I read this article and i found it quite interesting. The part about the oil companies i'm not so sure about, but i did get the feeling that humanitarianism was just a smokescreen for our involvement in Somalia when it was happening. Also, Bruckheimer is involved, so we HAVE to question it's legitimacy 
""Black Hawk Down" ? Hollywood drags bloody corpse of truth
across movie screens
By Larry Chin
January 3, 2002 -- True to its post-9/11
government-sanctioned role as US war propaganda
headquarters, Hollywood has released "Black Hawk Down," a
fictionalized account of the tragic 1993 US raid in Somalia. The
Pentagon assisted with the production, pleased for an
opportunity to "set the record straight." The film is a lie that
compounds the original lie that was the operation itself.
Somalia: the facts
According to the myth, the Somalia operation of 1993 was a
humanitarian mission, and a shining example of New World Order
morality and altruism. In fact, US and UN troops waged an
undeclared war against an Islamic African populace that was
hostile to foreign interests.
Also contrary to the legend, the 1993 Somalia raid was not a
"Clinton foreign policy bungle." In fact, the incoming Clinton
administration inherited an operation that was already in full
swing -- planned and begun by outgoing President George
Herbert Walker Bush, spearheaded by deputy national security
adviser Jonathan Howe (who remained in charge of the UN
operation after Clinton took office), and approved by Colin
Powell, then head of the Joint Chiefs.
The operation had nothing to do with humanitarianism or
Africa-love on the part of Bush or Clinton. Several US oil
companies, including Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips were
positioned to exploit Somalia's rich oil reserves. The companies
had secured billion-dollar concessions to explore and drill large
portions of the Somali countryside during the reign of pro-US
President Mohamed Siad Barre. (In fact, Conoco's Mogadishu
office housed the US embassy and military headquarters.) A
"secure" Somalia also provided the West with strategic location
on the coast of Arabian Sea.
UN military became necessary when Barre was overthrown by
warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid, suddenly rendering Somalia
inhospitable to US corporate interests.
Although the pretext for the mission was to safeguard food
shipments, and stop the "evil Aidid" from stealing the food, the
true UN goal was to remove Aidid from the political equation,
and form a pro-Western coalition government out of the
nation's warring clans. The US operation was met with
"surprisingly fierce resistance" -- surprising to US officials who
underestimated Somalian resolve, and even more surprising to
US troops who were victims and pawns of UN policy makers.
The highly documented series by Mark Bowden of the
Philadelphia Inquirer on which the film is based , focuses on the
participants, and the "untenable" situation in which troops were
placed. But even Bowden's gung-ho account makes no bones
about provocative American attacks that ultimately led to the
decisive defeat in Mogadishu.
Bowden writes: "Task Force Ranger was not in Mogadishu to
feed the hungry. Over six weeks, from late August to Oct. 3, it
conducted six missions, raiding locations where either Aidid or
his lieutenants were believed to be meeting. The mission that
resulted in the Battle of Mogadishu came less than three
months after a surprise missile attack by U.S. helicopters
(acting on behalf of the UN) on a meeting of Aidid clansmen.
Prompted by a Somalian ambush on June 5 that killed more than
20 Pakistani soldiers, the missile attack killed 50 to 70 clan
elders and intellectuals, many of them moderates seeking to
reach a peaceful settlement with the United Nations. After that
July 12 helicopter attack, Aidid's clan was officially at war with
America -- a fact many Americans never realized."
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Somalis were killed in the
course of US incursions that took place over three months. In
his book The New Military Humanism, Noam Chomsky cites other
under-reported facts. "In October 1993, criminal incompetence
by the US military led to the slaughter of 1,000 Somalis by
American firepower." Chomsky writes. "The official estimate was
6-10,000 Somali casualties in the summer of 1993 alone,
two-thirds women and children. Marine Lt. Gen. Anthony Zinni,
who commanded the operation, informed the press that 'I'm not
counting bodies . . . I'm not interested.' Specific war crimes of
US forces included direct military attacks on a hospital and on
civilian gatherings. Other Western armies were implicated in
serious crimes as well. Some of these were revealed at an
official Canadian inquiry, not duplicated by the US or other
governments."
