The Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia in 1993 is a pivotal moment in American history. The intense drama of the episode is undeniable, and Mark Bowden’s outstanding narrative, Black Hawk Down, captured it exceptionally well. Ridley Scott’s movie brought the story to a wide audience. But the reason it was so pivotal was not inherent in the incident itself so much as in the galvanizing effect it had on a then virtually unknown terrorist network: al Qaeda.
This is lined out effectively in The Roots of Strategic Failure: The Somalia Syndrome and Al Qaeda’s Path to 9/11 by Robert G. Patman:
…[T]he Somali crisis was a defining moment for US foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. It generated the Somalia Syndrome in Washington – a risk-averse approach to intervention in civil conflicts, especially if such involvement ran the risk of US casualties – that had far-reaching international consequences. Because the United States had an enormous structural power in military and economic terms after the Cold War, the Somalia Syndrome had a very significant impact on the evolution of a transnational terrorist organization, Al Qaeda. In fact, we now know, there was a direct connection. Through its involvement in an episode popularized by Hollywood as Black Hawk Down … the Al Qaeda leadership believed it had actually helped to create the Somalia Syndrome in American foreign policy. Thus, the Somalia crisis was an important catalyst in emboldening the bin Laden network to gradually escalate its terrorist campaign against US interests during the period after 1993. That is, policy choices made by the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush played a significant role in creating a strategic shortfall that enabled Al Qaeda to grow to the point at which it was capable of mounting the devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Netflix is revisiting this episode in a three-part series, Surviving Black Hawk Down, which drops on February 10.
The three-episode docuseries features interviews with members of the Army Rangers and Delta Force, the special operation units that worked together on Oct. 3, 1993. Residents of Mogadishu are also featured throughout, including militiamen who fought against US forces, local women who found themselves trapped in a war zone with nowhere to hide, and a party photographer turned war documentarian who was prompted to bring his camera to the front lines out of a personal sense of duty to capture the reality of what was happening to his home.
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You know you are a real-deal BIG TIME author when your name is above and way bigger than the title on the cover of your book. Jack Carr has hit that status. Hell, people are getting crossed tomahawk tattoos and naming their children after James Reece and Rafe Hastings or a combination of the two. The used market for Toyota Land Cruisers has probably gone completely nuts…
Carr deserves it. He’s one of the good guys. The trailer just dropped for Cry Havoc, which features Reece’s father Tom, set at the height of the Vietnam war.
Let loose the frogs of war… I see what you did there, Jack…
Just before the Tet Offensive of 1968 changes the dynamic in Vietnam, before President Johnson announces he will not run for reelection, before the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, as riots and protests rage across the nation, a spy ship, the USS Pueblo, is captured by communist forces off the coast of North Korea. The crew thought they had destroyed everything of intelligence value. They were wrong.
From the Kremlin to the White House, from the streets of Saigon to the rugged A Shau Valley, along the paths of Ho Chi Minh Trail and into the secret war in Laos, Navy SEAL Tom Reece has an official mission assigned by Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group, but it’s his unofficial mission that might get him killed.
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Heroic Signatures, the outfit that is ramrodding the most recent upsurge in interest in Robert E. Howard and Conan, is raising funds for the L.A. Fire Department Foundation as a means of offering support in the face of the inferno that has ravaged the old frontier town.
Right now, our team watches as the skies hang thick with smoke over the city we love – Los Angeles. But LA is far from just being our company’s home. It is where our kids play, where our friends live, and where our dreams have taken root.
Across our neighborhoods, countless Angelenos are facing this crisis with remarkable courage – from the volunteers organizing relief efforts, to the neighbors helping neighbors stay safe and informed, to the LA Fire Department teams working tirelessly on the front lines.
At Heroic Signatures, we believe in standing together when our community needs us most. That’s why we’re committing $10,000 to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, whose work supports both emergency responders and affected communities during times like these.
Moved by the events unfolding in our city, artist Gerardo Zaffino reached out with a desire to help. He has created a powerful artistic tribute to every person coming together to protect and rebuild our community. For the next three weeks, we’re offering limited-edition prints of his work.
Every cent of profit will be donated to the LAFD Foundation.
Together, we can show that our community’s spirit is unbreakable. Join us in supporting Los Angeles.
When our city faces challenges, we rise together.
Click here to purchase a print.
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