In Denise Taylor's March 13 column "Lights, camera, inaction" she wrote that the KONY 2012 campaign should not be praised because it does not propose a solution aside from increasing awareness of Kony's army of child soldiers. The problems with Invisible Children's campaign, however, extend beyond its strategy of raising awareness, as it actually does propose a specific policy solution in the film: that the 100 U.S. military advisors recently sent to aid Uganda's military not be revoked, even though the Obama administration has shown no indication it wants to bring the troops home.\n \nJust like Invisible Children's methods of raising awareness, its solution of sending troops abroad appeals to white guilt and the colonial - but ever present - notion of the White Man's Burden. While I am happy to see many of my friends interested in a humanitarian issue like Kony's use of child soldiers, it is important to critically look at the political motivations underlying the U.S. interest in Africa and its consequences.
First of all, the deployment of American troops to Uganda ignores the reality of the situation, as Kony fled Uganda more than six years ago. While he is still believed to be moderately active, he operates outside the jurisdiction of the Ugandan military - and the U.S. military, for that matter. In this way, KONY 2012 further perpetuates the idea of "Africa as a country" by ignoring the national lines - and, more importantly, the different political and social realities - which separate Uganda and its neighbors. Additionally, the Ugandan military has been alleged to have committed human rights violations in its own country and may not be the best vessel for finding Kony.
Why, then, has Obama agreed to deploy military advisers to Uganda if Kony isn't a problem there anymore? Certainly it's not purely out of the goodness of his heart, as there are countless humanitarian situations across the world and very few of them get attention from the commander-in-chief. After all, Kony's army isn't the only one which uses child soldiers. The fact is, the U.S. has its own interests in Uganda which are completely separate from Kony's child soldiers. Obama wrote in a letter to Congress that sending troops to Africa "furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy...." Yet Kony isn't a threat to U.S. national security - he's on the run, poorly equipped and has never expressed interest in harming the United States.
It turns out that Uganda is a strategic location to locate future troops for the ever expanding U.S. War on Terror and military-industrial complex. Thanks to the recently established United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), a military dedicated to fighting terrorism in Africa, the U.S. military is active in African countries such as Somalia and Libya. Additionally, Uganda is rich in valuable natural resources including oil. With Obama being blamed for nearly $4 per gallon gas prices it's easy to see why Obama would be interested in finding new oil sources. Lastly, the United States may also wish to defend its political hegemony in Africa from China, a rising world power which is now the leading investor in Africa.
By trying to solve Uganda's problems with the U.S. military, Invisible Children denies agency to activists and citizens working in Uganda to address their own challenges. It portrays Ugandans as poor, voiceless, and in need of an American savior. Invisible Children has identified 32 culture makers and policy makers for its supporters to tweet, Facebook, and otherwise contact to get popular support for the cause, yet none of those individuals are Ugandan. None of them have a vested interest in Uganda or a comprehensive understanding of its problems.
If Americans are really concerned about child soldiers, they ought to examine their motivations for being interested in the conflict and even their role in causing it. The issue of child soldiers expands outside of Uganda, and many rebel groups involved in facilitating the natural resource trade use child soldiers. And who buys commodities like diamonds which come out of such deals? American consumers. Actions as small as liking a video on Facebook or as big as deploying U.S. troops abroad aren't going to solve that problem.
Krista O'Connell is a third year in the College.
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