Obama Sends Troops to Central Africa to Help Fight Lord's Resistance Army

Last Friday, President Obama announced that the U.S. will send a small deployment of troops to several countries in Central Africa to help combat the Lord's Resistance Army.  Approximately 100 American soldiers will likely be sent to Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in support of a regional effort to counteract the notorious LRA.

Obama's order follows Congress' passage of the "Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act," which the President signed into law last year.  In a letter to Congressional leaders informing them of the action, Obama noted that "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 noted that "...regional military efforts have thus far been unsuccessful in removing LRA leader Joseph Kony or his top commanders from the battlefield," and therefore, "I have authorized a small number of combat-equipped U.S. forces to deploy to central Africa."

It's encouraging to see the Obama administration taking steps to work with African countries in stopping the Lord's Resistance Army.  The LRA has been responsible for tremendous violence and bloodshed in central Africa, including murder, rape, abduction of civilians, and kidnapping children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves.  The LRA's leader, Joseph Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti and several other high-ranking commanders have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  They remain at large, with Otti and another indictee reportedly killed.

The timing of Obama's decision coincides with the publication of a new report on peacekeeping edited by Citizens for Global Solutions, "U.S. Engagement in International Peacekeeping: From Aspiration to Implementation."  Among other policy recommendations, the report suggests sending a military contingent to Africa for peacekeeping purposes.  The report will be publicly unveiled on Wednesday, October 19^th at 9 am at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.  If you are interested in attending this event, please RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/myevent?eid=2222098356.