American Involvement in Somalia

Just saw a documentary on the American involvement in Somalia, in 1993; the subject of a Hollywood movie Black Hawk Down. It is amazing to see how arrogant Americans were in deciding to remove the local leader Aidid who they decided was no good for Somalia. This piece is about American arrogance by the way. And how American arrogance took a blow at the hands of a small African nation.

So America decides to pick up Aidid from his headquarters in Mogadishu, and they send in 4 Black Hawk helicopters, and around 10 of armored vehicles, around 90 Rangers and Delta men. Now the US Rangers are seriously tough men - military elite in America - genetically tall, buffed, tough men. If earth was fighting aliens in hand to hand combat - these men would be sent. Seriously intimidating in their physical presence- they clearly know it, and are full of it. And they, in their own words, describe themselves as 'Supermen' - physically unchallengable. They are so arrogant, , so proud of themselves and their elite group of "brothers", so sure of their patriotism and moral superiority, you could not find a better set of killing machines on the wide earth.

So these men were sent to pick up Aidid. Everything was going according to plan, when a Black hawk helicopter manning the operation was shot down. Four army rangers fell into occupied territory. To recover these 4 Rangers, America sent in 90 more rangers - with disastrous consequences. 30 American Rangers died killing over a thousand Somalians (by a conservative estimate) and captured only a few of Aidid's generals. Aidid captured one US Ranger.

So now Somalia releases video footage of this one US Ranger in captivity - Michael Durant - to CNN. So Clinton, immediately, in a show of force, lines up the entire bay of Mogadishu with the US Navy and the Army, ready to level Mogadishu to the ground. It was an awesome display of power and an awesome sight covered by an international press. The world waited with bated breath to see the first demonstation of the military might of the now, lone superpower. Fresh out of the cold war, Somalia would be America's first example to the rest of the world. It would be a cruel sight - and the world was ready to take in every gory detail. The pop-corn was ready, the movie would soon begin.

Clinton knew this - and and he knew Aidid did too. And his message to Aidid was terse: 'Michael Durant, or else.' Aidid dropped Durant like a hot potato and Clinton orders his entire fleet back. The GI Joes are obviously angered: they want to go back out and flatten the entire country down - angry at being pulled back; they have developed a furious hatred for the Somalis by this time. They know, if they go back out, they can kill Somalis like mosquitoes, and make them accept complete and humiliating defeat, but they cannot. They retreat in anger, their egos smouldering with belittling spite for the Somalis who have ostensibly defeated them. They retreat as they watch Somali's celebrate their 'victory' over America.