Rock star-turned-international philanthropist Bono said one of the best weapons the U.S. can use against radical terrorists like Islamic State is comedy, and he advises deploying Amy Schumer and Chris Rock as comedy commandos to fight guns with jokes.
The U2 front man offered his strategy during his testimony before the Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee Tuesday. Bono’s testimony followed his recent trips to the Middle East and Africa, during which he visited several refugee camps.
In addition to offering his thoughts on the current refugee crisis emanating from Syria, he also touched on several aspects of national security after posing for pictures with protesters from the social justice group Code Pink, who wielded cardboard torches, tiaras and signs saying “refugees welcome.” Code Pink’s protest antics on Capitol Hill are well documented, and have included interrupting a Senate event featuring holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and staging an attempted citizen’s arrest of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the middle of a Senate testimony.
“Don’t laugh, but I think comedy should be deployed,” said Bono, regarding a strategy to fight the radical Islamic ideology practiced by Islamic State and various other terrorist groups. His top choices to lead the comedic operation include Amy Schumer, Sacha Baron Cohen and Chris Rock.
In addition to utilizing comedy, one of Bono’s other key points for the subcommittee was to stop looking at foreign aid as charity.
“If there’s one thing I would like for you to take away from this testimony, it is that aid in 2016 is not charity, it is national security,” said Bono in his opening statement. He explained that when utilized properly, aid can be a part of a long-term solution for many world conflicts.
Towards the end of his testimony, Bono also warned congressional leaders not to turn away from Africa. He claimed that in “50 years’ time,” if the U.S. turns its back on Africa and cedes it to China, it will be one of the worst foreign policy mistakes of the beginning of the 21st century.
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