Mark Bowden’s book, Black Hawk Down, (made into a motion picture), is a nail-biting minute-by-minute account of the battle of Mogadishu, Somalia. Maybe you didn’t know we fought the battle of Mog back in October 1993. Before reading the book, I knew little of the affair, save only a general idea of feuding warlords and that after the downing of a helicopter (a Black Hawk), the Somalians dragged the bodies of the dead soldiers through the streets. That made me mad.
Turns out my assessment was not that inaccurate. The exact happenings, however, were much worse. Four Black Hawks were shot by RPGs and the fight was on a much larger scale. But I’m getting ahead of myself — in summary, the goal of the operation was to extract some key members of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid’s militia in an attempt to end the ceaseless fighting (and enable the UN to distribute needed food to the famine ravaged people.) A force of 75 Army Rangers and 40 Delta Force troops in 17 helicopters went in. The operation was supposed to take about an hour. True to schedule, 24 people were captured by the US forces in short time. Then the first of the US helicopters was shot down, signaling the decaying of the situation. Trying to leave the city, the hundred or so US troops were pinned down by intense gunfire from a seemingly innumerable and growing force of thousands of clan militia and Aidid sympathizers. 18 US soldiers were killed and dozens injured. A much larger, international force (consisting of 4 Pakistani tanks, 28 Malaysian armored personnel carriers, 150 regular US soldiers (10th’s Alpha Company), a platoon of Ranger volunteers and some Delta Force troops) was marshaled to extract the embattled soldiers. The soldiers were rescued, but not without incredible resistance from the militia. An estimated 500 Somalians were killed and an equal number were badly wounded. One US soldier was taken captive and a few of the slain soldiers were dragged through the streets by angry crowds.
When news of the disaster reached America, President Clinton ordered an immediate ceasefire. The captive US soldier was eventually released as were the remains of the killed soldiers. America left the region, not to return since. Aidid died 1996 and to this day Somalia is still a bloody war ground of fighting rival clans.
Caution: the book contains abundant, harsh language and a few adult topics.
Read more here
