This piece by Azy Groth is cross-posted from Resolve’s blog.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who is currently making a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, said—on camera—that he supports the deployment of troops to stop the Lord’s Resistance Army.
If a front runner for the GOP nomination is on board with the deployment, it bodes well for the future. Romney’s statement follows a wide range of bipartisan leaders who expressed support for Obama’s recent decision to send U.S. advisers to help regional governments address LRA atrocities.
He was talking to The Des Moines Register in the context of an hour-long interview. Around 58:00, he is answering a question about Jihadism and the U.S. military. He says he would be very cautious about deploying large numbers of American troops and putting them in harm’s way. Rather, he favors sending small numbers of advisers to aid national militaries when we are working to achieve common goals. He mentioned Obama’s deployment of 100 troops as a prime example. At 1:00:07 he says:
“The President, for instance, something I agree with, he sent men and women to central Africa, to go in and help battle the Lord’s Resistance Army. Now that’s not exactly the same as Jihadism, but it’s still a virulent and malevolent force. I support that. I support the idea of a very small number of people who can have a very significant impact to prevent something which can be very much opposed to the interests of America as well as the interests of the civilized world.”
This statement is just one more piece of evidence that stopping the LRA is a bipartisan issue. This is huge. Governor Romney, thank you!
Check out the video of Mitt Romney’s comments on the deployment of the advisers here. (Skip to about 58 min 15 sec)
Photo: Mitt Romney (AP)