Helicopter Read Why
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Helicopter Read Why
Why did the Somalians shoot down a US helicopter and kill the occupants and other US military personal (1993)?
I was born about 2 months before it happened and obviously don't remember it and I've never read the book or watched the movie.
I probably should look it up but I'm just to lazy.
It all started when President Bush responded to international pressure to end the starvation being purposely caused by the "President" of Somalia, Mohammed Farrah Aidid. Aidid was actually a warlord that had taken control of the government by military force, and was withholding international food shipments to his country (which was in the middle of a massive famine) in order to further consolidate his power against three rival political factions fighting for control of Somalia.
In December 1992, near the end of his term as President, George H. W. Bush ordered the US Marines to respond in Operation Restore Hope. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with 2nd Battalion / 9th Marines and the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion quickly secured about 1/3 of the capital city of Mogadishu, including the airport and seaport facilities. They were then reinforced by the US Army 10th Mountain Division.
Aidid did not dare attack the US forces that had arrived in such strength, and the food shipments began flowing once again to the starving people.
Unfortunately, the folks back in the US had elected Bill Clinton to replace George H.W. Bush. His term began in January 1993. President Clinton wanted to draw down the US presence in the area, and he began replacing the Marines with UN peacekeepers. Clinton left a severely understrength military force behind in Somalia consisting of some special forces detachments and minimal air support. Aidid was not afraid of the mostly Pakastani UN peacekeepers, and was emboldened by the US drawdown in troop strength.
Aidid was growing quite powerful by October of 1993, and the Joint Chiefs wanted to do something about it. After much badgering from Centcom, President Clinton finally gave the greenlight to Operation Gothic Serpent, a mission designed to kidnap Aidid's foreign minister and top political advisor. However, Clinton refused to authorize the use of heavy armor for the mission. He wanted something sleek and stealthy that wouldn't make the news. It didn't work out that way.
When the US went in, we sent an elite detachment of Delta operators and Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in by Helicopter. The plan was that Delta would grab the targets, while the Rangers would provide perimeter cover support. The helicopters would remain on station as air support. The assault force and prisoners would then all be extracted by a column of humvees.
The rest is history. When the US forces assaulted, Aidid's forces fought back. The Rangers and Delta were insanely outnumbered and surrounded on all sides by armed militia, who also had morter support. The Somalis began shooting almost as soon as the Rangers arrived. Two of the orbiting helicopters were shot down in quick succession, and the humvee column couldn't get to them in time for a proper extraction because a humvee does not hold up well against a wall of small arms fire. If you want the details, watch Black Hawk Down. It tells the story quite well.
If Clinton hadn't been such a pu$$y and had allowed the use of heavy air support from AC-130 gunships and orbiting attack choppers, and allowed the use of M2 Bradleys instead of humvees for the extraction, things would have turned out much differently.
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