I am not sure if you are trying to call attention to this crisis, or using it as a soapbox.

People who want the American government to "do something" never seem to havea realistic plan for implementing whatever that "something" is.

Do you want the US to participate in a peacekeeping mission under the UN? If it is anything like the toothless forces deployed to Lebanon, or those in pre-Srebenica Bosnia, no thanks? Or does the US commit a force that can deal with the LRA in a forceful manner, only to be castigaed for killing innocents and incompetently fighting the guerrilla war that is sure to follow? It's all well and good to say that only a small amount of aid has been given to Africa, but look at the restrictions often placed on that aid: it ges to a government center where corruption and tribalism keep it from getting to those who need it, or humanitarian agencies are forced to go-along-to-get along in doing it themselves. Jiimy Carter is really good at playing I told ya so, but he should stick to building houses for charity.

As for moral authority, show me any other country that can claim moral authority. Sins of omission are just as bad as sins of commission. Also, how can you blame the US for Africa's problems when so many of them stem from European colonialism?

I'll grant you, the issue of humanitarian crises is important, but throwing in political snark obscures the issues you are trying to address.

Do you want the US to participate in a peacekeeping mission under the UN?

If this were the 'soapbox' you've softly suggested it is, this would be the part where I would pontificate about my UN game plan for Uganda. The peace talks are still underway, as I explained.

This is intended to educate others about the situation in Northern Uganda.

If you are looking to other countries to provide moral leadership,it seems you are abandoning a belief that your own country should be repsonsible to humanity simply because others may have failed. That seems like a defaeatist attitude. That said, there are nations who donate more of a percentage of their GNI than the US. The U.S. contribution to global population assistance relative to gross national income is still far behind countries such as Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The political "snark" you mentioned is called a fact in ome circles. And by the way, this is a political issue, and the way I see it, ignoring the elephants when they are in the room is not the apropriate MO of a political writer.

Sorry about typos in my previous post.

The nature of politics is to debate. I offered you these bits of news on Senator Edwards and his activity in Uganda so that we could talk about our nation's place in the world. The ideas I passed along are news and the thoughts of Senator Edwards about his trip to Uganda and the current state of our leadership - not my opinion, although I surely agree that we need to act as a responsible nation since we are the most wealthy, free, and powerful of nations.

I don't see how we can dump 300 billion dollars on a chaotic and failing course in Iraq, knowing that the money we squandered ($9 billion of which is still completely unaccounted for) could have saved a million lives and created good will for our nation instead of hatred and distrust. What our government chooses to do is not strictly for philanthropy. It is for the security of our own people and the world...and for the advancement of democracy. We lead by example, and as of late, our example has been terrible- - simply terrible.

This is the link for the International Rescue Committee. People can judge for themselves whether the efforts of the IRC are focused on raising awareness of the problem and offering opportunities or stepping up on a political soapbox to sound off without making a serious effort to understanding the problem.

Consider, in particular, this quote from the "Taking Action: IRC's Advocacy Agenda" page on that site:

The International Rescue Committee seeks to bring attention to forgotten or neglected crises and to pressure governments and international organizations in various locations to take action to help and protect refugees, displaced people and other victims of conflict.

IRC advocacy is fueled by an understanding of situations on the ground and in the field that comes from working on a daily basis with people affected by war and violence. It is rooted in a tradition of speaking out on behalf of the oppressed and forgotten that dates back to 1933. YOU can help by taking action.

"John Edwards Visits Northern Uganda"


Um.....yeah....... so?

..the DRC central government does not have the capacity to deny safe harbor whether or not it wished to ... central government control of many border areas in the eastern DRC is shaky where it exists and patchy overall.

Thank you for making us aware of this, Bruce.


I read at BBC news that UN Humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said that people in the region were worried that indictments by the International Criminal Court against leaders of the LRA could threaten the peace process. In his briefing to the Security Council in September, Mr. Egeland was optimistic about an improving security situation in the region and the hope for successful peace talks. He said, in part,

We will use the better security environment to continue to improve the situation in the IDP camps and to prepare for the return of more than 1.5 million people. The [Ugandan] Government will need to rapidly increase social services in the north, including the return of teachers, doctors and nurses. The Prime Minister told me that the Government was working on this through the Joint Monitoring Commission and the Government's Peace, Reconciliation and Development Plan. The international community must soon make the necessary investment in peace, and hold the Government accountable for an effective protection of the civilian population and a real reconciliation process.

He also said that "the UN has already assessed the situation in two 'assembly points' [in Southern Sudan] and is prepared to provide assistance to the women and children with the LRA, whom the parties have agreed can be separated from the LRA fighters."

