U2 frontman Bono has a unique suggestion in the fight against the so-called Islamic State: send in comedians like Amy Schumer, Chris Rock and Sacha Baron Cohen.
Bono touched on a range of issues involving the Middle East and the refugee crisis Tuesday when he spoke in front of a Senate subcommittee in Washington, D.C.
The 55-year-old singer said the U.S. strategy against ISIS militants should move away from bombing campaigns and focus on laughter.
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“Don’t laugh. I think comedy should be deployed. It’s like, you speak violence, you speak their language,” he told the subcommittee.
“But you laugh at them, when they’re goose-stepping down the street, and it takes away their power. So, I’m suggesting that the Senate send in Amy Schumer, and Chris Rock, and Sacha Baron Cohen, thank you.”
Bono reassured the crowd at the Senate building that he was in fact “being serious.”
“Actually, that’s not the first time I’ve heard experts on how do we counter violent extremism talk about that,” said Demoractic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire. “It’s one of the things that we’re looking at.”
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The unusual idea even drew a response from Amy Schumer who acknowledged the idea on Twitter.
Bono, whose real name is Paul Hewson, also spoke on the Hill Tuesday about the refugee crisis in the Middle East and North Africa.
WATCH: Bono says helping refugees should be a national security
“Investing today in stability is more cost-effective than investing later in crisis management and dealing with the violent extremism that conflict creates and attracts,” the Irish rocker said.
“The fact is that aid can no longer be seen as charity, a nice thing to do when we can afford it. If there is one thing I would like you to take away from this testimony it is that aid in 2016 is not charity it is national security,” he said. “And when it is structured properly with a hard focus on fighting corruption and improving governance to qualify for that aid it could be the best bulwark we have for fighting extremism.”
The United States recently deployed B-52 bombers to the Mideast nation of Qatar to take part in the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State group, the Air Force said last weekend.
It is the first time the heavy bombers have been sent to the region since the 1991 Gulf War.
*With a file from the Associated Press.
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