I occasionally see a headline that makes me think “it would be hard to explain this to someone in [insert year].” That was my first thought when I read a new report by John Hayward of Breitbart titled Uganda Says It Was Cyberattacked After Offering to Help Israel Against Iran. I quote a tweet from General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a Ugandan General who serves as Chief of Defence Forces, possibly in part because he is the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in office since January 1986:
After my tweets the other day in support of Israel, our country experienced numerous cyber attacks. We shall investigate all of them. We will take strong action against those who sent and supported those attacks.
What were his Tweets? I was previously aware of his tweet-storm, which began with:
We want the war in the Middle East to end now. The world is tired of it. But any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On the side of Israel!
Mr. Hayward summarized what followed Mr. Kainerugaba’s initial threat to join Operation Roaring Lion in support of Israel:
Kainerugaba’s posts on X included expressions of gratitude to Israel for standing by Uganda during difficult times, professions of admiration for the Israeli military, and reminiscences about the heroism of Israeli commandos during the famous raid against Palestinian terrorists at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport in 1976. Kainerugaba seemed to enjoy verbally jousting with supporters of Iran and the Palestinians.
But this article is not about Mr. Kainerugaba’s potentially colorful political future, but instead his elite posting about Israel’s war with Iran. Let us key in on one part of what Mr. Hayward wrote:
Kainerugaba’s posts on X included … reminiscences about the heroism of Israeli commandos during the famous raid against Palestinian terrorists at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport in 1976.
Some readers are likely aware of the Entebbe raid but less aware of what has transpired in Uganda in the 50 years since that event. For readers who may not be familiar with the event, I will provide a very brief summary before encouraging people to read about it on the Jewish Virtual Library’s website. On June 27, 1976, Palestinian terrorists hijacked a commercial flight that had started in Tel Aviv, ultimately flying it to Uganda’s Entebbe Airport. Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who had Islamist sympathies, welcomed the terrorists and allowed them to hold the hostages at Entebbe under Ugandan military protection. On July 3, 1976, Israeli commandos raided Entebbe, successfully rescued 102 of 106 hostages, and blew up 11 Ugandan fighter jets on the ground in order to ensure that the Ugandan Air Force would not interfere with their return-trip to Israel.
With the background established, I will add to Mr. Hayward’s summary that Mr. Kainerugaba not only praised the Entebbe raid, but announced his intention to erect a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu at Entebbe Airport. Yonatan Netanyahu was one of the leaders of the Entebbe Raid and the only Israeli soldier killed in action. He was also the elder brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In one of his X posts, Mr. Kainerugaba offered a “sneak peak” of a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu that he said will go up at Entebbe. I took a screen capture of this post on X (see URL).
While our 2026 story would likely be difficult to explain to someone in the summer of 1976, it is worth noting that it is not necessarily surprising that the current Ugandan government may have broadly favorable views of the Entebbe Raid. Idi Amin ran up a substantial body count as dictator in Uganda. Current Ugandan President Musevni was head of the Uganda National Liberation Front and was a commander in the Tanzanian backed invasion which ultimately ousted Idi Amin in 1979.
I followed the story Mr. Kainerugaba’s tweeting (or X’ing) in real time, but when I read about him complaining about cyberattacks in the aftermath, I thought about how the world changes. In 1976, Uganda assisted Palestinian terrorists in holding hostage, and threatening to murder, more than 100 civilians. Israel successfully freed almost all of the hostages in one of history’s great commando raids. Iran, which was run by the Shah, was pro-Western and had a cordial relationship with Israel. 50 years in the future, the head of the Ugandan military is complaining about attacks for publicly supporting Israel in its war against a theocratic Iran.
How would I explain the future to someone following current events in July 1976?
“Uganda believe what I am about to tell you about the future, but Iran to tell you it’s Israel.”
Uganda, Israel, and Iran in 2026 vs 1976
Commentary HistoryNicholas A. FerrellI occasionally see a headline that makes me think “it would be hard to explain this to someone in [insert year].” That was my first thought when I read a new report by John Hayward of Breitbart titled Uganda Says It Was Cyberattacked After Offering to Help Israel Against Iran. I quote a tweet from General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a Ugandan General who serves as Chief of Defence Forces, possibly in part because he is the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in office since January 1986:
What were his Tweets? I was previously aware of his tweet-storm, which began with:
Mr. Hayward summarized what followed Mr. Kainerugaba’s initial threat to join Operation Roaring Lion in support of Israel:
That Mr. Kainerugaba was tweeting up a storm is not news-worthy in and of itself. New Leaf Journal readers may not know that I am fairly up-to-date with goings on in Uganda by Brooklyn standards and Mr. Kainerugaba’s often intemperate social media posting has come up in my reading. Say what one will about his qualifications to serve as head of the Ugandan military or as the presumptive heir apparent to his father, but the man is a high-level poster. If he ever becomes President of Uganda, he would instantly be a top-tier poster among heads of state.
But this article is not about Mr. Kainerugaba’s potentially colorful political future, but instead his elite posting about Israel’s war with Iran. Let us key in on one part of what Mr. Hayward wrote:
Some readers are likely aware of the Entebbe raid but less aware of what has transpired in Uganda in the 50 years since that event. For readers who may not be familiar with the event, I will provide a very brief summary before encouraging people to read about it on the Jewish Virtual Library’s website. On June 27, 1976, Palestinian terrorists hijacked a commercial flight that had started in Tel Aviv, ultimately flying it to Uganda’s Entebbe Airport. Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who had Islamist sympathies, welcomed the terrorists and allowed them to hold the hostages at Entebbe under Ugandan military protection. On July 3, 1976, Israeli commandos raided Entebbe, successfully rescued 102 of 106 hostages, and blew up 11 Ugandan fighter jets on the ground in order to ensure that the Ugandan Air Force would not interfere with their return-trip to Israel.
With the background established, I will add to Mr. Hayward’s summary that Mr. Kainerugaba not only praised the Entebbe raid, but announced his intention to erect a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu at Entebbe Airport. Yonatan Netanyahu was one of the leaders of the Entebbe Raid and the only Israeli soldier killed in action. He was also the elder brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While our 2026 story would likely be difficult to explain to someone in the summer of 1976, it is worth noting that it is not necessarily surprising that the current Ugandan government may have broadly favorable views of the Entebbe Raid. Idi Amin ran up a substantial body count as dictator in Uganda. Current Ugandan President Musevni was head of the Uganda National Liberation Front and was a commander in the Tanzanian backed invasion which ultimately ousted Idi Amin in 1979.
I followed the story Mr. Kainerugaba’s tweeting (or X’ing) in real time, but when I read about him complaining about cyberattacks in the aftermath, I thought about how the world changes. In 1976, Uganda assisted Palestinian terrorists in holding hostage, and threatening to murder, more than 100 civilians. Israel successfully freed almost all of the hostages in one of history’s great commando raids. Iran, which was run by the Shah, was pro-Western and had a cordial relationship with Israel. 50 years in the future, the head of the Ugandan military is complaining about attacks for publicly supporting Israel in its war against a theocratic Iran.
How would I explain the future to someone following current events in July 1976?
“Uganda believe what I am about to tell you about the future, but Iran to tell you it’s Israel.”
(I would say I am sorry but I stand by my puns.)
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