Bowden's more forgiving account does not contradict
Chomsky's in this regard:
"Official U.S. estimates of Somalian casualties at the time
numbered 350 dead and 500 injured. Somalian clan leaders
made claims of more than 1,000 deaths. The United Nations
placed the number of dead at ``between 300 to 500.'' Doctors
and intellectuals in Mogadishu not aligned with the feuding
clans say that 500 dead is probably accurate.
The attack on Mogadishu was particularly vicious. Quoting
Bowden: "The Task Force Ranger commander, Maj. Gen. William
F. Garrison, testifying before the Senate, said that if his men
had put any more ammunition into the city 'we would have sunk
it.' Most soldiers interviewed said that through most of the fight
they fired on crowds and eventually at anyone and anything
they saw."
After 18 US Special Forces soldiers were killed in the final
Mogadishu firefight, which included the downing of a US
helicopter, television screens filled with the scene of a dead US
soldier being dragged through the streets by jubilant Somalis.
Clinton immediately called off the operation. US forces left
Somalia in disgrace. Some 19,000 UN troops remained for a
short period, but eventually left in futility.
The Somalia defeat elicited howls of protest and rage from the
military brass, congressional hawks, and right-wing
provocateurs itching for an excuse to declare political war on
the "liberal" Clinton administration.
The "Somalia syndrome" would dog Clinton throughout his
presidency, and mar every military mission during his tenure.
Today, as right-wing extremist George W. Bush occupies the
White House, surrounded by his father's operatives, and many
of the architects of the original raid, military fanaticism is all
the rage. A global war "without end" has just begun.
What a perfect moment to "clean up" the past.
Hollywood to the rescue
In promoting the film, producer Jerry Bruckheimer (who rewrote
another humiliating episode of US military history with "Pearl
Harbor") is seeking to convince Americans that the Somalia
operation was "not America's darkest hour, but America's
brightest hour;" that a bungled imperialist intervention was a
noble incident of grand moral magnificence.
CNN film reviewer Paul Tatara describes "Black Hawk Down" as
"pound for pound, one of the most violent films ever released
by a major studio," from "two of the most pandering, tactless
filmmakers in Hollywood history (Jerry Bruckheimer and Ridley
Scott)" who are attempting to "teach us about honor among
soldiers."
More important are the film's true subtexts, and the likely
emotional reaction of viewers.
What viewers see is "brave and innocent young American boys"
getting shot at and killed for "no reason" by "crazy black
Islamists" that the Americans are "just trying to help." (Subtext
one: America is good, and it is impossible to understand why
"they hate us." Subtext two: "Those damned ungrateful
foreigners." Subtext three: "Those damned blacks." Subtext
four: "Kill Arabs.")
What viewers will remember is a line spoken by one of the
"brave soldiers" about how, in the heat of combat, "politics
goes out the window." (Subtext one: there is no need for
thought; shoot first, talk later. Subtext two: it is right to
abandon one's sanity, morality and ethics when faced with
chaos. Subtext three: when the Twin Towers went down on
9/11, America was right in embracing radical militarism and
extreme violence, throwing all else "out the window.")
In the currently lethal political climate, in which testosterone
rage, mob mentality, and love of war pass for normal behavior
(while reason, critical thinking, and tolerance are considered
treasonous), "Black Hawk Down" will appeal to the most violent
elements of American society. Many who have seen the film
report leaving the theater feeling angry, itching to "kick some
ass." In short, the film is dangerous. And those who "love" it
are dangerous.
Considering the fact that Somalia is one of the targets in the
next phase of the Bush administration's "war on terrorism," the
timing of the film is no coincidence.
As Herbert London of the Hudson Institute said of "Black Hawk
Down," "I would never deny the importance of heroism in battle,
but just as we should recognize and honor heroes, we should
also respect the truthfulness of the events surrounding their
heroic acts. In the case of 'Black Hawk Down,' we get a lot of
the former and almost nothing of the latter."
""Black Hawk Down" ? Hollywood drags bloody corpse of truth
across movie screens
By Larry Chin
January 3, 2002 -- True to its post-9/11
government-sanctioned role as US war propaganda
headquarters, Hollywood has released "Black Hawk Down," a
fictionalized account of the tragic 1993 US raid in Somalia. The
Pentagon assisted with the production, pleased for an
opportunity to "set the record straight." The film is a lie that
compounds the original lie that was the operation itself.
