Kony 2012

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:13 AM, joshuatxuk said:

 

"this is necessary to secure LCD+Hot Chip tickets"

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:13 AM, joshuatxuk said:

^Didn't know about that guy. Reminds me of the Swedish pilot who smuggled relief supplies into Biafra, then imported small rocket-armed planes in order to fly air raids against the Nigerian Air Force.

 

Thanks for info disparaissant. Coincidently I saw some Today Show feature a day or two ago about Sundanese civilians being attacked in air strikes on the Sudan/South Sudan border. They interviewed "Nuba rebels" at one point as well as an Invisible Children volunteer in the region. I think the rebels they interviewed might be SPLA or SPLA affiliated, but I don't know. Searched around, and sure enough, there are claims the SPLA and Invisible Children are quite close, with this blog post (This blog has a decent amount of good links about "Kony 2012" in the context of what is actually going on, and suggested donating to Child Soldiers International instead.

 

From the blog post: "Whether we agree or disagree with Invisible Children's methods or motives one thing is apparent - they have at least succeeded in refreshing international interest an opprobium on some of these abominable practices." I can't comment on the SPLA thing - all there was in the blog post was a vague accusation and a picture taken out of context.

disparaissant - they are not calling for US military intervention. They are asking for US to offer expertise in training the Ugandan army.

no, they are asking for US military advisors to oversee and help the ugandan military until kony is killed or captured. that is direct military intervention.

that's exactly what led to the vietnam war, lol.

Uh the Vietnamese revolution was underway long before the Americans got their heads stuck in that mess. Additionally, this is not even comparable as their is no overarching "enemy" like the Communist "threat".

The sending of advisers is not direct military intervention - direct military intervention is sending armed troops into battle, or bombing raids.

the us involvement in vietnam started with us sending ARVN military advisors after the french left because navarre got his ass handed to him at dien bien phu.

and no, sending in advisors to take command of a unit absolutely is direct military intervention. it is the US military sending over officers to tell foreign soldiers what to do. that is armed sending troops into battle. true, the bulk of the unit may not be US soldiers, but US soldiers will be involved in the fighting, on a direct basis. that is how military advising works.

and either way, when you consider the demographic makeup of the LRA, it is putting us soldiers in the position of considering children a viable military target. that kind of seems counter to what the group is all about.

US involvement in vietnam started out that way, but US involvement was not the start of the war. US involvement here is not the start of the war.

We'll have to agree to disagree. The US soldiers on the ground are from all I've read, unarmed. They are not taking command - they are working with the Ugandan military in an advisory capacity. That to me is not direct intervention.

edit: gotta put the kid to bed, so I'm sure the discussion will have advanced in the meantime. i think I've made my views known so I'll bow out now.

well i mean technically speaking, us involvement was the start of a whole new war. there was the geneva accords in 1954 and all. which we then (of course) openly violated to install a catholic zealot dictator that nobody like oh GOD it was such a stupid can of worms to open.

unless you count us basically bankrolling france.

and also

  Quote

"Although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice and assistance to partner nation forces and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense," Obama said.

so fair enough, though i frankly don't believe for a second that they will stick to that.

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:13 AM, joshuatxuk said:

 

 

^

I've never seen three people so heavily armed and yet so unthreatening.

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:20 AM, dr lopez said:

"this is necessary in order to acquire LCD+Hot Chip tickets"

rlol

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:57 AM, chenGOD said:

US involvement in vietnam started out that way, but US involvement was not the start of the war. US involvement here is not the start of the war.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree. The US soldiers on the ground are from all I've read, unarmed. They are not taking command - they are working with the Ugandan military in an advisory capacity. That to me is not direct intervention.

Yeah I'm with Chen on this one. Deploying advisers is a step above sending CIA field agents and diplomatic coxing, because they're likely from US army special operations units (the Green Berets) and therefore there's more to be help accountable in the press if they are killed or die in non-combat situations (i.e. a helicopter crash). But Green Berets are regularly deployed to advise worldwide, in fact they've trained sub-Saharan African military forces for years. It's most likely they're drilling the Ugandan army to how to conduct basic maneuvers and at most COIN operations. Like here in Chad in 2005:

I highly doubt they will command any Ugandan soldiers directly in combat, it's possible but unlikely imo. In fact, I'd bet the current contingency plan would be how to get them and US nationals out of the country if the country spirals out of control. And I would expect us to simply bankroll France, which regularly steps in to conduct combat operations when civil wars occur in its former colonies. Or beef up UN forces. In fact, 6 Guatemalan soldiers were ambushed and killed by the LRA back in 2006. Some speculate they were attempting to capture or kill a top LRA leader. That particular Guatemalan unit is a pretty fearless spec op force that regularly fights drug cartels domestically. That incident is more "action" than what usual UN peacekeeping operations face. So I don't expect U.S. forces to do any combat raids or air strikes in the continent unless it involves the "War On Terror" in the Horn of Africa. At most, it'd be the Libya experience all over again...supplies, air cover, and monitoring.

Bah, got timed out on my edit, let me rephrase the part about France - this isn't a region they historically operate in (instead of say, the Ivory Coast or Chad), so we'd instead support the UN forces and African coalitions that are already operating on behalf of Uganda. Also, even though that Guatemala unit I mentioned was killed fighting the LRA they were actually in Congo, not Uganda.

  On 3/8/2012 at 2:46 PM, roasty said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdkI-PoVo64

Word

Same guy out of character:

Hahah couldnt put it better

LOL

Nothing is sacred or true or real with internet!

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:38 PM, Kanakori said:

Hahah couldnt put it better

Pretty sure it was meant as a joke, anyone who believes that is fucking retarded

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:52 PM, roasty said:

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:38 PM, Kanakori said:

Hahah couldnt put it better

 

Pretty sure it was meant as a joke, anyone who believes that is fucking retarded

It totally is, but then again, it reinforces the point that most people don't comprehend the actual reasoning and goals of our diplomatic and military leaders, including many activists and politicians. That "conversation" wouldn't be too far off from the real thing to a certain degree.

  On 3/8/2012 at 3:36 PM, vasio said:

  On 3/8/2012 at 2:46 PM, roasty said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdkI-PoVo64

 

Word

Word indeed, but hard to share with many of my friends because he is kinda hard to listen to and take seriously...

See the other vid I posted, it's the same guy/rant without the wigger alter-ego

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:52 PM, roasty said:

  On 3/8/2012 at 4:38 PM, Kanakori said:

Hahah couldnt put it better

 

Pretty sure it was meant as a joke, anyone who believes that is fucking retarded

I don't say its like that, especially in this case, but its very possible AND doable. Internet propaganda and viral videos are the new thing to influence the masses. If you were informed about the influence of China in Africa in the last 10 years at least you wouldnt say that with such an assertive tone.

Sorry for posting a shitty internet meme.

  On 3/8/2012 at 2:46 PM, roasty said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdkI-PoVo64