Meeting with Senator McCaskill

On Thursday, a friend and I drove to Columbia, MO, to meet with US Senator Claire McCaskill’s staff.  We had something important to discuss and to bring to her attention.

On May 24, 2010, President Obama sign into law a bill that commits him to lead a new international strategy aimed at permanently stopping LRA violence and helping affected communities recover. In the 24 years that this crisis has engulfed millions of peoples’ lives across an entire region of Africa, no United States President has ever before committed publicly to helping seek its end.
In signing the bill, the President pledged to “renew our commitments and strengthen our capabilities to protect and assist civilians caught in the LRA’s wake, to receive those that surrender, and to support efforts to bring the LRA leadership to justice.”  He also pledged to present a clear strategy on how to end the violence as well as a strategy for rebuilding these regions after years of devastating war.  President Obama has 180 days from the signing of the bill to develop these strategies. The time is coming.
We met with McCaskill on Thursday to ask her to publicly commit to read and respond to the President’s strategy when it is released.  That’s it.  But it is something and it is important.
If you live in Missouri, I encourage you to write your Members of Congress and ask them to do the same – publicly commit to read and respond to the President’s strategy regarding the LRA when it is released in mid-November.
To read more about the LRA bill or the history of the conflict, check out the Resolve Uganda website or the Invisible Children website.