Another Fine Mess: America, Uganda, and the War on Terror

In this relentlessly angry but convincing polemic, Epstein (The Invisible Cure), visiting professor of global public health and human rights at Bard College, exposes the corrupt and murderous regime of Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for over 30 years. Though uneasy over Museveni’s poor record on human rights, the U.S. government considers him a bulwark in the war against terrorism. Museveni’s army defeated Uganda’s previous military dictator in 1986, after five years of guerilla warfare. He took power promising peace and democracy, but almost immediately began suppressing democracy, rigging elections, and—with the help of massive amounts of American aid—using his army to oppress the Ugandan people and wreak havoc in neighboring nations (including Rwanda, where Epstein concludes Museveni bears major responsibility for the genocide). Epstein spent years in Uganda working on AIDS research, and most of the Ugandans she interviews are opposition members. She recounts Museveni’s misconduct and bloody military adventures in painful detail, with the express goal of persuading the U.S. government to change its policy. That may be a tough sell, but Epstein succeeds in disclosing the nefarious deeds of a U.S. ally. (Sept.)