Senator Inhofe Talks About Kony 2012 Movement

The Kony 2012 movement is still gaining momentum and so is the criticism of the viral video. But few people understand the fight to capture Kony better than Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe. 

On Thursday afternoon there were almost 80 million hits to the KONY 2012 video on YouTube alone giving wide attention to a cause Inhofe has been fighting for 16 years now.

Invisible Children's account of Joseph Kony's atrocities has become the most viral video in history.

"He would abduct kids out of their villages. He'd teach the little girls so they had to go into sex slavery," said Inhofe. 

Inhofe has been talking about those atrocities for almost two decades. Many of them he witnessed firsthand during his 125 trips to Africa. 

"The boys had to learn to use the AK-47's and then they had to go back to their village and murder their parents and siblings. And if they didn't do it they would cut their lips off and cut their ears off and their noses off.  So you have all these mutilated kids up there in Northern Uganda," said Inhofe.

Back in 2010 Inhofe pushed lawmakers to sign his resolution directing the United States to help African governments remove and capture Joseph Kony.

"People would say that's just one guy in the central part of Africa.  But you've got to keep in mind this one guy has been operating now for 25 years.  He has been mutilating kids, he's a terrorist," said Inhofe.

But Inhofe admits that legislation and the current ground swell to capture Kony wouldn't exist without Invisible Children. Still both the charity and Inhofe have faced criticism for sending US troops and resources to Africa.

"They wouldn't say that if they could see these kids with their lips cut off and their ears cut off."

And despite the backlash toward Invisible Children, Inhofe fully supports the charity's efforts and sentiment.

"He's got to be taken out and let's make 2012 the year."

Inhofe says Kony was close to being captured several times but narrowly escaped.

The group Invisible Children has been criticized for not spending enough money directly on the people it intends to help.