Media blitz. Nigerian school girls. KONY redux. America WILL get into Africa one way or another.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: MrSpad

I'm not so sure. As resources dry up in developed countries, expansion is almost a given.

The Mid East was was also torn with religious and ethnic civil wars but we STILL maintain a military presence there.

We may not have a govt. military presence but rest assured corporate soldiers will take up that slack. Halliburton, KBR, DynCorp, etc are a growth type industry now. I think you know that!

In Africa most of the private armies work for local governments for a percentage of whatever they are protecting be it diamonds or oil or whatever. They tend to be South African in origin and staffed with Eastern Europeans. For anyone to ever really take advantage of Africa they would have to spend the money to not only build the infratructure from the ground up but, also secure massive amounts of territory in places that have little central control. The Mid-east is the exact opposite. Strong central control, massive infrastructure, and more secure areas make that all cost effective.

Western companies will work in Africa but, only to a limited dergree because the cost to profit ratio along with risk is just far to high.

The US would have to be completely doolally to deploy forces in Nigeria at this juncture. And, anyway, to what end? They will most certainly though be taking this opportunity, as are the British, of getting military expertise into the region so that they can fully assess the situation...economically. The kidnap of the girls, and Boko Haram activities in general are of little concern, but they do provide an ideal opportunity to tighten up the countries security, and that is primarily, in the best interests of the UK and US oil companies. Royal Dutch Shell reported in March that they had suffered the loss of $1 billion worth of natural gas and oil due to theft in 2013 from their Nigerian concessions. The Nigerian Central Bank says that about $20 billion of state oil revenues are 'missing', and the Nigerian Navy claim to have shut down 260 illegal wells.

Boko Haram, due to their recent actions represent little threat in terms of raising sufficient support for any kind of civil uprising. Compared to the governance, which is typically corrupt, they pose a small threat to oil revenues. The main role of Boko Haram, socially, seems to be that they are galvanising the people, those still poor and disaffected due to corrupt officials syphoning away profits that should be improving their lives, into becoming a more politicised unit to get the government to act in their interests. This, if our governments are wise, is what should be supported and what seems to be the subtext of what is going on. The oil companies, who really make the world go round, and through long experience of colonialist methods, know that a coup in Africa never goes to plan and will only make matters infinitely worse, will be lobbying for none invasive methods to make their concessions secure both in the short term, and in the long term by ensuring that Nigeria adopts a position of inward investment, primarily aimed at improving the communications infrastructure.

Nigeria has the money, we in the 'West' have the expertise to sell to them. Why go to war when you can make far more money through consultation without the PR nightmare of loss of servicemen and women's lives? Most of the military contractors have vague humanitarian franchises that can move into areas, with armed private security forces, as well as local military support. The kidnap of these girls is providing a perfect situation for UK and US officials to go in and to subsequently recommend the services that the Nigerians need. Reports coming out are clearly stating the UK, particularly, has little expectation, at this late stage, of retrieving all of the girls, perhaps only a fraction, but even so, that is not the goal, it is merely the opportunity.

Please stop encouraging your children to join the military and law enforcement type career fields.

a reply to: Wrabbit2000
Oh wow rabbit, you must've really gotten sucked inti that whole kony scam if you are still not wanting to admit you were wrong.

Yeah Kony is real as in hes a real person that did bad things, but there are dozens of similar men in Africa if not hundreds.

I called that same out immediately. I mean it was some nutty group who forced a viral video by advertising new facebook features in it to call a country to go after a guy in another country who did horrible things but hasn't been heard from in a 4 years or so (well 9 now) and they asked you to buy posters and shirts.

a reply to: GogoVicMorrow

Gogo.. You know I spent time directly with a woman who helped the children that sick SOB turned into killing machines. Twisted, sad, killing machines. I don't care if there were a dozen others. THAT one roamed at least 3 nations with a ferociousness that is NOT common, even by African standards, which is saying something. She was a kind hearted lady too. Intelligent, quick and very ...scarred. The look in her eyes was a level of pain I've seen before, but never outside combat vets or career cops. I have no question she was relating to me what she saw and experienced over there and it was worse than any movies have come close to.

So it's not a matter of falling for anything and I hated that man from a distance ...real hate... before I even knew there was a "kony" movie or fad or whatever that was all about. I still don't quite understand all that. I was a little busy around that time with far more serious things in my life, to be honest.

If we're going to be in Africa anyway, for whatever wrong reasons....we might as well do a few right things. That isn't too much to ask and something to be happy for, when it does happen.

This wouldn't have anything to do with Hillary trying hard to keep Boko Haram off the terrorist watch list would it?
I agree, this is another KONY production to pull us in to Africa.
Not that we want in there but our Chinese overlords do)

a reply to: Wrabbit2000

Kony was real but in 2012 they hadn't seen him in years at that point. They were playing off the crisis as though it were happening right now and any moment the Lord's army would come sweeping in to Uganda and drag off more children. They knew the above at the time but went ahead with the campaign anyway. Cynicism is usually deserved in this day and age.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Very true on playing off the crisis. It struck me as much a 'cool fad' thing for the 2012 nonsense as the Ethiopian relief efforts in the 1980's. As soon as the fad passed, so did much of the effort and the starving went back to starving like they'd been before.

I'd gotten the opportunity to talk to the lady in late 2011 and she'd been back for a couple months at that point, so figure her experiences were running 2009-2011 in Central Africa. A fairly good cross section for the worst of the Lords Resistance Army exploits at the time.

I looked a few minutes ago and 'ol Kony looks like he's still around and leading his band of merry marauders.

