Heroism in Black Hawk Down essays

Heroism in Black Hawk Down essays Somalia, an East African country of some 6 million, was decimated by famine and civil war in the early 1990s. International aid groups tried to help, but factional fighting and bandits halted the flow of food. Somalis were dying at an estimated rate of 1,000 per day as cargo ships were shelled, trucks were hijacked, and relief workers were murdered. In December 1992, U.S. President George H. Bush announced that the United States would provide the backbone of a multinational military force to secure supply lines and deliver food to the starving. U.S. troops were not greeted warmly when they arrived in Mogadishu, the seaport capital of Somalia. Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid was especially opposed to their presence. Despite the volatile situation, military intervention appeared to be helping Somalia. The new U.S. presidential administration of Bill Clinton was determined to forge a lasting solution. Clinton's team supported the passage of U.N. resolution 814, expanding the mandate of U.N. involvement in the country. The violence escalated on June 5, 1993 when Somalis killed 25 Pakistani soldiers in the U.N. force. U.N. forces led by U.S. helicopters continued to attack weapon depots. Aidid's militia struck back, shooting U.S., Pakistani, French, and Italian troops and massacring Somali civilians working for the United Nations. Thoughts of nation building disintegrated as more deaths mounted on both sides and the political situation in Somalia grew increasingly radicalized. The United States sent crack military troops to Mogadishu, including Task Force Ranger and US Army special warfare forces Delta. Their mission: bring stability in the region by targeting the men responsible for these atrocities. On October 3, Task Force Ranger and Delta commandos took positions around a three-story building in Mogadishu that they believed held several of Aidid's top lieutenants. Bl...