What were some of the factors that explain how what
began as a peacekeeping mission in Somalia ended in a firefight?
Over the last quarter of a century,
Somalia has struggled with internal fighting and poor economic
and social conditions for its people. Since decolonization there
has been no real centralized authority in Somalia, and presently
the country is divided into at least sixteen warring factions,
based on clan alliances, which constantly change. In 1969
Mohammed Siad Barre became the leader of Somalia through a
military coup. After a long and difficult regime, he, in turn,
was overthrown in January of 1991 by a coalition of opposing
clans, known as the United Somalia Congress. Soon after the
revolution, the coalition divided into two groups, one led by Ali
Mahdi and the other by Mohammed Farah Aidid. The resulting
inter-clan warfare led to the destruction of the agriculture of
Somalia, which then led to starvation for many of its
people.
One of the main sources of power in
Somalia has been the control of food supplies. Hijacked food was
used to secure the loyalty of clan leaders, and food was
routinely exchanged with other countries for weapons. In the
early 1990’s up to 80% of internationally provided food was
stolen. Meanwhile, between 1991 and 1992 it is estimated that
over three hundred thousand Somalis died of starvation. In July
1992 United Nations military observers were sent to Somalia in
accordance with a ceasefire signed by opposing clan factions. In
August 1992 Operation Provide Relief (UNOSOM – I)
officially began to provide humanitarian relief for the people of
Somalia. This mission was unsuccessful due to the UN’s
inability to deliver food and supplies. Relief flights into
Somalia were often looted as soon as they landed.
The U.N. asked its member nations
for assistance. In December 1992, in one of his last acts as
President, George Bush proposed to the U.N. that United States
combat troops lead the intervention force. The U.N. accepted
this offer and 25,000 U.S. troops were deployed to Somalia.
President Bush stated that this would not be an “open-ended
commitment.” The objective of Operation Restore Hope was
to rapidly secure the trade routes in Somalia so that food could
get to the people. President Bush stated that U.S. troops would
be home in time for Bill Clinton’s inauguration in
January.
Once President Clinton was
inaugurated he stated his desire to scale down the U.S. presence
in Somalia, and to let the U.N. forces take over. In March 1993
the U.N. officially took over the operation, naming this mission
UNOSOM – II. The objective of this mission was to promote
“nation building” within Somalia. One main target
was to disarm the Somali people. UNOSOM – II stressed
restoring law and order, improving the infrastructure, and
assisting the people with setting up a representative
government.
President Clinton supported the U.N.
mandate and ordered the number of U.S. troops in Somalia reduced,
to be replaced by U.N. troops. By June 1993, only 1200 U.S.
troops remained in Somalia, but on June 5, 1993 24 Pakistani
soldiers were ambushed and killed during the inspection of a
Somali arms weapons storage site. The U.N. responded with an
emergency resolution to apprehend those responsible. While it
was not specifically stated, Aidid and his followers were
believed to be responsible. On June 19, 1993 Admiral Howe
ordered Aidid’s arrest and offered a $25,000 reward for
information leading to this. He also requested a
counterterrorist rescue force after the massacre of the Pakistani
troops.
From June 12 through June 16 U.S.
and U.N. troops attacked targets in Mogadishu related to Aidid.
On July 12 U.S. Cobra helicopters attacked a house in Mogadishu
where clan leaders were meeting. They destroyed several
buildings and many Somalis were killed. When four Western
journalists went to investigate the scene they were beaten to
death by a mob of Somalis. On August 8 four U.S. military police
were killed when a land mine was remote-detonated by Somalis.
Two weeks later, six more U.S. soldiers were wounded. It was at
this point that Task Force Ranger was deployed to Somalia.
On August 29 Task Force Ranger flew
into Mogadishu. They were led by General William Garrison and
consisted of 440 elite troops from Delta Force. Their mission
was to capture Aidid. But, at the same time, in September 1993
the Clinton Administration began a secret plan to negotiate with
Aidid. U.S. military commanders within Somalia were not apprised
of this. U.S. Defense Secretary Les Aspin denied a request for
armored reinforcements made by General Montgomery.
On October 3, 1993 Task Force Ranger
raided the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu to search for Aidid. This
led to a seventeen-hour battle in which eighteen U.S. soldiers
were killed and eighty-four were wounded. Bodies of dead
American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu,
shown on international news reports. Hundreds of Somalis also
died, although the official number has never been released. This
was the longest, most bloody battle for U.S troops since the
Vietnam War. On October 7 President Clinton responded by
withdrawing U.S. troops from Somalia. The hunt for Aidid was
abandoned, although U.S. representatives were sent to resume
negotiations with clan leaders.
