At The Point of a Bayonet

[Occhidiangela]

after vigorous propaganda about the power of the U.S.A. and its post-Cold War leadership of the New World Order -- you moved tens of thousands of an international force, including 28,000 American soldiers, into Somalia. (U.S. force consisted of 19 aircraft, 12 vehicles and 160 men; 18 were killed, two U.S. gunships were shot down, three damaged.)

The Washington Times is being disingenuous. Pres Bush the Elder deployed about 22,000 Marines, add a few thousand soldiers and sailors, to bring some order to the anarchy in Smoalia. New World Order is a reference to his rhetoric.

President Clinton, when he took over, was all for "on the cheap" military options. He significantly reduced the troops count to about a third of that, (also his folks vetoed CENTCOM's call for a tank unit) but kept the same basic mission requirements. "Do more with less." The UN force at the time of the raid was led by a Turkish General. Bir.

For the skirmish in Mogadishu, the numbers are about right, but that wasn't Osama's point. His point was bigger picture "a whole passel of you came in, but after getting your nose bloodied, you left." Regardless of the internal American details, the assessment is correct, and the image is what played around the world. It was spun in the Third World as an example of how fragile US Political Will was.

Where you sit determines what you see.

Occhi

after vigorous propaganda about the power of the U.S.A. and its post-Cold War leadership of the New World Order -- you moved tens of thousands of an international force, including 28,000 American soldiers, into Somalia. (U.S. force consisted of 19 aircraft, 12 vehicles and 160 men; 18 were killed, two U.S. gunships were shot down, three damaged.)

The Washington Times is being disingenuous. Pres Bush the Elder deployed about 22,000 Marines, add a few thousand soldiers and sailors, to bring some order to the anarchy in Smoalia. New World Order is a reference to his rhetoric.

President Clinton, when he took over, was all for "on the cheap" military options. He significantly reduced the troops count to about a third of that, (also his folks vetoed CENTCOM's call for a tank unit) but kept the same basic mission requirements. "Do more with less." The UN force at the time of the raid was led by a Turkish General. Bir.

For the skirmish in Mogadishu, the numbers are about right, but that wasn't Osama's point. His point was bigger picture "a whole passel of you came in, but after getting your nose bloodied, you left." Regardless of the internal American details, the assessment is correct, and the image is what played around the world. It was spun in the Third World as an example of how fragile US Political Will was.

Where you sit determines what you see.

Occhi