. >> is the ultimate goal that opposing of mr. kony predicted the posing of mr. kony and the disbanding of the lra? >> that is the stated goal. that is one of the four parts of the strategy. it is very important that we have a clear mission. >> there is a broader objective that we are serving which is to support partners in africa so that they can address the threat to their citizens to achieve stability and become more productive contributors to security in the region and more broadly. we have seen some of them stepping up as has been mentioned in somalia at great risk and loss of life. this is a problem that is debilitating to several countries so this is something we can help them finally put an end to this threat. it will help their security and make them better partners for us. >> was there a perception in making this decision that our partners were on their own not capable of meeting that goal? >> yes, congressman. while they had made a lot of progress, we had seen the lra's size reduced substantially, but going that final distance to destruction of the lra

but is the ultimate goal the deposing of mr. kony and the dismemberment of the lra? >> that is -- that is the stated goal that's one of the four parts of the strategy. >> i think that's it's very important that we have a clear mission. >> okay. >> there's also a broader objective that we're supporting and that's to support partners in africa so that they can address the threats their citizens to achieve stability and become more productive contributors to security in the region and more broadly. we've seen some of them stepping up as has been mentioned in somalia at great risk and loss of life. this is a problem that it's debilitating for several countries and so that we can help them finally put an end to their threat will make them better partners for them going forward. >> was there a perception in making a decision that our partners were on their own not capable of meeting that goal? >> yes, congressman. the judgment was that while they made a lot of progress, we've seen the lra's size reduced substantially. going that final distance to destruction of the lra and

. >> ok, but is the ultimate goal the opposing of mr. kony and the dismemberment of the lra?oal, one of the four parts. did and i think it is very important that we have a clear understanding. >> there is a broader understanding that we are serving is to support our partners in africa to address the threats to their civilians and achieve stability and become more productive contributors to security in the region and more broadly. we've seen some of them stepping up in somalia, at great risk, and loss of life. this is a problem that is debilitating for several countries. to the extent that we can help them put an end to this threat, i think it will help their security and make them better partners for us going forward. >> was there a perception in making this decision that our partners were on their own not capable of meeting that goal? >> yes, congressman. the judgment was that while they had made a lot of progress, we have seen the lra's size reduced substantially -- going that final step of destruction of the lra was something they were not quite capable of. this assistance

kony in late 2008. let's succeed now at sidelining this terrorist. thank you. i yield back. >> thank you very much, mr>> thank you, madam chair. thank you very much for calling this very important hearing and, ranking member berman. after years of congressional bipartisan support and resounding support from the american people, the administration has taken action to bring an end to the predatory military group known as the lord's resistance army or the lra. over the last nearly 25 years, the lra has murdered, raped, abducted tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. in june 2011 alone, the lra reportedly carried out as many as 52 attacks killing 32 civilians and abducting 39 while looting the villages. i was in uganda in the early '90s when we heard about the lord's resistance army who at that time with the support of bashir from sudan was reaping havoc on the community. there is no doubt that without bold and sustained u.s. action, joseph kony, the brutal leader of the lra and his gang, will increase their attacks on civilians and abduction of children to be soldiers. kony has taken adva

mr. president? they said if you really want to do something about terrorism, get this growing force, josephy kony has and help us take him out. you might ask the question because it was asked of me today on talk radio show, they said wait a minute, why is it we can't get uganda to go in and do it or congo to do it or rwanda to do it? i would suggest to you that the presidents of these three countries came from the bush. president miews of rene was a warrior in the bush and doesn't like to admit he can't take care of a monster named joseph kony by himself. paul kagame is the president of rwanda, he's a tough warrior but doesn't want admit he would have to have help. the president of the congo, the same thing. i was able to get the three of them together and they agreed to work together with each other and asked if thee they could have some support from the united states in the way of intelligence and maybe a helicopter or two and i said yes, we passed a law and this law we passed was right here in the united states senate, there was not one senator who voted against it. i had 64 cosponsors, the larges

kony. anyway, the -- last year we find -- i got a little bit concerned that nothing was happening. one of the reasons, toeuf say this, mr. president -- i have to say this, mr. president, was nothing much was happened is if you take these countries like president museveni, president kiga ph*eu, these presidents came out of the bush, and i think they feel if they can't get renegades like this, it is a blow to their ego. i was able to get the three of them together, joe keug -- kigali and president museveni and we talked about being able to eradicate this monster. last year i talked with senators to pass into law the lord's resistance army disarmament and northern uganda recovery act of 2009. we had 64 cosponsors. this is the largest number of cosponsors on any kind of a bill affecting africa in history. and we had these senators, these senators cosponsoring the bill, and they all were very excited about it. then when we brought this -- let me tell you what the law says. it directs the administration to develop a regional strategy to apprehend or remove joseph kony, his top commanders to disarm, immobilize the l.r.a. fight

kony. anyway, the -- last year we find -- i got a little bit concerned that nothing was happening. one of the reasons, toeuf say this, mr. president -- i have to say this, mr. president, was nothing much was happened is if you take these countries like president museveni, president kiga ph*eu, these presidents came out of the bush, and i think they feel if they can't get renegades like this, it is a blow to their ego. i was able to get the three of them together, joe keug -- kigali and president museveni and we talked about being able to eradicate this monster. last year i talked with senators to pass into law the lord's resistance army disarmament and northern uganda recovery act of 2009. we had 64 cosponsors. this is the largest number of cosponsors on any kind of a bill affecting africa in history. and we had these senators, these senators cosponsoring the bill, and they all were very excited about it. then when we brought this -- let me tell you what the law says. it directs the administration to develop a regional strategy to apprehend or remove joseph kony, his top commanders to disarm, immobilize the l.r.a. fight