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1" X 3 1/2" "COMBAT WOUNDED" Somalia Tab PURPLE HEART STYLE TAB
The Battle of Mogadishu
| The Battle of Mogadishu, more
commonly referred to as Black Hawk Down or, locally, as the Day of the
Rangers (Somali: Maalintii Rangers), was part of Operation Gothic Serpent
and was fought on 3 and 4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between
forces of the United States supported by UNOSOM II, and Somali militiamen
loyal to the self-proclaimed president-to-be Mohamed Farrah Aidid who had
support from armed civilian fighters.
A U.S. Army force in Mogadishu,
consisting primarily of U.S. Army Rangers from Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion,
75th Ranger Regiment; C Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational
Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), better known as "Delta Force"; as well as Air
Force Combat Controllers and Air Force Pararescuemen and helicopters from
1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, attempted to
seize two of Aidid's high-echelon lieutenants during a meeting in the city.
Shortly after the assault began, Somali militia and armed civilian fighters
shot down two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The subsequent operation to
secure and recover the crews of both helicopters drew the raid, intended to
last no more than an hour, into an overnight standoff in the city. The
battle resulted in 18 deaths, 80 wounded, and one helicopter pilot captured
among the U.S. raid party and rescue forces. One Pakistani soldier and one
Malaysian soldier were killed as part of the rescue forces. American sources
estimate between 1,500 and 3,000 Somali casualties, including civilians; SNA
forces claim only 315 killed, with 812 wounded. The battle is now referred
to as the First Battle of Mogadishu to distinguish it from the Second Battle
of Mogadishu of 2006.
Summary
Task Force Ranger—which
consisted of an assault force made up of U.S. Army Delta Force operators,
Army Rangers, Air Force Pararescuemen, Air Force Combat Controllers, four
Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and an air
element provided by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment—under
Major General William F. Garrison's command executed an operation that
involved traveling from their compound on the city's outskirts to the center
with the aim of capturing the leaders of the Habr Gidr clan, led by warlord
Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The assault force consisted of nineteen aircraft,
twelve vehicles (including nine Humvees), and 160 men.
During the operation, two
U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by RPGs and three others were
damaged. Some of the wounded survivors were able to evacuate to the
compound, but others remained near the crash sites and were isolated. An
urban battle ensued throughout the night.
Early the next morning, a combined task force was
sent to rescue the trapped soldiers. It contained soldiers from the Pakistan
Army, the Malaysian Army and the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division. They
assembled some hundred vehicles, including Pakistani tanks (M48s) and
Malaysian Condor armoured personnel carriers and were supported by U.S. MH-6
Little Bird and MH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. This task force reached the
first crash site and rescued the survivors. The second crash site had been
overrun by hostile Somalis during the night. Delta snipers Gary Gordon and
Randy Shughart volunteered to hold them off until ground forces arrived. A
Somali mob with thousands of combatants eventually overran the two men. That
site's lone surviving American, pilot Michael Durant, had been taken
prisoner but was later released.
The exact number of Somali casualties is unknown, but estimates range from
several hundred to over a thousand militiamen and others killed, with
injuries to another 3,000–4,000. The International Committee of the Red
Cross estimated 200 Somali civilians killed and several hundred wounded in
the fighting, with reports that some civilians attacked the Americans. The
book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War estimates more than 700 Somali
militiamen dead and more than 1,000 wounded, but the Somali National
Alliance in a Frontline documentary on American television acknowledged only
133 killed in the whole battle. The Somali casualties were reported in The
Washington Post as 312 killed and 814 wounded. The Pentagon initially
reported five American soldiers were killed, but the toll was actually 18
American soldiers dead and 73 wounded. Two days later, a 19th soldier, Delta
operator SFC Matt Rierson, was killed in a mortar attack. Among U.N. forces,
one Malaysian and one Pakistani died; seven Malaysians and two Pakistanis
were wounded. At the time, the battle was the bloodiest involving U.S.
troops since the Vietnam War and remained so until the Second Battle of
Fallujah in 2004.
