US troops to enter Uganda

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

What are you trying to prove? That Uganda government have a very poor human rights record? We all know that already.

However, again, compare this LRA record. You still are going to claim both sides are equally "bad"?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

What are you trying to prove? That Uganda government have a very poor human rights record? We all know that already.

However, again, compare this LRA record. You still are going to claim both sides are equally "bad"?

We shouldn't be there. I'm proving that no matter whose in power or who we help, were just going to be proping up an authortatian regime.

[Link]

stop proping up radically homophobic regimes in the dead center of Africa.

Whoa!

I'm going to assume one of two things...

1) You don't have a passport and have never actually been to sub Saharan Africa.
2) You actually know something about the history and culture of at least a few black African people but have chosen to purposefully slander them with your gross distortion.

Having actually been to Africa and spoken with real live Africans I queried them about their antihomosexual laws.  The reason I asked was because there didn't seem to be any actual African homosexuals anywhere I went.  Indeed the people I spoke to were not aware of an equivalent word for homosexuality in their language.  It was not something they really thought about.  Upon further investigation a couple of them revealed that there was an issue with EUROPEAN tourists coming on sex vacations and enticing ($$) poor young boys to engage in that sort of behavior.  Obviously something had to be done.  The situation was further exacerbated when the AMERICAN fundamentalist Christian types showed up on the scene.  Well of course they started in with their whole homophobia schtick.  Since homosexuality was a foreign concept to these people it worked exceedingly well for the purposes of fundamentalist Christian Americans.  They could pack a church with all kinds of horror stories about homosexuals stealing young children.  That along with the sporadic urban legendesque story of a European that someone's cousin's friend's neighbor's mailman once saw enticing a boy with $$ led to the current state of affairs.  To somehow suggest that extremist homophobia in subSaharan Africa is some kind of home grown phenomenon in which Europe and America are blameless is a slur against the people of Africa.

What? Im talking about the government. Not the people, I have never heard of an openly gay Ugandan. I could do research on that, and find out if their actually is a major LBGT rights movement there. Are their homosexuals? I dont know. Its still illegal none the less.

Again I'm assuming you are saying this as someone who has never been anywhere near Uganda.  Anti-homosexual fervor has been whipped up in various African countries by fundamentalist American Christians.  Politicians in Africa are the same as politicians in America.  Once there is a boogeyman that their people have been duped into thinking is real they can be easily distracted from real problems.  Your claim that this whole anti-homosexual issue was cooked up in cultures that don't even have a word for homosexual is the height of western arrogance.



Church≠Government

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[Atlas Has Shrugged]

stop proping up radically homophobic regimes in the dead center of Africa.

Whoa!

I'm going to assume one of two things...

1) You don't have a passport and have never actually been to sub Saharan Africa.
2) You actually know something about the history and culture of at least a few black African people but have chosen to purposefully slander them with your gross distortion.

Having actually been to Africa and spoken with real live Africans I queried them about their antihomosexual laws.  The reason I asked was because there didn't seem to be any actual African homosexuals anywhere I went.  Indeed the people I spoke to were not aware of an equivalent word for homosexuality in their language.  It was not something they really thought about.  Upon further investigation a couple of them revealed that there was an issue with EUROPEAN tourists coming on sex vacations and enticing ($$) poor young boys to engage in that sort of behavior.  Obviously something had to be done.  The situation was further exacerbated when the AMERICAN fundamentalist Christian types showed up on the scene.  Well of course they started in with their whole homophobia schtick.  Since homosexuality was a foreign concept to these people it worked exceedingly well for the purposes of fundamentalist Christian Americans.  They could pack a church with all kinds of horror stories about homosexuals stealing young children.  That along with the sporadic urban legendesque story of a European that someone's cousin's friend's neighbor's mailman once saw enticing a boy with $$ led to the current state of affairs.  To somehow suggest that extremist homophobia in subSaharan Africa is some kind of home grown phenomenon in which Europe and America are blameless is a slur against the people of Africa.

What? Im talking about the government. Not the people, I have never heard of an openly gay Ugandan. I could do research on that, and find out if their actually is a major LBGT rights movement there. Are their homosexuals? I dont know. Its still illegal none the less.

Again I'm assuming you are saying this as someone who has never been anywhere near Uganda.  Anti-homosexual fervor has been whipped up in various African countries by fundamentalist American Christians.  Politicians in Africa are the same as politicians in America.  Once there is a boogeyman that their people have been duped into thinking is real they can be easily distracted from real problems.  Your claim that this whole anti-homosexual issue was cooked up in cultures that don't even have a word for homosexual is the height of western arrogance.



Church≠Government

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What are you getting at? Im 15. Ofcourse I have never been to Uganda. Im not blaming the people. Its the government. They are listening to these fundamentalist. I saw one of them debate Rachel Maddow. But the fact that the government listens to them is enough for me to say Uganda has a homophobic government. So strop trying to win this arguement, because neither of us seem to be debating anymore. Your just throwing out words like "racism, intolerance" and the like. Whats your point? You have none. Your just being condescending to me. Everything you say seems empty. Just loud noises (in a text format ).

