KONY 2012 Government Conspiracy & the Race for Oil

KONY conveniently out of the picture till now.

Update March 13—Comments section on the popular youtube video disabled. Right before, sudden outbursts of comments protested the video as a scam and a oil grab, covertly by the CIA. The same day congress writes a bill to increase military presence in central Africa.

Could the massive backlash on the movement be evidence of a society growing to distrust their government when it comes to oil? There is a great controversy emerging from the paradigm that is known as KONY 2012. But what is behind the bigger picture? After six hours of research into academic articles provided by OCAD University Library, an untold story emerged.

Chapter One—The Start
Kony's chase started nearly 23 years ago. He was active since the mid 1980's, the same time Museveni took power. He was a good kid, preferring dance over fighting. But as he grew up, a voice of the holy spirit from god came to him, and started telling him things to do. Kony grew his child army according to the voice, training and housing the children in school rooms and government buildings provided by Sudan's Muslims rulers—The Sudanese wanted to punish the christian leader in Uganda. During those first 15 years, Kony led the group named the Lord Resistance Army, and wreaked unspeakable treachery among innocent villages.

Side note: The technique of using a child army was also used by the current Ugandan ruler Museveni. He did it in order to gain control on the divided country. His army were not forced to rape or loot.

Chapter Two—A Serious Situation Glossed Over
In 2001, a plea was given to George Bush from the Ugandan Leader Museveni. Because of the recent threat of terrorism, George Bush pledged to help end the atrocities. The Federal government ended up providing two helicopters and a three man cell in hopes that it would be enough. The sudden amount of attention directed towards central Africa scared Sudan out of helping the Lord Resistance Army, but did not scare Kony. He even named his child George Bush. The gifts from the United States did not lead to Kony's capture, and his violence was said to peak around '03–'05

In 2006, the UN decided they wanted to do something about Kony. They sent Uganda a small platoon of 40 Guatemalan soldiers, equipped with machine guns and grenade launchers. When the platoon encountered the army they were decimated, 40–5. In revenge, the group went on a rampage of violence into the next few towns, using the weaponry they collected from the soldiers they just killed.

Doesn't the continent of Africa look like the face of a rhino?

Chapter Three—The Resistance Dwindling
Two years later, after many failed peace talks (2008) Operation Lightning Thunder was set in motion, a 17 manned mission equipped with four helicopters and LRA insiders. In the end, the mission was a failure but ever since then Kony has been more descreet. He is said to have gone into Congo and perpetrated more violence—300 deaths, 100 abductions (America). Some even say that he has died. Under the new bill proposed by congress March 13, it is noted that the LRA's Ranks have increasingly decreased.

Side Note: During the negotiations, Kony would only sent his advisor, and only under the condition that food aid was supplied for his army of 5000, although it was believed it was only 800. In the final meeting for KONY to successfully sign the pact, he bailed.

Chapter Four—Oil is Discovered
During 2009, there was increasing amounts of evidence that Uganda held valuable oil reserves. It is documented that Uganda's shores of Lake Albert is capable of being a mid-sized producer, and has interests of investment by the Chinese, a request desired by Museveni. It is also documented that the west is trying to stall China from getting its hands on the precious reserves (Economist).

Chapter Five—The Catchy KONY Virus
Now, 2012, three years later, Kony has been made famous through the massive communication hive known as the internet, although perhaps a few years too late. The Invisible Children campaign managed to raise $3,000,000 for the Ugandan People (Bribing them from the Chinse?), Six times as much money as the US gave to Uganda in '09. Not only is the campaign asking for donations, but is also persuading the populace to ask for increased military presence in the country.

Chapter Six—The Bill is Set in Motion
The bill, written a week after Independent Children Inc releases the now famous video, asks to quell the continuing violence caused by Kony in the Ugandan region, even though it is documented that the LRA has significantly decreased their ranks since 2008. Maybe the US troops will go in, kill Kony once and for all, and leave like a good boy, or maybe they will stay and take advantage.

The video is indeed truly evidence of a strengthening internet awareness, and can be classified as one of the largest movements to date. We have to ask, are the underlying powers pulling the heartstrings of the world to justify an insurgency or is the video a victim of poor timing?

“The probability of a certain set of circumstances coming together in a meaningful (or tragic) way is so low that it simply cannot be considered mere coincidence. ” —VC King (Author)

A scene captured from Jason Russell's meltdown

Chapter 7—The Major Freak Out
Update March 19 Jason Russell, I will never forget you.

Citations

Johnson, Scott. "Hard Target." Newsweek 25 May 2009: 61. Military and Intelligence Database. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.  
  

"Kony at large." America 31 May 2010: 4. Military and Intelligence Database. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.

"Derricks in the darkness; Uganda's oil rush." The Economist [US] 8 Aug. 2009: 52EU. Military and Intelligence Database. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.


http://royce.house.gov/UploadedFiles/McGovern_Royce_Res_Spotlights_Kony_and_LRA_3.13.12.pdf