think that it is important to get the word out about those committing crimes against humanity, even though it's a bit delayed (better late than never)
>
> I think one of the issues people are more concerned about is the possibility that this organisation is essentially a lobbying group designed to promote american military involvement in the central african region, especially because the recently passed 2009 Bill ,which the organisation has lobbied for extensively , states that it allows for:
>
> >(1) providing political, economic, military, and intelligence support for viable multilateral efforts to protect civilians from the Lord's Resistance Army, to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield in the continued absence of a negotiated solution, and to disarm and demobilize the remaining Lord's Resistance Army fighters
>
> Barry (linked in the original post) makes the point that:
>
> > ...This deadly bill clearly gives the President full authority to provide "military... support" to attack one thousand persona non grata that may be located in Uganda. However, they may also be located in nearby areas like the Sudan. Since a venue is not cleanly indicated in the language, any President could use this military authority to go into nearly any country in the region...
>
> To me it seems like the main purpose of this organisation is to support an Afghanistan style american intervention Uganda, whose mandate for military operation would extend to the surrounding regions. This combined with the increasing importance of the regions resources, specifically cobalt, copper and coltan as well as the growing chinese presence in Uganda in addition to neighbouring areas such as the DRC (Democratic republic of Congo) and Kenya gives the impression of geopolitical motives behind what seems like an innocuous campaign.

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History

• 2012-03-08 18:10:24 UTC [+25 points: +32, -7]
  
• 2012-03-08 18:41:41 UTC [+23 points: +32, -9]
  
• 2012-03-08 19:12:45 UTC [+24 points: +33, -9]