President Obama references the mission to stop the LRA

President Obama referenced the mission to stop the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday. This is a big sign that things are going well.

“And when I decide to stand up for foreign aid, or prevent atrocities in places like Uganda, or take on issues like human trafficking, it’s not just about strengthening alliances, or promoting democratic values, or projecting American leadership around the world, although it does all those things and it will make us safer and more secure. It’s also about the biblical call to care for the least of these — for the poor; for those at the margins of our society.”

Read the full transcript of President Obama’s speech here via The Washington Post.

ABC Exclusive: President Obama Talks About Sending Special Forces to Uganda

ABC News have posted an exclusive interview transcript with President Obama, where he talks about the sweeping bi-partisan support of this issue and the efforts of everyone “from evangelical Christians to folks on the left and human rights organizations” that put an emphasis on the LRA conflict. – AN-H

via ABC News

On Friday we learned that President Obama authorized the deployment of 100 Special Forces troops to Central Africa, to help regional armies remove from the battlefield senior leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, which is known for committing horrific crimes as well as using child soldiers.

Today in our exclusive interview with President Obama, I asked about the “process of agreeing to deploy troops in a situation like this where you know that these Special Forces might have to return fire and they might be firing upon child soldiers. How difficult is that as a decision to make?”

The president responded that “none of these decisions are easy. But those who are familiar with the Lord’s Resistance Army and their leader, Mr. Kony, know that these are some of the most vicious killers, they terrorize villages, they take children into custody and turn them into child soldiers, they engage in rape and slaughter in villages they go through. They have been a scourge on Uganda and that entire region, Eastern Africa.

“So there has been strong bi-partisan support and a coalition — everything from evangelical Christians to folks on the left and human rights organizations — who have said it is an international obligation for us to try to take them on,” he continued. “And so given that bipartisan support across the board belief that we have to do something about this, what we’ve done is we’ve provided these advisers, they are not going to be in a situation where they are called upon to hunt down the Lord’s Resistance Army or actively fire on them, but they will be in a position to protect themselves.

“What they can do is provide the logistical support that is needed, the advice, the training and the logistical support that hopefully will allow this kind of stuff to stop,” he said.

– Jake Tapper

Senator James Inhofe (R) speaks in support of LRA decision

Today, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, one of the biggest proponents of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, took to the Senate floor to discuss President Obama’s decision on Friday.

“I don’t very often stand with this president, but I do in this case because we passed it without a dissenting vote. Every member in here, there is not one that voted against it. So let’s keep that in mind that that’s the truth about what is happening right now with the LRA.”

You can watch Senator Inhofe’s speech in its entirety on the C-SPAN page.

The Huffington Post: Obama Made the Right Decision in Africa, Here’s Why…

If we want the world to behave differently, we have to understand why this is important.  Please read and share this.

Obama Made the Right Decision in Africa, Here’s Why…

by Jedidiah Jenkins

I, and my colleagues at Invisible Children, have worked on the issue of the violent rebel group The Lord’s Resistance Army (“The LRA”) for 8 years. They have raped, murdered, and mutilated their way through central Africa for 26 years. There are few people in the world who know more about them and their pervasive brutality than we do and I applaud this new and decisive action taken by our President.

Yesterday, President Obama announced that his administration is deploying around 100 troops to a region in central Africa that has been brutalized by the LRA and their violent cult leader Joseph Kony.

These troops will work alongside the regional efforts already underway to protect civilians from LRA atrocities and to remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield.

The addition of well-trained and well-equipped US Military personnel will give the ongoing efforts a much greater chance at success. The President should be applauded, the troops should be honored and the United States should be proud of undertaking a larger role in this global and local coalition for the following reasons:

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Help support Obama’s decision of sending advisory troops to apprehend Joseph Kony

Watch. And show your support on this non-partisan issue. It is not another war. It is not a political issue. It is a human issue.