Joseph Kony in hiding near South Sudan border, UN states

Evil never seems to die. It just goes into hiding or rehab, depending on the culture it exists in.

** By the way, I wanted to add. I was mistaken about no movies coming close to what she related. There is one, and it's hardly what I found to be entertaining, but then...I was watching it with this in mind, too. 'Tears of the Sun' with Bruce Willis depicted a few of the 'practices' they (LRA and similar rebel groups) apparently find acceptable in the style of vicious warfare some engage in there.

Kony was real, but a real threat several years before the Kony 2012 thing happened. You do know that when the video was shown in Uganda, that people there asked why a focus was being placed on Kony, when according to them he had already left the country and was no longer a big player?

originally posted by: Wrabbit2000
a reply to: gladtobehere

Hey OP... I share your concern and I'm not sure what the deal is. Now I will say Kony was real, the threat was real and it still is. I spent some time in a protest with a nice woman who'd just gotten back from a couple years of missionary work in North/Central Africa, specifically working with the child survivors of the Lords Resistance Army. Evil ...people... to keep it family friendly here.

Having said that for real threats and not everything being overblown? Who said WE had to be the ones??

Combat plans in Africa?

The wheel keeps on turning and sooner or later? It all comes back around, eh? The above is a thread I wrote 1 year ago tomorrow...for all the quirky timing. It describes a contract put out to bid for extensive network capability to medivac and airlift people across a wide swath of Central African nations.

I wondered, as it shows there, what was happening? Now, I won't even joke that those girls weren't taken by who openly says he took them...but that doesn't mean our side hasn't been patiently waiting for such things to happen and then jump on to highlight as if it's never happened before.

Who knows what they are up to? They've been busy and going back for quite some time, too.

a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

Well, no, I'm not aware of that...since Ugandan Government forces were still actively engaging his people in fighting well into 2012.

APR. 4, 2013
United States offers reward of up to $5 million each for fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and some of his top aides in Lord's Resistance Army rebel group; Kony is wanted by International Criminal Court.

JAN. 22, 2013
Ugandan Army announces that its troops in Central African Republic have killed chief bodyguard of Joseph Kony, fugitive leader of Lord's Resistance Army.

MAY. 14, 2012
Ugandan forces capture Caesar Acellam, senior commander of Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, after brief fight with rebels near the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

MAR. 24, 2012
African Union plans to launch new operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army, Ugandan rebel group led by Joseph Kony that has been terrorizing parts of central Africa for more than 20 years.

Source & Timeline (Each of the above links out to it's own full story behind the clip for the timeline, at the source)

Frankly, prior to this thread, I hadn't been keeping up on this to know he was still the specific target of major interest and action to hunt down. I'd thought this somewhat of a past issue as well. It seems it's anything but past though, and Joseph Kony remains a real pain for all in the region.

It also mentioned on the timeline that Uganda was in a full court press to counter any negative impact from the 2012 video in terms of economic ramifications to business and tourism. Given that, it's reasonable to expect some stories very heavily downplayed it at the time. In the time since? He never did stop being a problem, by the look of the record of events.

But at the time he had moved into a different country and the Ugandan's themselves said it was old history?

originally posted by: Wrabbit2000
a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

Well, no, I'm not aware of that...since Ugandan Government forces were still actively engaging his people in fighting well into 2012.

APR. 4, 2013
United States offers reward of up to $5 million each for fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and some of his top aides in Lord's Resistance Army rebel group; Kony is wanted by International Criminal Court.

JAN. 22, 2013
Ugandan Army announces that its troops in Central African Republic have killed chief bodyguard of Joseph Kony, fugitive leader of Lord's Resistance Army.

MAY. 14, 2012
Ugandan forces capture Caesar Acellam, senior commander of Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, after brief fight with rebels near the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

MAR. 24, 2012
African Union plans to launch new operation against the Lord’s Resistance Army, Ugandan rebel group led by Joseph Kony that has been terrorizing parts of central Africa for more than 20 years.

Source & Timeline (Each of the above links out to it's own full story behind the clip for the timeline, at the source)

Frankly, prior to this thread, I hadn't been keeping up on this to know he was still the specific target of major interest and action to hunt down. I'd thought this somewhat of a past issue as well. It seems it's anything but past though, and Joseph Kony remains a real pain for all in the region.

It also mentioned on the timeline that Uganda was in a full court press to counter any negative impact from the 2012 video in terms of economic ramifications to business and tourism. Given that, it's reasonable to expect some stories very heavily downplayed it at the time. In the time since? He never did stop being a problem, by the look of the record of events.

a reply to: Quetzalcoatl14

Gimmie a time range here and I'll pull the media archives covering reporting for the period and see what was said by whom and for which side of the Kony issue at the time.

The fact seems to be that Kony and the LRA have ranged across 3 nations and been a presence in others. So are we suggesting he stopped being an issue if he crossed the land border into Democratic Republic of the Congo or the Central African Republic? His forces were still arrayed across all three nations, in areas, regardless of where he physically stood.

I'm kinda surprised tho... I just showed you extensive reporting of the armed forces of Uganda in active fighting with LRA rebels INSIDE Uganda across 2012 and into 2013. In fact, that reporting showed Uganda troops crossed land borders in the chase for him and his people. I have no problem with it, and they did what they had to do, but it is remarkable for the sheer scope of the challenge in tracking down this man and his army.

** Where were you a couple weeks ago? Lol... This thread and research would have had me passing an Africa map test I didn't.

Would corporations bringing infrastructure to Africa really be such a bad thing? For the people I mean. For the flora and fauna the answer is obvious.

Unfortunately (Luckily) while corporations are quite greedy they prefer to exploit an economy rather than to create one from scratch and then exploit it.