A War You May Have Never Heard Of

SPOLIER ALERT: This blog contains the ending scene from Black Hawk Down, I strongly recommend seeing the entire movie first.

For those of you who don’t want to watch the movie, here is a short summary of the Battle of Mogadishu:

America's original mission to Somalia - Operation Restore Hope - was humanitarian in nature. But when UN-supplied food materials were used as bargaining chips by rival clan leaders, further fueling chaos, peacekeeping Americans were killed.

In August of 1993, President Clinton sent special forces to Somalia as part of a new mission: Operation Continue Hope. This time, armed Delta Force commandos (from Ft. Bragg) and Army Rangers (from Ft. Benning) would attempt to keep the peace. A detachment of helicopters, with their crews, were sent from Ft. Campbell. The choppers were UH-60s - also called “Black Hawks.”

On the 3rd of October, 1993, members of Delta Force were sent to capture two rebel leaders (who were in Mogadishu) while a Ranger Task Force would secure all four corners of the target block. Everyone expected the commandos and rangers to return to base within an hour. Instead, two Black Hawks were shot down by Somalis using antiquated guns and rocket-propelled grenades. An urban battle ensued, in which the Americans found themselves in the middle of a shooting gallery.

Unlike the ending in Full Metal Jacket, where the troops are happily singing a nostalgic Mickey Mouse song, Black Hawk Down’s ending offers a more realistic perspective on the harsh realities of war. The bloodied corpses accompanied by slow, melodic chanting music create a solemn mood. The only two things these movies share in common, in the ending, is the monologue by a main character of the film. Joker’s final words allude to the nostalgic feelings one gets by watching the end, whereas the reading of a letter sent home from Mogadishu, supplemented by text on the screen of fallen comrades, sends chills up my spine as this is essentially a death wish, a final letter telling a loved one that a solider might not come home.

We find ourselves trying to make sense of the Black Hawk Down incident. Most people have never heard of this battle, let alone the repercussions or the cause for invading Somalia. The United States entered Somalia to help out. As the lone superpower of the world, it was our job to help those in need and “after all, the United States and Somalia were not at war.” It became clear that the Somali people did not want the US in their country (or rather, it became clear the government, if you can say they had one, did not appreciate the US occupying their country), but the US’s “mission was humanitarian aid assistance. "

This begs the question: What were we really doing in Somalia? Was this really a humanitarian effort or was their something else to be gained (Osama Bin Laden was training in Somalia at the time)? This boils down to the truth argument: what is the truth? Do people trust what they government tells them? They have never lied to us before.