On
24 July 1996, Aidid was wounded during a firefight between his militia and
forces loyal to warlords and former Aidid allies, Ali Mahdi Muhammad and
Osman Ali Atto. He suffered a fatal heart attack on 1 August 1996, either
during or after surgery to treat his wounds. The following day, General
Garrison retired.
Background
In January 1991, Somalian President Mohammed Siad
Barre was overthrown in the ensuing civil war by a coalition of opposing
clans. The Somali National Army concurrently disbanded and some former
soldiers reconstituted as irregular regional forces or joined the clan
militias. The main rebel group in the capital Mogadishu was the United
Somali Congress (USC), which later divided into two armed factions: one led
by Ali Mahdi Muhammad, who became president, and the other by Mohamed Farrah
Aidid. In total, there were four opposition groups that competed for
political control – the USC, Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF),
Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) and Somali Democratic Movement (SDM). In
June 1991, a ceasefire was agreed to, but failed to hold. A fifth group, the
Somali National Movement (SNM), later declared independence in the Somalia's
northwest portion in June. The SNM renamed the unrecognized territory
Somaliland, with its leader Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur selected as president.
In September 1991, severe
fighting broke out in Mogadishu, which continued in the following months and
spread throughout the country, with over 20,000 people killed or injured by
the end of the year. These wars led to the destruction of the Somalia's
agriculture, which in turn led to starvation in large parts of the country.
The international community began to send food supplies to halt the
starvation, but vast amounts of food were hijacked and brought to local clan
leaders, who routinely exchanged it with other countries for weapons. An
estimated 80 percent of the food was stolen. These factors led to even more
starvation, from which an estimated 300,000 people died and another 1.5
million people suffered between 1991 and 1992. In July 1992, after a
ceasefire between the opposing clan factions, the U.N. sent 50 military
observers to watch the food's distribution.
Operation Provide Relief
began in August 1992, when the U.S. President George H. W. Bush announced
that U.S. military transports would support the multinational U.N. relief
effort in Somalia. Ten C-130s and 400 people were deployed to Mombasa,
Kenya, airlifting aid to Somalia's remote areas and reducing reliance on
truck convoys. One member of the 86th Supply Squadron, USAFE's only
contribution to the operation, was deployed with the ground support
contingent. The C-130s delivered 48,000 tons of food and medical supplies in
six months to international humanitarian organizations trying to help
Somalia's more than three million starving people.
When this proved inadequate to stop the massive
death and displacement of the Somali people (500,000 dead and 1.5 million
refugees or displaced), the U.S launched a major coalition operation to
assist and protect humanitarian activities in December 1992. This operation,
called Operation Restore Hope, saw the U.S. assuming the unified command in
accordance with Resolution 794. The U.S. Marine Corps landed the 15th Marine
Expeditionary Unit in Mogadishu and, with elements of 1st Battalion, 7th
Marines and 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, secured nearly one-third of the
city, the port, and airport facilities within two weeks, with the intent to
facilitate airlifted humanitarian supplies. Elements of the 2nd Battalion;
HMLA-369 (Helicopter Marine Light Assault-369 of Marine Aircraft Group-39,
3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Camp Pendleton); 9th Marines; and 1st Battalion,
7th Marines quickly secured routes to Baidoa, Balidogle and Kismayo, then
were reinforced by the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion and the U.S. Army's
10th Mountain Division.
Mission shift
On 3 March 1993, the U.N. Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali submitted to the U.N. Security Council his
recommendations for effecting the transition from UNITAF to UNOSOM II. He
indicated that since Resolution 794's adoption in December 1992, UNITAF's
presence and operations had created a positive impact on Somalia's security
situation and on the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance (UNITAF
deployed some 37,000 personnel over forty percent of southern and central
Somalia). However, there was still no effective government, police, or
national army with the result of serious security threats to U.N. personnel.
To that end, the Security Council authorized UNOSOM II to establish a secure
environment throughout Somalia, to achieve national reconciliation so as to
create a democratic state.
