Talk:Foreign support of Uganda in the Uganda–Tanzania War

The situation of the UK

@Applodion: I really don't think the United Kingdom warrants a section on this page. The only thing they did that could be construed as supporting Amin was tolerating the whisky shuttles. Everything else they did was out of sympathy for Nyerere's position and a desire to see Amin–who was hostile to British interests–removed from the presidency. This master's thesis proves enlightening on the subject. Master's theses aren't RS sadly, but the document references numerous papers from the British Foreign Office which indicate that the UK government despised Amin and were happy to see him go. -Indy beetle (talk) 18:38, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

@Indy beetle: You're probably right; I mostly included them due to Avirgan & Honey kinda-accusing the UK of indirectly helping Amin - and A&H remain the best source for the war. As the section title "Ambigious cases" indicates I was honestly not sure how to cover the fact that the UK was somewhat helping Amin despite actually supporting the Tanzanians. I will remove them for now. Applodion (talk) 19:12, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

I'd consider that comparable to how the League of Nations-imposed weapons embargos hurt Ethiopia way more than they hurt Italy during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the League or the prime European powers were supporting Italy. US diplomatic stalling during the Congo Crisis benefited secessionist Katanga at every turn, but the Americans were firmly supportive of the Congolese central government and the UN; they just made some severe miscalculations that helped their adversaries. I think in terms of characterizing foreign activity as "support" of a belligerent there has to at least be a possibility that a foreign actor was intentionally helping the belligerent. Mistakes, apathy, or a lack of oversight that indirectly help the belligerent which the foreign power is opposed to (as in the UK-Amin case) shouldn't be, in my opinion, presented as "support". -Indy beetle (talk) 19:29, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

@Indy beetle: True. I also have begun to doubt if Avirgan & Honey were entirely correct in their assessments of foreign aid during the war anyway. For example, the growing number of claims about foreign support for Tanzania from so many sources, not just locals, diplomats, and journalists, but even militant factions like ZANU which had no real stakes in the war (at least as far as I can see), have made me a bit suspicious. Sadly, most claims do not list their exact sources (for example Young's extremely weird claim that "500 North Korean military advisors" aided Tanzania during the war), so who knows if they were just repeating absurd rumours. Applodion (talk) 19:43, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

I'd recommend moving Kenya to an "ambiguous" case of support. I just found a Ugandan political scientist who characterised Moi's position on the war as one of "ambiguity". At the very least the view of the Kenyans role in the war is disputed. -Indy beetle (talk) 20:18, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Kalisizo

@Applodion: Re the situation at Kalisizo, Avirgan & Honey state that the TPDF bombarded the town, driving out the garrison i.e. there wasn't a proper "clash". They also make zero mention of Libyans or "Arabs" being found there, which I feel like they would have if that had really been the case. Among Rwehururu's claims, this one is among the more doubtful. -Indy beetle (talk) 04:34, 12 May 2021 (UTC)

@Indy beetle: Thanks; kinda forgot that part of Avirgan & Honey. I will move the information into a note, and add Avirgan & Honey's take on it. Applodion (talk) 08:26, 12 May 2021 (UTC)