Who the fuck is Kony?

This exact time yesterday I had never heard of Joseph Kony.

Now I'l admit, when I watched that video, it moved me at first. more than I expected. I damn near teared up but given Africa's track record with tyrants, dictators and child soldiers there came a point where I asked myself - why him? why now?

What makes this asshole so damn special the US is actually committing troops to Africa?

And why are we supporting this?

The LRA has been operational for over 20 years and before last year, the US would've probably cared more about mice infestations in their paddy fields than another murderous tyrant in Africa. Since Iraq, or even Afghanistan, it isn't wrong to be at least a tad suspicious of US foreign policy.

When has the US ever cared about a country for "humanitarian" reasons? US aid to earthquake zones such as Haiti were dependant on the country's willingness to ensure that minimum wage did not increase allowing corporations to benefit. Iraq and Afghanistan were total disasters and Libya was an outright lie. And now - Sub Saharan Africa. Over the last few decades there have been dozens of tyrants and dictators. Are we really to believe the US government has suddenly grown a heart? Highly unlikely. The US already has a presence in the middle east. it was only a matter of time before they'd pounce on Africa. With China having already achieved footholds in a number of African countries, it's now or never for the US.

Gambia, Burundi, Ivory coast, Somalia, Sudan. These are just a few other examples of countries where children have been forced to be soldiers in the last 10 years and the US government hasn't lost any sleep in any of these cases.

• In Somalia over 200,000 children carried arms between 1991 - 2004.
• Zimbabwe's youth brigade arms and trains children as young as 10.
• Uganda People's Defence Force trains children as young as 13.

But back to the LRA. The height of their activities was over a decade ago. Hell, they aren't even operational in Uganda anymore, not since 2006 when the UPDF beat their sorry little asses. Troop estimates in 2007 were below the thousand and as of late, the LRA isn't expected to have more than 400 soldiers. Hardly seems like a problem for Uganda's 40,000 strong UPDF who (since 2002) were given permission to launch attacks on LRA bases in Sudan after the LRA couldn't hold their ground in Uganda.

What remains of the LRA have been in hiding in the Jungles of Congo since 2006 while an organization in 2012 tries to make money off you by exaggerating the situation.

Where exactly does the money YOU donate go to? IC's profits have increased dramatically since the start of the Kony campaign and last year they spent over 8 million dollars. Out of 8.8 million dollars, only 2.8 million went to "direct services" which they claim is the direct help of children and people . what they fail to mention is most of these funds are used to support the UPDF in matters such as weapons purchases. The remainder is naturally whittled down by government officials and local management so exactly how much is channelled towards a children? Just to give you some perspective, by their own account only 31% (although it is clear that it is much less than that) is channelled to the children. Other charities ensure between 80-99%.

Why am I against this campaign? It's propaganda at its finest. What is the goal of IC? To ensure continued US military presence in Uganda. The first reaction every person had after watching the video was outrage and a demand for justice. That´s where it gets tricky. Too many people getting influenced by a single video without doing fact checking. IC ignores the fact that the UPDF is not all that different when it comes to rape, looting and child soldiers. It´s Libya all over again. Blind support for a side when we know near nothing about the entire situation. This is dangerous. It was dangerous when the world turned against Libya and supported the NATO´s indiscriminate bombing and it is still dangerous now. Why do we feel the need to pick sides when the UPDF is not much different from the LRA.

KONY 2012 It's a fundraising campaign, where people will continue to buy t-shirts and posters and the money raised will be used for weapons purchases to fund an army that is also littered with accusations of looting and rape and the use of child soldiers. and the best part? for the better part of the last 7 years the UPDF and LRA have been involved in peace talks. Now, these are going slow (naturally) but ANY action you take in support if this campaign is an act that either directly or indirectly influences the peace process and US military presence in Uganda.

Should Kony be brought to justice? hell yeah. Do we ignore every other tyrant and fund a shady organization plus an army that isn't much better than the LRA to bring Kony to justice? I think I'l pass, thanks.