At the Conference on
National Reconciliation in Somalia, held on 15 March 1993, in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, all fifteen Somali parties agreed to the terms set out to restore
peace and democracy. Yet, by May it became clear that, although a signatory
to the March Agreement, Mohammed Farrah Aidid's faction would not cooperate
in the Agreement's implementation.
Aidid began to broadcast
anti-U.N. propaganda on Radio Mogadishu after believing that the U.N. was
purposefully marginalizing him in an attempt to "rebuild Somalia".
Lieutenant General Çevik Bir ordered the radio station shut down, in an
attempt to quash the beginning of what could turn into a rebellion. Civilian
spies throughout UNOSOM II's headquarters likely led to the uncovering of
the U.N.'s plan. Aidid ordered SNA militia to attack a Pakistani force on 5
June 1993, that had been tasked with the inspection of an arms cache located
at the radio station, possibly out of fear that this was a task force sent
to shut down the broadcast. The result was 24 dead, and 57 wounded Pakistani
troops, as well as 1 wounded Italian and 3 wounded American soldiers. On 6
June 1993, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 837, declaring total
war on Aidid and his forces.
On 12 June, U.S. troops
started attacking targets in Mogadishu in hopes of finding Aidid, a campaign
which lasted until 16 June. On 17 June, a $25,000 warrant was issued by
Admiral Jonathan Howe for information leading to Aidid's arrest, but he was
never captured. Howe also requested a counter-terrorist rescue force after
the Pakistanis' deaths.
Attack on safe house
On 12 July 1993, a U.S.-led operation was launched
on what was believed to be a safe house where Aidid was hiding in Mogadishu.
During the 17-minute combat operation, U.S. Cobra attack helicopters fired
16 TOW missiles and thousands of 20-millimeter cannon rounds into the
compound, killing 60 people. However, the number of Somali fatalities was
disputed. Abdi Qeybdiid, Aidid's interior minister, claimed 763 dead,
including women and children who had been in the safe house. The reports
Jonathan Howe got after the attack placed the number of dead at 20, all men.
The International Committee of the Red Cross set the number of dead at 54.
As it happened, Aidid was nowhere in sight.
The operation would lead
to the deaths of four journalists – Dan Eldon, Hos Maina, Hansi Kraus and
Anthony Macharia – who were killed by angry Mogadishu mobs when they arrived
to cover the incident, which presaged the Battle of Mogadishu.
Some believe that this
American attack was a turning point in unifying Somalis against U.S. efforts
in Somalia, including former moderates and those opposed to the Habar Gidir.
Task Force Ranger
On 8 August 1993, Aidid's militia detonated a
remote controlled bomb against a U.S. military vehicle, killing four
soldiers. Two weeks later another bomb injured seven more. In response, U.S.
President Bill Clinton approved the proposal to deploy a special task force
composed of 400 U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force operators. This unit,
named Task Force Ranger, consisted of 160 elite U.S. troops.
On 22 August, the unit
deployed to Somalia under the command of Major General William F. Garrison,
commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at the time.
The force consisted of:
B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
C Squadron, 1st Special
Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D)
A deployment package of 16
helicopters and personnel from the 160th Special Operations Aviation
Regiment (160th SOAR), which included MH-60 Black Hawks and AH/MH-6 Little
Birds.
Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare
Development Group (DEVGRU)
Air Force Pararescuemen
and Combat Controllers from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.
On
21 September, Task Force Ranger captured Aidid's financier, Osman Ali Atto.
First Black Hawk Down
At around 02:00 on 25 September, Aidid's men shot
down a 101st Airborne Division Black Hawk with an RPG and killed three crew
members at New Port near Mogadishu. The shootdown was a huge SNA
psychological victory.
