Obama Authorizes Deployment of US Troops to Uganda To Combat Lord's Resistance Army

Last week, President Obama sent a letter to members of both the House and Senate that he had sent a small number of American soldiers to Uganda to aid that country in its fight against the Lords Resistance Army and their leader, Joseph Kony.

The force is said to be less than 100 Special operations soliders who will be training local forces in counterinsurgency tactics against the Lords Resistance Army. Reportedly, the soldiers will not be directly participating in operations against the LRA. In addition to Uganda, military advisors are reportedly in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

U.S. troops have been deploying in central Africa to help the forces of Uganda and other nations fight the Lord’s Resistance Army [L.R.A.]. The deployment is the largest U.S. attempt yet to eradicate the group known for its ruthless campaign of killing, rape, and its use of child soldiers over the past two decades.

U.S. troops are landing in Uganda and from there may deploy to the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and southern Sudan - areas were the L.R.A. - a scattered force whose numbers are estimated to be around 400 - are operating.

The U.S. troops are combat-ready and have instructions to fight if attacked, but Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said the U.S. troops’ mission is limited to helping Ugandan soldiers and the armies of other nations stamp out the L.R.A.

“The mission for these 100 or so special operations forces is really just advise and assist, and help train local forces to deal with that threat. That is the scope of what they’ are going to be doing. That is the limit to what they are going to be doing,” said Kirby.

The deployment culminates years of efforts by human-rights groups and others to raise awareness in the halls of the U.S. Congress and at the White House of the need for Washington to step in and tackle one of the most violent and vicious militia groups, and its leader Joseph Kony.

Jennifer Cooke, who directs the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies research group, said, “The U.S. Congress has passed in 2009 legislation calling on the president to lay out a strategy to protect civilians, to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony, and to improve humanitarian access to the region. And I think this is a concerted effort once and for all to help the governments of that region to eliminate the threat, the threat from the L.R.A."

That threat does not directly affect U.S. national security, but Washington sees Uganda as a solid partner in the region, most notably in peacekeeping efforts in Somalia.

Brookings Institution defense analyst Michael O’Hanlon said deploying a small number of U.S. troops to help Uganda fight the L.R.A. is a small investment that could yield big returns for the United States.

“To the extent the United States has any interest in Somalia being stabilized, it has an interest in seeing the Ugandan government able to keep its own country together, and able to keep it its own forces partially deployed to Somalia in order to help with that country where there have been al-Qaida related groups in the past.”

Advocate John Bradshaw prefers not to speculate on possible U.S. motives. He directs the Enough Project, a U.S. group that works to eliminate genocide and crimes against humanity, primarily in Africa’s Great Lakes region. To Bradshaw, what is important is that Washington is taking action, providing support that he said could help protect civilians.

“A lot of that is information-sharing, having communities get timely alerts about possible L.R.A. action, improving communications equipment, putting up cell phone towers so that vulnerable populations are forewarned when attacks might happen,” said Bradshaw.

For two decades, Uganda and other nations have been unable to wipe out the L.R.A. The group has broken up into smaller units and dispersed across borders through the jungle terrain. O’Hanlon said the U.S. military will bring some of the capabilities developed in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“In addition to training, which we are obviously pretty good at with some of our special forces, we also know how to do things like listen to cell phone communication and watch people with drones. Watching them with drones in the jungle is harder than watching them with drones in the desert, but we have gotten better at some of these things and we may be able to impart some of our lessons and best practices to the Ugandans.

U.S. leaders hope that with this knowledge and technology, even 100 troops can make a difference.

I don't get it- if we're sending American soldiers to Africa- even if it's just to instruct local forces on counterinsurgency operations- then why not the horn of Africa to take on al Shabaab or the Somali pirates?

Unless we're training the Ugandan Army to further serve as a counter to al Shabaab in Somailia (and there are African Union peacekeepers present in Mogadishu), I don't see the national interest for the USA.

From Decades of Strife and Conflict, Africa's Newest Nation Is Born

South Sudanese girl hanging flag ahead of Independence Day

The boundaries on Africa's maps will once again be re-drawn, this time as the newest nation in the world readies itself for full independence from Sudan on Saturday. After a decade of civil war with Khartoum and an uneasy five year cease-fire, celebrations marking the formation of the new state are set to get underway in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Saturday. This new nation will be slightly smaller than the state of Texas in terms of size.

