Response to NY Times Article re: US Involvement in Operation against LRA

Hey there,
I know a lot of you probably saw the article over the weekend that ran in the NY Times about the role the US military played in Operation Lightning Thunder (http://www.resolveuganda.org/node/797). While we're glad that the international media is covering this story, in some ways it makes our job harder because we have to be much more explicit in saying that what happened is NOT what we're advocating for. In fact, it's the opposite of what we want to happen, and the fallout from this offensive demonstrates why we think the US needs to play a much larger role in efforts to apprehend LRA leaders. We gave some support to this operation, but not enough for it to succeed, and for Ugandans and US leaders to sit on the sidelines now and say that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent these civilian casualties is CRAP (pardon my french).

The kind of operation we're advocating for MUST meet these criteria:


1. Prioritize Civilian Protection
Given the LRA’s track record of atrocities, civilian protection must be a critical component of any military operation, and should have been a much higher priority at the outset of ‘Lightning Thunder.’ Now that the LRA has scattered in small units, protecting vulnerable populations has become a much greater logistical challenge. Working through the U.N. Security Council, the United States and others should press the Congolese, Ugandan and Southern Sudanese governments to prioritize civilian protection, and press U.N. peacekeepers in Congo to deploy in greater numbers to LRA-affected areas with explicit orders to protect vulnerable populations. The United States and other international donors must also step up to the plate with increased humanitarian assistance for people affected by the violence, many of whom are living in increasingly desperate circumstances.

2. Focus on apprehending the LRA’s leaders
Indiscriminate aerial assaults and bombardments like we saw in Operation Lightning Thunder result in non-combatant casualties and place LRA abductees at greater risk. What we're advocating for is a LAW ENFORCEMENT operation to arrest LRA commanders who are solely responsible for the atrocities being committed by the LRA.

3. Improve intelligence coordination and rapid response capacity
The Ugandan, Congolese, and Southern Sudanese armies face an enormous challenge in trying to secure the region’s vast, difficult terrain with only a relatively small number of troops. The United States, the U.K., and France, as well as U.N. Peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Southern Sudan should provide intelligence and offer technical and logistical support to the regional militaries. Greater international support should be conditioned on the operation narrowing its goals to target top leaders, while also showing restraint against abductees and protecting civilians from reprisal attacks. With this support, regional forces will be much more effective in identifying the whereabouts of LRA leaders and deploying rapidly to intercept them. Given U.S. monitoring and electronic communications tracking capacities, it is difficult to believe that the United States could not directly assist in pinpointing Kony’s location.

Short story: None of these things happened with OLT. Half-hearted support and then running away from taking responsibility ("this was a Ugandan operation") is not what we have in mind.

Sorry that was long. Let me know if you have questions!