Order of Battle
Units involved in the battle:
Task Force Ranger,
including:
C Squadron, 1st Special Forces Operational
Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D) – aka "Delta Force"
Bravo Company, 3rd Ranger
Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
1st Battalion, 160th
Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (The Night Stalkers) with
MH-6J and AH-6 "Little Birds" and MH-60 A/L Black Hawks
Combat Controllers and
Pararescuemen from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron
Navy SEALs from the Naval
Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)
CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln
& Carrier Air Wing 11
Task Force-10th Mountain Division, including:
1st Battalion, 22nd
Infantry Regiment
2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment
3rd platoon, C Company,
1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment
15th FF Battalion, of the
Frontier Force Regiment, Pakistan Army
19th Lancers of the
Pakistan Army
Included with the TF was the 977 MP Company
U.N. Forces
19th Battalion, Royal
Malay Regiment of the Malaysian Army
11th Regiment, Grup Gerak
Khas (few GGK operators during rescue the Super 6-1 crews)
7th Battalion, Frontier
Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army
USC/SNA
The size and organizational structure of the
Somali militia forces involved in the battle are not known in detail. In
all, between 2,000–4,000 regular faction members are believed to have
participated, almost all of whom belonged to Aidid's Somali National
Alliance. They drew largely from his Habar Gidir Hawiye clan, who battled
U.S. troops starting 12 July 1993.
The Somali National
Alliance (SNA) was formed 14 August 1992. It began as the United Somali
Congress (USC) under Aidid's leadership. At the time of Operation Gothic
Serpent, the SNA was composed of Col. Omar Gess' Somali Patriotic Movement,
the Somali Democratic Movement, the combined Digil and Mirifleh clans, the
Habr Gedir of the United Somali Congress headed by Aidid, and the newly
established Southern Somali National Movement.
After formation, the SNA immediately staged an
assault against the militia of the Hawadle Hawiye clan, who controlled the
Mogadishu port area. As a result, the Hawadle Hawiye were pushed out of the
area, and Aidid's forces took control.
Engagement
On Sunday - 3 October
1993, Task Force Ranger, U.S. special operations forces composed mainly of
Bravo Company 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, 1st Special Forces
Operational Detachment-Delta (better known as "Delta Force") operators, and
the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) ("The Night
Stalkers"), attempted to capture Aidid's foreign minister Omar Salad Elmi
and his top political advisor, Mohamed Hassan Awale.
The plan was that Delta
operators would assault the target building (using MH-6 Little Bird
helicopters) and secure the targets inside the building while four Ranger
chalks (under CPT Michael D. Steele's command) would fast rope down from
hovering MH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. The Rangers would then create a
four-corner defensive perimeter around the building while a column of nine
HMMWVs and three M939 five-ton trucks (under LTC Danny McKnight's command)
would arrive at the building to take the entire assault team and their
prisoners back to base. The entire operation was estimated to take no longer
than 30 minutes.
The ground-extraction convoy was supposed to reach
the captive targets a few minutes after the operation's beginning. However,
it ran into delays. Somali citizens and local militia formed barricades
along Mogadishu's streets with rocks, wreckage, rubbish and burning tires,
blocking the convoy from reaching the Rangers and their captives. Aidid
militiamen with megaphones were shouting, "Kasoobaxa guryaha oo iska celsa
cadowga!" ("Come out and defend your homes!").
The Raid
At 13:50, Task Force Ranger analysts receive
intelligence of Salad's location.
At 15:42, the MH-6 assault
Little Birds carrying the Delta operators hit the target, the wave of dust
becoming so bad that one was forced to go around again and land out of
position. Next, the two Black Hawks carrying the second Delta assault team
came into position and dropped their teams as the four Ranger chalks
prepared to rope onto the four corners surrounding the target building. By
mistake, Chalk Four being carried by Black Hawk callsign Super 67, piloted
by CW3 Jeff Niklaus, was accidentally put in a block north of their intended
point. Declining the pilot's offer to move them back down due to the time it
would take to do so, leaving the helicopter too exposed, Chalk Four intended
to move down to the planned position, but intense ground fire prevented them
from doing so.
The
ground convoy arrives ten minutes later near the Olympic Hotel and wait for
Delta and Rangers to complete their mission(target building).
