The “Lord’s Resistance Army” is probably not the main target for Obama’s recent military action in Uganda. Stanley Kurtz may be right that Samantha Power and her brand of militant humanitarianism has such a strong hold on President Obama, which would explain this year’s spate of military assertiveness, such as in Libya. Outside of that, there is only one other contextual pattern in Obama’s foreign policy behavior that this surprise intervention in northern Uganda can follow: The President’s recent fondness for covert action (Special Forces, Drone Strikes, ect.).
Take a look at the neighborhood of northern Uganda (this map isn’t up to date, so it does not include the newly independent, pro-American Republic of South Sudan – which is actually the ancestral home of the Luo, the tribe of the Kenyan side of Obama’s family).
From North Sudan (the Bin Laden-loving terrorist state threatening our South Sudanese allies) to Somalia (a war zone overrun by Al Qaeda and their puppets) is a very target rich environment. The troop placement puts these targets easily within striking range of our special forces and provides a convenient cover for the presence of our covert operatives in that neck of the woods.
Gee, I’m sure glad Ronald Reagan “executed a long-term strategy to build an array of elite, high-tech special forces units” that could carry out these operations. It just goes to show you how far the work of great men can take us.