By M. Suleman

31^st Oct 2011: With the help of France, forces opposed to the then President of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo fought their way until they eventually stormed the State House and captured Gbagbo alive.  Today, with Gbagbo out of the way, a new government is in place and Ivory Coast has turned a new page.

With the help of NATO, [where the French were again instrumental] the anti-Gaddafi NTC forces battled for eight months, captured the capital Tripoli, then captured Gaddafi in his home town of Sirte from where it is believed, he was executed.  Today, with Gaddafi out of the way, Libya has turned a new page.

In the Great Lakes region, the French, when they led the European peace keeping force, will be remembered for ordering Ugandan and other belligerent forces to withdraw from eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC].  That is France.  They talk and walk the talk!  France does not speak in tongues.

After the fall of the “strongmen” in Tunisia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, and Libya, one would have expected the USA to take a breath and reconsider her foreign policy towards those countries where she wields a lot of influence.  These are the usual suspect countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda among others.

It is particularly sad because US President Barack Obama had given Africans a lot of hope when he categorically stated in Accra – Ghana that Africa does not need strongmen but it needs strong institutions.  Unfortunately, the US has not walked the talk.  In fact, even with lessons from the ‘Arab Spring’, it appears the US has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing.

Just as it has always done, the US has continued to bolster its tyrants across the world [and Africa in particular] even when all the evidence shows that those tyrants have become more unpopular and repressive in the face of consistent resistance from restless citizens.

The recent arrival of the US Special Forces in Uganda is the perfect example of how America is still more concerned with the personal political interests of its tyrants [read Museveni and Co] than the interests of the people the tyrants rule.  At this material time, Joseph Kony and his LRA bandits do not pose an immediate threat to the security of Uganda.

One therefore wonders why the US did not send military assistance to help fight Kony in the late 1980s and 1990s when the LRA were wrecking havoc to millions of lives and properties in northern Uganda.  Even when children, women, and the elderly were being butchered by the LRA, America did nothing!  Therefore, for the US to send its Special Forces now to start another military operation which is likely to lead to more loss of innocent lives is very unfortunate.

Kony is the product of a failed political system.  With political will, or regime change in Uganda, Kony will come out of the bush within a day and at no cost.  Kony’s willingness to come out of the bush was demonstrated during the Juba peace talks.  Just like so many peace initiatives before it, the Juba peace talks failed because of Museveni’s senseless ultimatums and threats to attack Kony.

For now, the US Special Forces may help capture or even execute Kony.  But America must realize that while that may strengthen their tyrant Museveni in the short term, it will never make him President for life.  When Ugandans finally kick Museveni out, they may also decide to kick the US out of Uganda at the same time.

Ugandans would therefore appreciate America more if it could emulate France and help Ugandans to turn another page; a page without Museveni.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.