During the operation's
first moments, Ranger PFC Todd Blackburn, from Chalk Four, fell while
fast-roping from his Black Hawk Super 67 while it was hovering 70 feet (21
m) above the streets. The film Black Hawk Down shows that he slipped when
the helicopter was forced to take evasive maneuvers to avoid an incoming RPG
fired from a nearby rooftop, although, according to Bowden, video does not
show the helicopter moving. Blackburn suffered an injury to his head and
back of his neck and required evacuation by SGT Jeff Struecker's column of
three Humvees. While taking PFC Todd Blackburn back to base, SGT Dominick
Pilla, assigned to SGT Struecker's Humvee, was killed instantly when a
bullet entered his head. When SGT Struecker's Humvee column reached the base
and safety, all three vehicles were riddled with bullet holes and smoking.
At about 16:20, one of the
Black Hawk helicopters, callsign Super 61 piloted by CW3 Cliff "Elvis"
Wolcott and CW3 Donovan Briley, was shot down by an RPG. Both pilots were
killed in the resulting crash and two of the crew chiefs were severely
wounded. SSG Daniel Busch and SGT Jim Smith, both Delta snipers, survived
the crash and began defending the site.
An MH-6, callsign Star 41
and piloted by CW3 Karl Maier and CW5 Keith Jones, landed nearby and Jones
left the helicopter and carried Busch to the safety of the Helo while Maier
provided cover fire from the Little Bird's cockpit, repeatedly denying order
to lift off while his co-pilot was not in the Bird. He nearly hit Chalk
One's LT DiTomosso arriving with Rangers and Delta operators to secure the
site. Jones and Maier evacuated SSG Busch and SGT Smith, though SSG Busch
later died of his injuries, being shot four times while defending the crash
site.
A Combat
Search and Rescue (CSAR) team, led by Air Force Pararescueman TSgt Scott
Fales, were able to fast rope down to Super 61's crash site despite an RPG
hit that crippled their helicopter, Super 68, piloted by CW3 Dan Jollota.
Despite the damage, Super 68 did make it back to base. The CSAR team found
both the pilots dead and two wounded inside the crashed helicopter. Under
intense fire, the team moved the wounded men to a nearby collection point,
where they built a makeshift shelter using Kevlar armor plates salvaged from
Super 61's wreckage.
There was confusion between the ground convoy and
the assault team. The assault team and the ground convoy waited for 20
minutes to receive their orders to move out. Both units were under the
mistaken impression that they were to be first contacted by the other.
During the wait, a second Black Hawk helicopter, callsign Super 64 and
piloted by CW3 Michael Durant, was shot down by an RPG at around 16:40.
Most of the assault team
went to the first crash site for a rescue operation. Upon reaching the site,
about 90 Rangers and Delta Force operators found themselves under heavy
fire. Despite air support, the assault team was effectively trapped for the
night. With a growing number of wounded needing shelter, they occupied
several nearby houses and confined the occupants for the battle's duration.
Outside, a stiff breeze stirred up blinding, brown clouds of dust.
At the second crash site,
two Delta snipers, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart, were inserted by
Black Hawk Super 62 – piloted by CW3 Mike Goffena. Their first two requests
to be inserted were denied, but they were finally granted permission upon
their third request. They inflicted heavy casualties on the approaching
Somali mob. Super 62 had kept up their fire support for MSG Gordon and SFC
Shughart, but an RPG struck Super 62. Despite the damage, Super 62 managed
to go to the New Port and safety. When MSG Gordon was eventually killed, SFC
Shughart picked up Gordon's CAR-15 and gave it to Super 64 pilot CW3 Michael
Durant. SFC Shughart went back around the chopper's nose and held off the
mob for about 10 more minutes before he was killed. The Somalis then overran
the crash site and killed all but Durant. He was nearly beaten to death, but
was saved when members of Aidid's militia came to take him prisoner. For
their actions, MSG Gordon and SFC Shughart were posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor, the first awarded since the Vietnam War.