Two weeks after the Battle of Mogadishu General
Garrison officially accepted responsibility. In a handwritten letter to
President Clinton, Garrison took full responsibility for the outcome of the battle. He
wrote that the Task Force Ranger had adequate intelligence for the mission and that
their objective (capturing targets from the Olympic Hotel) was met.
What began as a peacekeeping mission to provide relief
to the starving people of Somalia essentially ended with a firefight during the
Battle of Mogadishu. After all of the U.S. troops were withdrawn in March 1994, 20,000
U.N. troops were still in Somalia. By the late Spring of 1994 all of the remaining U.N.
troops were withdrawn, ending UNOSOM-II.
Timeline |
1969 |
Mohammed Siad
Barre, through a military coup, became leader of
Somalia.
|
January
1991 |
Overthrow of
Dictator Mohammed Siad Barre by coalition of opposition forces,
United Somalia Congress.
|
1991 |
Conflict
between Somalia National Movement, Aidid's party, and other
factions led to clan infighting.
|
March 3,
1992 |
Faction
leaders signed ceasefire to allow United Nations monitoring
mission into Somalia for humanitarian assistance.
|
April 14,
1992 |
U.N. military
observers sent to Somalia after U.N. Security Council approval of
U.N. operation in accordance with ceasefire.
|
July
1992 |
50 unarmed
U.N. military observers deployed to Mogadishu to oversee
ceasefire.
|
August 15,
1992 |
U.N.
humanitarian relief effort in Somalia (UNOSOM I), named Operation
Provide Relief, began.
|
December 4,
1992 |
Due to U.N.
inability to deliver food and secure delivery routes into
Somalia, President George Bush responded to U.N. request for
assistance by proposing U.S. combat troops lead security
force.
|
December 5,
1992 |
U.N. accepted
U.S. offer, President Bush ordered 25,000 U.S. troops to
Somalia.
|
December 9,
1992 |
First U.S.
Marines landed on beach. |
December
1992 |
U.S. named
mission “Operation Restore Hope.”
|
January
1993 |
President
Bill Clinton inaugurated.
|
March 15-28,
1993 |
Addis Ababa
Accords – led to agreement to end violence in
Somalia.
|
March,
1993 |
UNOSOM II
began.
|
March 28,
1993 |
Various
nations deployed troops to Somalia to support UNOSOM
II.
|
May 9,
1993 |
U.S.
officially turned over operation to U.N.
|
June
1993 |
Only 1200
U.S. troops remained in Somalia.
|
June 5,
1993 |
24 Pakistani
soldiers ambushed and killed during inspection of Somalia arms
weapons storage site.
|
June 12
– 16, 1993 |
U.S. and U.N.
troops attacked targets in Mogadishu related to
Aidid. |
June 19,
1993 |
Admiral Howe
ordered Aidid’s arrest and offered $2500 reward for
information. Admiral Howe also requested counterterrorist
hostage rescue force from Washington.
|
July 29,
1993 |
Last sighting
of Aidid.
|
August 8,
1993 |
4 U.S.
Military Police killed by remote-detonized land mine set off by
Somalis.
|
August 29,
1993 |
U.S. Army
Task Force Ranger flew into Mogadishu, led by Maj. Gen. William
Garrison.
|
September
1993 |
Clinton
administration began clandestine initiative to negotiate with
Aidid.
|
September
1993 |
U.S. Defense
Secretary Les Aspin denied request for armored reinforcements
from Gen. Montgomery.
|
October 3
– 4, 1993 |
Task Force
Ranger’s assault on Olympic Hotel to search for Aidid
resulted in 17 hour battle in which 18 U.S. soldiers killed, 84
wounded. Later named the Battle of Mogadishu.
|
October 7,
1993 |
President
Clinton’s response was to withdraw U.S. troops. Declared
U.S. troops to be withdrawn by March 31, 1994.
|
October 14,
1993 |
Chief Warrant
Officer Mike Durant, who was captured after his helicopter was
shot down during the Battle of Mogadishu, released.
|
March 25,
1994 |
20,000 U.N.
forces remained in Somalia, U.S. troops withdrawn.
