U.S. May Cut Aid To Uganda Because Of Anti-Gay Crackdown

The Pentagon’s close ties with the Ugandan military — comprised of 120 U.S. advisers and $100 million worth of training, weapons and supplies since 2011 — may be in jeopardy due to Uganda’s escalating crackdown on its gay, lesbian and transgendered citizens. “LGBT issues” are a “caveat on U.S. support,” an American officials close to the U.S. train-and-equip program told Wired’s Danger Room. In recent years, hardline anti-gay Ugandan legislators proposed laws, known as “Kill The Gays” bills, that would make homosexuality a capital offense. While the U.S. relies on the Ugandan military to protect a number of U.S. interests in the region, the White House’s strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, released this month, puts U.S. policy prioritizes human rights, including “opposing discrimination based on disability, gender or sexual orientation.”