Reportedly a number of expats will make their way to the new country from overseas for the occasion while a number of events as far afield as Sioux City, SD are planned for those unable to make it to Juba by July 9th.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir meeting with President Bush in 2009

The Republic of South Sudan came about as a result of the internationally-brokered Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the South and Khartoum that was signed in Nairobi. The terms of the 2005 ceasefire included six years of autonomy from Khartoum followed by a referendum on independence which took place earlier this year. Voters in the south overwhelmingly approved of secession from northern Sudan by a nearly 99% margin. The population of the South is largely Christian or Animist while the northern Sudan is majority Muslim.

Map of the new nation

Although rich in oil deposits, the South faces a number of challenges including rebuilding infrastructure damaged by years of civil war, AIDS, a high infant mortality rate. There is also the risk that lingering resentment towards the north could reignite into an armed conflict once again. To that end, the United Nations has sent approximately 7000 peacekeepers to act as a buffer between northern and southern forces.

There is also the problem of exporting the oil, since the new country is land-locked and the only pipelines into and out of the south are to Port Sudan and and easily be cut off if hostilities between the two nations resume.

Reveller in the capital city of Juba

The days and weeks leading up to the independence day have been marked with skirmishes with the northern militias and attacks on refugees. As recently as May of this year, forces from South Sudan and Sudan traded artillery fire and the Sudanese air force bombarded the region around the border town of Abyei.

South Sudan Makes it Official- Will Split From Khartoum

Talk to the hand! (Pete Muller- AP Photo)

Although the final tally may not be made official until Valentine's Day, voters in South Sudan chose overwhelmingly to break with the al-Bashir regime and the rest of Sudan in weeklong balloting. Sudanese refugees as far away as Ausrtalia, Tel Aviv, London, Boston and Chicago were also able to cast their ballots for or against independence.

South Sudan's unofficial boundaries are shown in green- Darfur's is shown in Blue

While already the South is facing challenges in the form of prices rising on food and consumer goods, the vote may be considered a setback for the al-Bashir regime in Khartoum as well. Some analysts speculate that al-Bashir becomes known as the man where Africa's largest nation split up under his watch, that could undermine his authority in the rest of Sudan and causing him to be forced out of power and replaced by somebody who may not honor the outcome of South Sudan's referendum.

Although this might've come up before, it's worth noting that while South Sudan is relatively oil-rich, it would continue to be dependent on the rest of Sudan to export in in the foreseeable future, as Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo would be the only other countries it borders that aren't landlocked. Links to other bordering countries like Uganda or Ethiopia involve highways that aren't even paved (or nonexistent in many cases).

However, the relatively peaceful (so far) transition from breakaway province to independent state in a particularly bloody region on a strife-torn continent is noteworthy in and of itself. Another issue that the South Sudanese have to deal with is whether or not to retain the name of the country they just broke away from or call them something different altogether.

South Sudan Expected to Break From Khartoum in Weeklong Referndum

Voters in the capital of autonomous South Sudan region broke out in song and wrapped themselves as week long balloting began on a referendum for independence from Khartoum on Sunday.

The voting is expected to be relatively peaceful, although the referendum is the culmination of a prolonged bloody civil war that left nearly 1 million dead. It is widely expected that oil rich and majority Christan South Sudan- which consists of roughly the southern ⅓ of Sudan- will vote overwhelmingly to break with the Khartoum regime of Omar al-Bashir (who has an international warrant from the International Criminal Courts from 2009).

Voter turnout has surpassed more than 60% this week in the first 3 days of voting. Polls are expected to close this upcoming Sunday.

However, even if the referendum passes and Khartoum peacefully accepts South Sudan's secession from the rest of the country, the new nation would be faced with a number of political and logistical challenges. Although rich in timber and oil, South Sudan is landlocked. Aside from Kenya, a potentially belligerent Sudan and the perennially unstable Democratic Republic of the Congo, the countries bordering South Sudan would also be landlocked [for the record, the Darfur reigon that caught the attention of so many Hollywood types is in the Western part of Sudan and bordering Chad- NANESB!].

The shortest route for exports would be to the northeast and the Red Sea port of Port Sudan. While there is talks of constructing a rail link with Uganda to the south, the new nation would be dependent on the goodwill of Khartoum and the al-Bashir regime in the near term.

There is also a high infant mortality rate and it's believed there are only three functioning hospitals in the nearly 240,000 square mile autonomous region at present.