Can you crowd fund a manhunt for Joseph Kony?

[Jesus Malverde]

Can you crowd-fund the hunt for a war criminal on the run deep in Africa's jungles? A Canadian adventurer with experiences in Afghanistan and Somalia wants to do just that: raise funds and take a small band of former soldiers to find Joseph Kony.

Robert Young Pelton, whose plan has already drawn criticism from a pair of Africa experts, is the latest to join a line of private individuals and aid groups who are trying to corner the alleged mass murderer and members of his Lord's Resistance Army. Kony remains elusive despite the deployment by President Barack Obama in late 2011 of 100 U.S. special forces to aid the hunt — which is mostly carried out by Ugandan troops — and the efforts by myriad private groups.

Among those efforts:

— Invisible Children, an American aid group, created a web video seen by more than 100 million people last year that made Kony a family dinner topic and "introduce new audiences to the conflict, and inspire global action."

— The Bridgeway Foundation, a Houston-based charity, hired a private company two years ago that specializes in military and law enforcement training to teach child hostage rescue techniques to the Ugandan troops tracking Kony. With support from the deep-pocketed Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Bridgeway pays an aviation company to fly a Cessna Caravan airplane and a Bell helicopter that are used to extract LRA defectors, transport injured people and broadcast anti-Kony messages from loudspeakers.

— Invisible Children and Resolve, another aid group, operate a website called the LRA Crisis Tracker that collects information on LRA attacks — often radioed in by villagers — in Central Africa Republic, Congo, South Sudan and Sudan. The site allows U.S. military officials or aid workers to see where the LRA is concentrating its attacks.

The U.S. State Department said non-governmental groups and foundations "have played a critical role in bringing the LRA's atrocities to the world's attention and continue to play an important role ... to end those atrocities."

http://www.wral.com/can-you-crowd-fund-a-manhunt-for-joseph-kony-/13077045/

[Jesus Malverde]

1. U.S. troops increasing efforts to help capture African warlord Joseph Kony

Last month, the Special Forces led four dozen South Sudanese troops deep into the heart of the Congo to locate a crudely-erected LRA encampment. The assault was the first time the U.S. advisers provided support on the ground.

Senior officials told the Washington Post in a recent report that the Pentagon has asked for White House approval to temporarily base Osprey aircraft in Uganda to allow both American and African troops to move quickly to assault Kony’s encampments.

“We’re at a new stage in this mission,” Col. Kevin Leahy, who commands the 100 Special Operations troops assisting in the efforts, told the newspaper. “All of the pieces are coming together, and we’re pushing on all fronts.”

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/30/us-troops-increasing-their-effort-to-help-capture-joseph-kony/