It's an unceratin and all-important time for peace talks to succeed and for our nation - and others - to provide, with international cooperation and generosity, as much assistance to the peace and humanitarian effort as possible.

The time is now to understand the situation and to act. God knows we don't need more extremism and terrorism in this world.

Um.....yeah....... so?

What you see is what you get, ArchC.
I'm not going to promise you cartwheels or sexy, colorful advertisements.

If you do not wish to know or if you do not care about this human tragedy, you're quite free to move along. We won't hold you down.

I don't wish toi be argumentative, but the point of your post was not clear. Bruce makes some good points about NGO's as well.

I don't agree with your assessment of Iraq, it was no paradise before the war, and I have been in enough of Saddm's palaces, and the neighborhoods of those in his favor and those without, to know that his oversight of the Oil-For-Food money was not going to the well being of the Iraqis, unless they had al-Tikriti in their name.

Uganda today is a tragedy, Iraq of the last 15 years is a tragedy, Rwanda was a tragedy, Bosnia was a tragedy, to address one you miss another. Why is that?

Let's look at Somalia, we went there to provide humanitarian aid, and several warlords were preventing that mission from occurring, they were killing Somalis, UN peacekeepers and IIRC, NGO workers. Shold we have accepted those losses as the price for doing business, or tried to take out the warlords? We know what occurred there. For that matter, the UN was the target of the first and largest sucide carbombing in Baghdad in 2003, why was that.
I only bring these things up because humanitarian intervention is not as simple as showing up with a medical kit, a bag of rice, and a checkbook.
As for those countries who contribute more, they also spend far less on their ability to man, equip, and transport whatever humanitarian force you want to deploy. Hats off to IRC, Medicins Sans Frontiers and others, but if the security situation does not allow their freedom to move and operate, they are a bunch of well-intentioned folks stuck in a bad situation, often restricted to a safe haven away from those that need their help.

So what's the answer? It is not an easy one, and that is a main reason why NGO's as well as governments rarely jump into humanitarian interventions where armed force is an opvious component of the solution.

It's not that I don't care about Uganda.

obviously something needs to be done there.

I'll use an Iraq analogy.

Obviously we all care about what's going on in Iraq but the headline reads "Sean Penn visits Iraq," it just makes one want to scratch their head and say

"um yeah ........so?"

Tragedies happen every day. The point is that we have one right before our eyes in Uganda and we can act swiftly to get this one right. If you don't believe that creating peace and improving living conditions and health in these war-torn nations is an all-important step against terrorism in this global war we're waging,then I'm afraid we will never win against the forces of extremism.

Unfortunately, we have created a greater divide between East and West with the war on Iraq. We can't change the past, but we need to change our nation's future path...together. Americans working together instead of political parties insulting one another..nations cooperating with one another instead of impulsive and poorly planned unilateral actions.

We can't win with just a "strong" miltary approach. Nor a naive approach. The UN can do great things in war zones if they are supported. What did the US do in 2003 to support the UN with the adequate security that any humanitarian organization would need in a place like Baghdad? The Bush administration was unbelievably naive in assuming they had the easy route to fighting terror and civil war in Iraq. So many of our security measures have failed in Iraq due to a disastrous strategy for fighting a "war on terrorism." We need a change in the way we're going about the very business of tackling extremism in Iraq (where we've enhanced an extremist and anarhical tribal environment).. and around the world.

A clue: we don't succeed in our efforts to reduce the forces of extremism by creating more and deeper extremism.

obviously something needs to be done there.

That's all I wanted you to think about and to say.

Ask your next door neighbor where Uganda is - what continent - its geographic location - its history. I'd wager couldn't tell you, let alone understand abot the level of the human suffering there. But I guarantee you this - - if they were aware, I know that Americans are concerned, generous, and decent people and they would care very much about the situation.

If you don't want to give Senator Edwards an credit for taking the time to tell us about it, that's fine.

I'm just happy to know that, because of Sen Edwards' direct online communication with Americans, more caring and concerned Americans will know what's happening in Uganda and my hope is that they'll talk to (and write) their elected representatives about it.

Darfur, Zimbabwe, current and long term crises, no action from anyone. Jude, you are calling for Americans to do something. What, exactly?

I'd prefer to spend my time pulling security for some NGO handing out school supplies and building better irrigation lines, but it is not that simple in Iraq, nor will it be in Uganda.

IIRC, the UN had their own security plan for Baghdad, for fear that US presence would keep them from appearing neutral and separate from the occupying forces. But I don't want to get bogged down in past history or turn your thread into the Iraq War what ifs. All I am saying is that idealism and good intentions are only half the solution to almost any humanitarian crisis.