[Link]

What are you getting at? Im 15. Ofcourse I have never been to Uganda.

By the time I was 15 I had been to Africa.  Plus I don't know how old people on this forum are unless they tell me.  But your age and lack of travel were the missing pieces of the puzzle.  Now I understand why you said what you said.

Your just throwing out words like "racism, intolerance" and the like.

Please quote for me where I used the words "racism" and "intolerance" in this thread so I may retract and apologize to you and all the other members of this forum.  Otherwise...

[Rochambeau jk I'm Hamilton]

Why is this justified involvement!?! Are they a THREAT to the USA? No. Are they a threat to our Allies? No.

Why are we doing this?

[Oakvale]

Why is this justified involvement!?! Are they a THREAT to the USA? No. Are they a threat to our Allies? No.

Why are we doing this?

I don't know man, I have an inkling that it's to try and stop one of the world's most brutal 'militias' raping and murdering people with wild abandon, but who knows, really?

[Rochambeau jk I'm Hamilton]

Oakvale: Go suck an egg, I know why he sent them there, but how does it benefit the US in doing that? People claim Iraq is unjust, than say this is?

[King]

1. Intelligent political elites come up with a catchphrase to dupe dumbs into voting for them ("Anti-imperialism," "fiscal responsibility")
2. Dumbs take it to extremes and form an ideology out of a fake idea
3. Politicians forced to take it to extremes and catchphrase becomes unbendable law
4. ? ? ? ? ?
5. No profits

[ingemann]

Oakvale: Go suck an egg, I know why he sent them there, but how does it benefit the US in doing that? People claim Iraq is unjust, than say this is?

Because it's incredible cheap PR, which at the same time have the benefit of making Uganda safer for American citizens and investments. To why USA do it now, well the main supporter of LRA was Sudan, with South Sudan independent, it's a perfect time to get rid of LRA. The question isn't why USA do this, the question is why any rational human being could be against it?

[John Dibble]

Sending a mere 100 military advisers is a cheap price to pay for getting rid of a brutal group of thugs that are terrorizing innocent civilians. Throw in the good PR it'll give our country and the deal gets even better. I'm for this.

[Rochambeau jk I'm Hamilton]

Why are we doing this?

I know why he sent them there. but how does it benefit the US in doing that? People claim Iraq is unjust, than say this is?

.

I, too, am skeptical about the utility of sending American military personnel to central Africa to pursue a small group of mass murderers.

But are you serious when you say that you have no idea why a small-scale humanitarian intervention could be in American interests? Or are you just trying to make a rhetorical point?

rhetorical point

[GMantis]

And here I was thinking that the US is doing it out of goodness of their heart:
http://www.economist.com/node/14177583?story_id=14177583&source=hptextfeature
Still, that's not too bad if they get rid of the LRA. Let's hope though, that this doesn't end in 2025 with the US embassy being evacuated by air while the LRA storms Kampala

[Stranger in a strange land]

Again, the LRA is a terrorist group, they have no international support to speak of, the ICC has issued a warrant for Kony, and the U.S. troops will not be engaging in combat operations.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Again, the LRA is a terrorist group, they have no international support to speak of, the ICC has issued a warrant for Kony, and the U.S. troops will not be engaging in combat operations.

We wont be engaging in combat---until LRA soldiers attack a convoy and we chase them into the bush. Then this cycle will repeat 1000 times.

[Insula Dei]

Again, the LRA is a terrorist group, they have no international support to speak of, the ICC has issued a warrant for Kony, and the U.S. troops will not be engaging in combat operations.

We wont be engaging in combat---until LRA soldiers attack a convoy and we chase them into the bush. Then this cycle will repeat 1000 times.

The LRA by and large doesn't do the 'attack convoy' schtick. They stick to what they know best: maiming, torturing and killing. 

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

If Kony is found, will it make any difference? Or can the LRA continue just as well without him?

[dead0man]

Sending a mere 100 military advisers is a cheap price to pay for getting rid of a brutal group of thugs that are terrorizing innocent civilians. Throw in the good PR it'll give our country and the deal gets even better. I'm for this.

Agreed.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If Kony is found, will it make any difference? Or can the LRA continue just as well without him?

Since the LRA is basically just a cult that follows Kony, taking him out should put an effective end to them. A lot like the Shining Path once their leader was captured and they crumbled almost instantly and then turned into a joke.

[The Mikado]

Yeah, the LRA isn't really organized the same way as groups like the Taliban or other enemies the US has fought of late.  It's an honest-to-God army that marches around burning down villages, kidnapping children, and mutilating and raping men and women.  What they do is not really "guerilla warfare."

Also, seriously, complaining about a detachment of 100 advisors is pretty ridiculous, especially when Kony has an indictment from the ICC.  He's a wanted criminal and he's being tracked down and brought to justice.

Also, I don't see how the merits of the Ugandan government matter one way or another in this situation.  It's the merits of the LRA that are relevant.