Repeated attempts by the
Somalis to mass forces and overrun the American positions in a series of
firefights near the first crash site were neutralized by aggressive small
arms fire and by strafing runs and rocket attacks from AH-6J Little Bird
helicopter gunships of the Nightstalkers, the only air unit equipped for and
trained for night fighting.
A relief convoy with
elements from the Task Force 2–14 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division,
accompanied by Malaysian and Pakistani U.N. forces, arrived at the first
crash site at around 02:00. No contingency planning or coordination with
U.N. forces had been arranged prior to the operation; consequently, the
recovery of the surrounded American troops was significantly complicated and
delayed. Determined to protect all of the rescue convoy's members, General
Garrison made sure that the convoy would roll out in force. When the convoy
finally pushed into the city, it consisted of more than 100 U.N. vehicles
including Malaysian forces' German made Condor APCs, four Pakistani tanks
(M48s), American Humvees and several M939 five-ton flatbed trucks. This
two-mile-long column was supported by several other Black Hawks and Cobra
assault helicopters stationed with the 10th Mountain Division. Meanwhile,
Task Force Ranger's "Little Birds" continued their defense of Super 61's
downed crew and rescuers. The American assault force sustained heavy
casualties, including several killed, and a Malaysian soldier died when an
RPG hit his Condor vehicle. Seven Malaysians and two Pakistanis were
wounded.
Mogadishu Mile
Malaysian UN peacekeeping units in Condor (APC)
armored carriers near the university compound.
The battle was over by 06:30 on Monday, 4 October.
U.S. forces were finally evacuated to the U.N. base by the armored convoy.
While leaving the crash site, a group of Rangers and Delta operators
realized that there was no room left in the vehicles for them and were
forced to depart the city on foot to a rendezvous point on National Street.
This has been commonly referred to as the "Mogadishu Mile". U.S. forces
suffered one casualty during the mile, Sgt. Randal J. Ramaglia, after he was
hit by a bullet in the back, and successfully evacuated.
In all, 18 U.S. soldiers
were killed in action during the battle and another 73 were wounded in
action. The Malaysian forces lost one soldier and had seven injured, while
the Pakistanis suffered two injured. Somali casualties were heavy, with
estimates on fatalities ranging from 315 to over 2,000 combatants. The
Somali casualties were a mixture of militiamen and local civilians. Somali
civilians suffered heavy casualties due to the dense urban character of that
portion of Mogadishu. Two days later, a mortar round fell on the U.S.
compound, killing one U.S. soldier, SFC Matt Rierson, and injuring another
twelve. A team on special mission to Durant's Super 64 helicopter had 2
wounded, Boxerman and James on 6 October.
Two weeks after the
battle, General Garrison officially accepted responsibility. In a
handwritten letter to President Clinton, Garrison took full responsibility
for the battle's outcome. He wrote that Task Force Ranger had adequate
intelligence for the mission and that their objective (capturing targets
from the Olympic Hotel) was met.
Aftermath
In a national security
policy review session held in the White House on 6 October 1993, U.S.
President Bill Clinton directed the Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Admiral David E. Jeremiah, to stop all actions by U.S. forces against
Aidid except those required in self-defense. He reappointed Ambassador
Robert B. Oakley as special envoy to Somalia in an attempt to broker a peace
settlement and then announced that all U.S. forces would withdraw from
Somalia no later than 31 March 1994. On 15 December 1993, U.S. Secretary of
Defense Les Aspin stepped down, taking much of the blame for his decision to
refuse requests for tanks and armored vehicles in support of the mission. A
few hundred U.S. Marines remained offshore to assist with any noncombatant
evacuation mission that might occur regarding the 1,000-plus U.S. civilians
and military advisers remaining as part of the U.S. liaison mission.
The Ready Battalion of the 24th Infantry Division,
1–64 Armor, was sent from Fort Stewart, Georgia, to Mogadishu to provide
heavy armoured support for U.S. forces. On 16 December 1993, Joint Task
Force United Shield was approved by Clinton and launched on 14 January 1994.