President Obama Targets LRA from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Share the impact that young people are making.

Official Statement from Invisible Children Regarding President Obama’s Action Against LRA

Hundreds of Thousands of Young Americans Applaud Obama’s Actions to Stop The LRA

“Today’s announcement from The White House that Barack Obama is sending 100 military advisors and troops to help stop the LRA is a huge victory for the hundreds of thousands of young Americans who have been lobbying Washington to take action against this brutal rebel group.” – Ben Keesey, CEO Invisible Children.

Over 230,000 youth have rallied three times with Invisible Children demanding action. This culminated in the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act that was passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support last year by both houses. It was the most widely supported African issue legislation in modern American history.

The comprehensive strategy taken by the Obama Administration to stop the LRA violence has been thoughtfully planned for the last year and a half following the passing of the bill. The military deployment today is just one piece in the overall structure of disarming the LRA and stopping their 26 year-long reign of terror and destabilization in the region.

We have seen first hand the need for greater action against the LRA, which is why we strongly applaud this deployment today. In 2008, Invisible Children Founder, Jason Russell, was invited into the LRA’s camp in Garamba National Forest in the D.R.C. This experience profoundly shaped our view of the LRA and our commitment to see the apprehension of the top leadership and the rehabilitation of the abducted child soldiers.

Right now estimates show that the LRA numbers are between 250-400 individuals. They are responsible for the abduction and murder of thousands. Their victims have been some of the most ignored and under-protected individuals in modern history, and America’s lead in protecting them is a deeply moving statement to the world. Specific and confirmed reports of incidents involving LRA violence can be found at LRACrisisTracker.com and a short video explaining the LRA and their origins and tactics can be found here: http://www.lracrisistracker.com/media/video/who-lra

Combining last year’s legislation and The President’s actions in support of peace in Central Africa, we see an America poised to be recognized as a supporter of lasting solutions and stability around the world.

“To be clear, the 100 troops deployed are being sent in an advisory role, to support and augment the Ugandan Military with technology and strategy. They will not be involved in any offensive action. So any reference to an invasion or new war by the United States is absolutely ridiculous. This is a step in the right direction that we should all be proud of as Americans.” Jedidiah Jenkins, Director of Ideology, Invisible Children.

This bi-partisan issue has gained the support of Americans on all sides of the political spectrum. A driving force behind the legislation, Republican Senator Jim Inhofe said today:

“I applaud our nation’s military for making this a priority and taking the steps outlined in our legislation that will eventually protect the children and people from Joseph Kony’s reign of terror.”

This is a well-reasoned action step that improves the brand and virtue of American diplomacy, and Invisible Children’s base of hundreds of thousands of supporters are celebrating The President’s action today.

-Invisible Children

Press Contacts:

Invisible Children Phone Number for Press Inquiries: 619-562-2799

Ben Keesey, CEO, Invisible Children. ben@invisiblechildren.com

Kimmy Vanidvort, Executive Assistant, Invisible Children. kimmy@invisiblechildren.com

Jedidiah Jenkins, Director of Ideology, Invisible Children jedidiah@invisiblechildren.com

Top U.S. Africa official Johnnie Carson on the record about U.S. efforts to stop LRA violence

From Resolve:

On April 14, Johnnie Carson, the State Department’s top Africa official, testified before the Senate subcommittee on Africa regarding President Obama’s 2012 budget request for Africa. With some members of Congress looking to slash foreign aid, Carson had the unenviable but critical role of ensuring that some of the world’s most ignored and overlooked crises – such as LRA violence – don’t fall victim to overzealous budget slashers.

In his opening testimony, Carson briefly mentioned the way the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) continues to target communities throughout central Africa.  As he said, “Uganda and its neighbors are struggling to eliminate the Lord’s Resistance Army, which still threaten civilian populations in northern DRC and the Central African Republic (CAR).”