Let's also look at the Tsunami in Indonesia. Pure humanitarian work, but who was able to get there first with aid, and get that aid to people in need? I am pretty sure it was the US military, who surely provided assistance to NGO's as well. Now, this is only because we spend a lot of money (granted, not always wisely)on a force that can go places and operate in short spans of time. Why don't other wealthy countries do something similar?

Maybe they can, and do, but I am not aware of it.

There are so many ways to help the people of Uganda. Here's something concrete we can do, not necessarily related to the IRC. We can ask our government to put more political pressure on governments like Uganda's to allow the flow of microfinancing to give more economic opportunity to poor farmers and to women. The powers that be do not want to see their power structures threatened, but progress cannot be made without the flow of capital to those who most need small loans and grants.

There was no "appearing neutral," in reality, for the UN in Baghdad, 2003. Why? They were blamed by Iraqis, unfairly perhaps, for the part they played in imposing sanctions for so many years in Iraq that caused resentment and sorrow when so many babies and elderly family members perished unnecessarily. Do you doubt that extremism is caused to deepen when real people lose loved ones to a policy? (I don't care whose policy it was, the real result of inhumanity and extremism when governments willingly turned their heads to their responsibility to humankind was hatred). Before 9/11, UN workers were killed in Iraq because of anger over the longstanding sanctions.

Today, Saddam is long gone and the extremism not only remains, but has deepened so much that it doesn't even matter to Iraqis if Saddam is dead or alive anymore. They only see guns trained upon them again...more poverty, more death in their own families. When does it become clear that we need to fight this new kind of war in a much smarter way?

I asked:
When does it become clear that we need to fight this new kind of war in a much smarter way?

If you plan to ask me the "smarter way," I pre-suggest that your question it is out of frustration because you do not see us "fighting smart" now.

Ask your leaders for a better way. Let them hear from you.

Reality check needed here, "imposing sanctions for so many years in Iraq that caused resentment and sorrow when so many babies and elderly family members perished unnecessarily."

You may not be aware of whay was and what was not permitted under the UN sanctions, but that is OK, the average Iraqi was as well. All the money was controlled by Saddm's regime, and spent on whatever it felt was necessary for his regime, not for the people of Iraq. If babies died for lack of care, Saddam could easily blame the sanctions, and did. The UN does bear some of the guilt for sure, several key UN officials were willing accomplices in Saddam's oil money schemes and kickbacks.

While the conditions in Iraq are harsh, at times brutal, there are many hardworking, decent, honest Iraqis working for something better than the life they had under Saddam, and the life offered by the extremists, so conditions alone cannot be blamed for extremism. Human nature is not so cut and dried.

I do appreciate the article and the suggestions, they do beat the "hold hands and sing Kumbaya" suggestions that are the norm.

Agree with Arch...Edwards actually
hurts the situation...since he has no credibility or powerbase it minimizes the plight of these poor souls....

Reading the headline I just assumed he was looking for some legal clients who slipped on a wet floor in Walmart or were injured in a bus accicent...or is this his way to claim some sort of international experience when he climbs out from uner his rock to run for president

I come from a layman's standpoint on this, but I am not sure of the 'facts' that are being used to attack the character of the focus of this piece. It is intended to edify and refresh the need for focus on the situation - not to compare it, necessarily, to others mentioned by these posting.

Cannot say, from my position, that the UN is effective at this point as a large overseer of global issues and challenges, but I think it could be a parent authority over divisional focus groups that could bring serious change for these struggling peoples, governments, and nations.

Documenting and exposing the needs and changes required in the systems and entities involved in these named efforts. These 'unifying' efforts, like those of Obama, Carter and Edwards (and yes, even Bono, Sean Penn, Oprah, Jolie, Madonna and others) are generating response and they are bringing the proper light to those that would be ineffective though charged with the responsibilities. They are creating interest and focus, and in many cases, actually making a difference. When these needs and events are silent and obscured, death and destruction prevail.

I happen to think that Bosnia was purely political with a hidden agenda, and the beginning of that trouble happened during Desert Storm, which was also, greatly political and utilized, in part, regarding the Balkans, in my opinion.

The fact that Senator Edwards went to Uganda demonstrates his concern for the issues and challenges, and what better way to gather understanding for 'credibility' as one poster put it, than to be 'on the ground' and apply the senses to the actual? (The negative trail lawyer reference is obsolete, and unwarranted, I might add.)

One of the things that I see happening from the efforts of Senator Edwards is the unity of minds in interest. He is bringing forward and together several factions that are focusing on these challenges, and they are offering insight into the actual trials, if you will, not only of the people on the ground but the institutions that are in authority and have responsibility. He was invited by the IRC to attend and did so. He is working to bring change and make a difference. I would rather support him in that effort than criticize him for it. Thanks for the article and the information.