|
Spring
1995 |
Final U.N.
withdrawal from Somalia.
|
August 1,
1996 |
Aidid died
from bullet wound.
|
January 12,
2001 |
U.N. Security
Council called for new peacekeeping mission in Somalia, lacking
military troops.
|
For an excellent overview of the
history of Somalia leading up to the U.S. intervention of
Operation Restore Hope, review the Backgrounder Article by Thomas P. Sheehy. This article was
written in December 1992 and gives a perspective on the
intervention before any violence occurred. It discusses problems
the U.S. forces might encounter and why their mission might be a
difficult one. One writer who perhaps has done the most research
on the Battle of Mogadishu is Mark Bowden. He wrote a series of
articles for the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled “Black
Hawk Down.” Bowden later edited his articles into a
book by the same name. There are now many websites available with information about this. Another
excellent site is the PBS web site for Frontline, which aired a program entitled “Ambush in
Mogadishu.” This site details the program and adds further
specifics regarding the problems between the United States
military and the Clinton Administration during the early years of
President Clinton’s tenure. Unfortunately, these clashes
caught U.S. troops in the middle, most visibly during the Battle
of Mogadishu. On October 20, 1997 The Christian Science Monitor
published an article entitled “Post
U.S. – Somalia Finds Cash In on Chaos.” This
discusses the situation in Somalia after the United States and
the United Nations left Somalia. The United Nations Somalia web
site contains news on the latest updates in Somalia, United
Nations reactions, geographical and population maps, and online
information databases. Another overview of Somalia can be found
at either the CIA Factbook, the Library of Congress country studies or the Department of State background notes.
For an
overview of the Battle of Mogadishu from the U.S. Army Ranger
point of view, look at Ranger.org.
In contrast, a report on the situation in Somalia from President
Aidid’s perspective can be found in an article entitled
“President
Aidid’s Somalia” written by Harold G. Marcus. An
account of Aidid’s death and history can be found online. Another interesting article that is meticulously sited
was written by Stephen R. Shalom, and is entitled “Gravy
Train: Feeding the Pentagon by Feeding Somalia.” The Carter Center has a
web site that identifies Former President Carter’s
activities in the role of mediator during both Operation Restore
Hope and the Battle of Mogadishu.
Others
Read the comments by a student who was stationed in Somalia at this time.
Bowden, Mark.
(1999). Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Atlantic
Monthly Press. This is the most comprehensive account of the
Battle of Mogadishu. The story is told through the eyes of the
U.S. troops that fought during the battle and is based on
interviews of combatants on both sides, video, and radio
transcripts.
Clarke,
Walter (Editor) and Herbst, Jeffrey (Editor). (1997). Learning From Somalia: The Lessons of Armed Humanitarian
Interventions. Westview Press. This book contains a
compilation of editorials from people who were in Somalia at the
time of the United Nations intervention. It includes lessons
learned for future peacekeepers throughout the
world.
Diehl, Paul. Peacekeeping: With a New Epilogue on Somalia, Bosnia and
Cambodia (Perspectives on Security). (1995). Johns Hopkins
University Press. This book explains the difference between
peacekeeping and multinational intervention. It compares and
contrasts six separate missions.
O’Hanlon,
Michael. Saving Lives with Force: Military Criteria for
Humanitarian Intervention. (1997). Brookings Institute.
The book was written by a military analyst and discusses how
outside intervention can be successful in ending civil warfare in
a country if the intervention force has the appropriate military
training, objectives, and support.
Peterson,
Scott. (2000). Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia,
Sudan and Rwanda. Routledge. This book contains a
discussion of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and the
outcome of these actions. It also compares the situations in
Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda and why the U.N. intervened in
Somalia, but not in Sudan or Rwanda.
Shawcross,
William. (2000). Deliver Us From Evil: Peacekeeping,
Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict. Simon &
Schuster. This book was written by a foreign affairs journalist
and compares situations throughout various hotspots in the
world. It points out the errors in peacekeeping missions in
war-torn countries, comparing the situation in the United
State’s Civil War with what occurred in those
regions.
Von Hippel,
Karin. Democracy by Force: U.S. Military Intervention in the
Post-Cold War World. (2000). Cambridge University Press.
This book contains an analysis of the United States military in
the post-Cold War era and looks at U.S. interventions in Panama,
Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia. Each section questions why the
United States became involved in these countries, outcomes of the
interventions, and what Americans can learn from these
activities.
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