But, for those of us who have been following the issues of the LRA and the United States’ involvement, where it really got interesting was more than one hour into Carson’s testimony.  At that point, Senator Christopher Coons (D-DE), the presiding member of the panel hearing testimony, asked, “Secretary Carson, if I might, the Lord’s Resistance Army is one other topic I wanted to get to before I’m going to have to leave. The LRA has terrorized a wide range of communities over many, many years. I’m just interested in what your implementation plans are for the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, in particular, the appointment of a Great Lakes Coordinator.  Sort of, what you see as the best and most likely to be successful path forward in dealing with the enduring challenge to the region and to human rights and security of the LRA?”

Secretary Carson responded:

Mr. Chairman, thank you. We have worked very closely with the Ugandan Government to do as much as we possibly can to disable the LRA and to capture Joseph Kony. We have provided the government of Uganda substantial millions of dollars to provide them with logistical support to travel into northern Uganda, into the eastern part of the Congo, and into the Central African Republic. We have shared information and intelligence with them as we have acquired it, and we have provided them with additional communications and logistical and administrative support in their efforts. We have encouraged them to work closely with the governments and militaries in the DRC and also in the Central African Republic.

As a part of our renewed efforts to assist them we are in the process of providing them with some U.S. personnel who will provide them with additional training and technical support. Our efforts have, in conjunction with the Ugandans, have not resulted in the capture of Joseph Kony, but we believe that we have done an effective job of reducing the size of his militia, capturing of a number of the senior leadership, and reducing their threat to the communities in which they are operating. We are committed to working with the Ugandans on this effort, because we believe that Joseph Kony remains one of the most serious threats to stability in the central African region.

You can watch the whole hearing here.

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LRA spokesman surrenders

Jason, Laren and Ben meet the President

On Monday, President Obama signed the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act into law.  Then he issued a public statement about the LRA-affected areas and his commitment to carrying out the law’s mandate. Last April we made it clear “We Want Obama,” and a little over a year later, he invited us into the Oval Office as he signed the bill into law. Whoa.

The CEO (Ben Keesey) and 2 of Invisible Children’s founders (Laren Poole and Jason Russell) represented IC at the signing ceremony.

About an hour after the ceremony, they video-skyped with the Invisible Children office in San Diego. They told the story, giddy as children, and we listened, also giddy as children. They re-lived what the President said, what he did, and how they felt about what he said and did. It was quite a moment. But you’ll see:

We’ll post the official pictures with President Obama as soon as we get them. Expect ‘em in about a week.

Obama said yes! We got a signing ceremony in the Oval Office!

After a five year quest to get the attention of the United States government, we have done it.

President Obama agreed to a signing ceremony in the Oval Office for the signing of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act! After the unbelievable rallying we all did to see this bill pass unanimously through Congress, and the props they gave us on the House floor (I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life), we have seen impossible dreams come true.

After the bill’s unanimous passage, we asked the White House for a signing ceremony with the President so that we could hold him accountable to this mandate and see Joseph Kony arrested.

On Saturday, President Obama accepted our request and invited us to the Oval Office on Monday.

Today, Monday, May 24th at 5pm est, Senator Inhofe, Congressmen McGovern and Royce, Jason, Laren, Ben Keesey, Resolve Uganda’s Michael Poffenberger and Lisa Dougan, and the Enough Project’s John Prendergast stood in the Oval Office, circled around President Barack Obama as he signed into law the bill we have carried so far.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) commented on the signing of the bill, saying, “This bill’s success is due to the grassroots effort of young people across the U.S. committed to ending the atrocities of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army.” It has been your rallying, your phone calls, letters, emails, activism, and voices that have won this victory. The war is not over, but the stage has been set for justice.

“Our mission now is to make sure that the President uses the mandate it provides from Congress and the American people to do everything he can to see LRA violence ended once and for all.”  - Lisa Dougan, Resolve.

Be proud.  We’ll post pictures and details as soon as we have them!