On 7 February 1994, the Fleet arrived and began the withdrawal of
UNOSOM-II's forces. The U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 897, which
redeployed military assets to cover the U.N. troops' withdrawal from
Somalia. On 6 March 1994, all of the remaining U.N. troops were withdrawn,
ending UNOSOM-II. On 24 April 1994, Boutros-Ghali admitted defeat and
declared the U.N. Mission was over.
Policy changes and political implications
US president Bill Clinton
presenting the Medal of Honor to the widow of Master Sergeant Gary I.
Gordon, who served as Sniper Team Leader in the United States Army Special
Operation Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu.
The mission in Somalia was seen by many as a
failure. The Clinton administration in particular endured considerable
criticism for the operation's outcome. The main elements of the criticism
surround the administration's decision to leave the region before completing
the operation's humanitarian and security objectives, as well as the
perceived failure to recognize the threat Al-Qaida elements posed in the
region as well as the threat against U.S. security interests at home.
Critics claim that Osama bin Laden and other members of Al-Qaida provided
support and training to Mohammed Farrah Aidid's forces. Osama bin Laden even
denigrated the administration's decision to prematurely depart the region
stating that it displayed "the weakness, feebleness and cowardliness of the
US soldier".
The
loss of U.S. military personnel during the Black Hawk Down operation evoked
public outcry. Television images of American soldiers being dragged through
the streets by Somalis were too graphic for the American public to endure.
The Clinton administration responded by scaling down U.S. humanitarian
efforts in the region.
On 26 September 2006, in an interview on Fox News
with Chris Wallace, former President Bill Clinton gave his version of events
surrounding the mission in Somalia. Clinton defended his exit strategy for
U.S. forces and denied that the departure was premature. He said
conservative Republicans had pushed him to leave the region before the
operation's objectives could be achieved: " were all trying to get me to
withdraw from Somalia in 1993 the next day after we were involved in 'Black
Hawk down,' and I refused to do it and stayed six months and had an orderly
transfer to the United Nations."
Clinton's remarks would
suggest the U.S. was not deterred from pursuing their humanitarian goals
because of the loss of U.S. forces during Black Hawk Down. In the same
interview, he stated that, at the time, nobody thought Osama bin Laden and
Al-Qaida had anything to do with Black Hawk Down's events. He said the
mission was strictly humanitarian.
Fear of a repeat of the
events in Somalia shaped U.S. policy in subsequent years, with many
commentators identifying the Battle of Mogadishu's graphic consequences as
the key reason behind the U.S.'s failure to intervene in later conflicts
such as the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. After the battle, the bodies of
several U.S. casualties of the conflict were dragged through Mogadishu's
streets by crowds of local civilians and members of Aidid's Somali National
Alliance. According to the U.S.'s former deputy special envoy to Somalia,
Walter Clarke: "The ghosts of Somalia continue to haunt US policy. Our lack
of response in Rwanda was a fear of getting involved in something like a
Somalia all over again."
Links with Al-Qaeda
There have been
allegations that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda organization was involved in
training and funding of Aidid's men. In his 2001 book, Holy War, Inc., CNN
reporter Peter Bergen interviewed bin Laden who affirmed these allegations.
According to Bergen, bin Laden asserted that fighters affiliated with his
group were involved in killing U.S. troops in Somalia in 1993, a claim he
had made earlier to the Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi. The Al-Qaeda
fighters in Somalia are rumored to have included the organization's military
chief, Mohammed Atef, later killed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Another
al-Qaeda operative who was present at the battle was Zachariah al-Tunisi,
who allegedly fired an RPG that downed one of the Black Hawk helicopters; he
was later killed by an airstrike in Afghanistan in November, 2001.
Aidid's men received some
expert guidance in shooting down helicopters from fundamentalist Islamic
soldiers, most likely Al-Qaeda, who had experience fighting Russian
helicopters during Soviet-Afghan War.
Four and a half years
after the Battle of Mogadishu, in an interview in May 1998, bin Laden
disparaged the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia. He denied having
orchestrated the attack on the U.S. soldiers in Mogadishu but expressed
delight at their deaths in battle against Somali fighters.
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