The battle in Mogadishu was a turning point in AmericaÕs involvement in Somalia. The US media portrayed it as a humiliating defeat for the military. Footage showing the mutilated body of an American soldier being dragged through the streets shocked the public and Congress demanded troops be withdrawn. This took place in 1994 and the following year the last UN peacekeepers left too.
In Somalia the civil war continued unabated. Aidid died in 1996 from wounds suffered in battle and was succeeded as head of his faction by his son, Hussein Mohammed Aidid. The country was devastated by floods in 1997.
A Transitional National Government (TNG) was created in August 2000 in Djibouti, at a conference attended by a broad representation of Somali clans. The TNG has a three-year mandate to create a permanent national Somali government. However, numerous factions are still fighting for control of Mogadishu and the other southern regions. The Bush administration believes some of these groups to have important links with global terrorism.
BOOKS
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, by Mark Bowden (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1999). The book on which the movie is based.
Me Against My Brother: At War in Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda by Scott Peterson (Routledge, 2001). The war correspondent gives a journalist-eyeÕs view of the tragedies of three African wars during the 1990s.
From Bad Policy to Chaos in Somalia: How an Economy Fell Apart by Jamil Abdalla Mubarak (Greenwood Press, 1996). Somali-born economist Mubarak examines how specific policies of General Mohamed Siad Barre, who ruled Somalia from 1970-90, were responsible not only for the collapse of his regime but also for the scramble of rival factions that emerged after his overthrow.
WEBSITES
http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp
Features full text of the Philadelphia Inquirer series on which BowdenÕs book was based, plus exclusive photos, video and audio sources.
http://www.military.com/ContentFiles/BHDindex
Military information about the battle to accompany the film.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/ops/restore_hope.htm
Detailed analysis of the international attempts to help Somalia.
http://www.unsomalia.org/
The official site for UN agencies working in Somalia.
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