I didn't see this article as all that soapboxy. If anything it's too easy going. It ought to ask the question of why the hell the UN hasn't done anything yet, and where are the European nations in all of this?

This seems like a replay of Darfur, where the UN twiddles its thumbs and gets nothing done, or makes things worse by sending aid to the oppressors and doing nothing to get it to the victims.

Situations like this are what keep tempting the US to unilateral action, because no one else will take responsibility.

Dave

sarantx

"that Senator Edwards went to Uganda demonstrates his concern for the issues and challenges" ---Say what...for what purpose does he have any revealtions, strategy, options, solutions? FUCK NO! All he admits as you point oit is that he agrees with "Obama, Carter and Edwards (and yes, even Bono, Sean Penn, Oprah, Jolie, Madonna and others)" Pretty funny REAL Presidential Timber!

And who are you the fuckin Blog Police "The negative trail lawyer reference is obsolete, and unwarranted, I might add." Well add this your "Oprah issue of the month club" political correctness is amazing! Ask any of the fans of these media idiots about the issues and what they are doing about it---NOTHING! All of these media idiots have suckered you and your buddies into buying their records, going to their concerts and watching their movies! SUCKERS

Just One what? Of course, you are entitled to your opinion.

Your attack is not only without merit, it is embarrassing. Vocabulary is expansive, too. How unfortunate that discussions cannot be civil and opposing views expressed with dignity.

Jude - my apologies.

"Agree with Arch...Edwards actually
hurts the situation...since he has no credibility or powerbase it minimizes the plight of these poor souls....

Reading the headline I just assumed he was looking for some legal clients who slipped on a wet floor in Walmart or were injured in a bus accicent...or is this his way to claim some sort of international experience when he climbs out from uner his rock to run for president"

Congratulations, you win a snarkville badge.

Fmr John Edwards is the director of the Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is in the best position not being tethered (as someone pointed out recently with that verb) to a senate seat to be asked to be an assessment person for the IRC (which Tom Brokaw immediately joined after he retired to lend some help) and to give more visibility to this crises.

He lends more than credibility to a horrific situation that our government chooses to ignore. And Edwards commands more moral authority than the Republican party as a whole does at present, but that is a different matter.

"To this crises" should read "to this crisis"..in Africa.

sarantx & Benny - Obvious you guys graduated Columbia! Heres the truth about his position - he uses the cover of poverty to raise money for the Dems while he plans his 2008 run--you guys are pretending to be a little too niaeve...this is directly from UNC website... checkout the last line... Even the Dems know Edwards is a hack!

Edwards wants more help for poorIowa City Press-Citizen
Poverty is the same in Eastern Iowa as it is anywhere in the country, former U.S. senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Saturday. Edwards, now the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discussed poverty with those struggling with it at the Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Center of Johnson County. He also attended a fundraiser for the Johnson County Democratic Party at Vito's Restaurant, which also featured 2nd District congressional candidate David Loebsack.

Oh by the way Benny ---Congratulations, you win a snarkville Platinum badge.

After the partition of Iraq has been sorted out, more likely by Baker than Biden given the political calculus, the Democratic Republic of Congo and all of its problems, Uganda and all of its problems, Zimbabwe and all of its problems, etcetera etcetera, will still be there.

The government of the US used to look at African nations as important as either their mineral wealth or their appeal to the Soviet Union made them. However, if a US administration is genuine about winning the battle for the hearts and minds of Dar Islam, it makes sense to take the advice of NGOs that work on the ground in Africa as to where a little bit of hard currency would have a lot of leverage. It certainly makes more sense to take their advice on board than using foreign aid as one more way for corporations to feed at the public trough.

As to the charge that John Edwards was not born with his money and position, but instead made his money taking on corporate fat cats in court and winning, I reckon he's guilty as charged. I also expect that he's got political ambitions ... after all John Edwards had the option to stay in the private and experience continued financial success on his own initiative, unlike some. On the other hand, if his political ambitions led him to take on the job at Chapel Hill before Katrina made the fight against poverty "cool" again, it would at least seem that he combines his political ambitions with more foresight than many.

"this is directly from UNC website... checkout the last line... Even the Dems know Edwards is a hack."

I don't see that was a snark by the Daily Tar Heel, only from the poster.

hmmmm no refuting the evidence that this position is no more than a Democratic patronidge job given to him by the NC dems to bankroll his election and fund raising efforts...If I lived in NC I would demand that the state investigate this "no show" job of his!

The Silence Of The Dems