Somalia: the facts
According to the myth, the Somalia operation of 1993 was a
humanitarian mission, and a shining example of New World Order
morality and altruism. In fact, US and UN troops waged an
undeclared war against an Islamic African populace that was
hostile to foreign interests.
Also contrary to the legend, the 1993 Somalia raid was not a
"Clinton foreign policy bungle." In fact, the incoming Clinton
administration inherited an operation that was already in full
swing -- planned and begun by outgoing President George
Herbert Walker Bush, spearheaded by deputy national security
adviser Jonathan Howe (who remained in charge of the UN
operation after Clinton took office), and approved by Colin
Powell, then head of the Joint Chiefs.
The operation had nothing to do with humanitarianism or
Africa-love on the part of Bush or Clinton. Several US oil
companies, including Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips were
positioned to exploit Somalia's rich oil reserves. The companies
had secured billion-dollar concessions to explore and drill large
portions of the Somali countryside during the reign of pro-US
President Mohamed Siad Barre. (In fact, Conoco's Mogadishu
office housed the US embassy and military headquarters.) A
"secure" Somalia also provided the West with strategic location
on the coast of Arabian Sea.
UN military became necessary when Barre was overthrown by
warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid, suddenly rendering Somalia
inhospitable to US corporate interests.
Although the pretext for the mission was to safeguard food
shipments, and stop the "evil Aidid" from stealing the food, the
true UN goal was to remove Aidid from the political equation,
and form a pro-Western coalition government out of the
nation's warring clans. The US operation was met with
"surprisingly fierce resistance" -- surprising to US officials who
underestimated Somalian resolve, and even more surprising to
US troops who were victims and pawns of UN policy makers.
The highly documented series by Mark Bowden of the
Philadelphia Inquirer on which the film is based , focuses on the
participants, and the "untenable" situation in which troops were
placed. But even Bowden's gung-ho account makes no bones
about provocative American attacks that ultimately led to the
decisive defeat in Mogadishu.
Bowden writes: "Task Force Ranger was not in Mogadishu to
feed the hungry. Over six weeks, from late August to Oct. 3, it
conducted six missions, raiding locations where either Aidid or
his lieutenants were believed to be meeting. The mission that
resulted in the Battle of Mogadishu came less than three
months after a surprise missile attack by U.S. helicopters
(acting on behalf of the UN) on a meeting of Aidid clansmen.
Prompted by a Somalian ambush on June 5 that killed more than
20 Pakistani soldiers, the missile attack killed 50 to 70 clan
elders and intellectuals, many of them moderates seeking to
reach a peaceful settlement with the United Nations. After that
July 12 helicopter attack, Aidid's clan was officially at war with
America -- a fact many Americans never realized."
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Somalis were killed in the
course of US incursions that took place over three months. In
his book The New Military Humanism, Noam Chomsky cites other
under-reported facts. "In October 1993, criminal incompetence
by the US military led to the slaughter of 1,000 Somalis by
American firepower." Chomsky writes. "The official estimate was
6-10,000 Somali casualties in the summer of 1993 alone,
two-thirds women and children. Marine Lt. Gen. Anthony Zinni,
who commanded the operation, informed the press that 'I'm not
counting bodies . . . I'm not interested.' Specific war crimes of
US forces included direct military attacks on a hospital and on
civilian gatherings. Other Western armies were implicated in
serious crimes as well. Some of these were revealed at an
official Canadian inquiry, not duplicated by the US or other
governments."
Bowden's more forgiving account does not contradict
Chomsky's in this regard:
"Official U.S. estimates of Somalian casualties at the time
numbered 350 dead and 500 injured. Somalian clan leaders
made claims of more than 1,000 deaths. The United Nations
placed the number of dead at ``between 300 to 500.'' Doctors
and intellectuals in Mogadishu not aligned with the feuding
clans say that 500 dead is probably accurate.
The attack on Mogadishu was particularly vicious. Quoting
Bowden: "The Task Force Ranger commander, Maj. Gen. William
F. Garrison, testifying before the Senate, said that if his men
had put any more ammunition into the city 'we would have sunk
it.' Most soldiers interviewed said that through most of the fight
they fired on crowds and eventually at anyone and anything
they saw."
After 18 US Special Forces soldiers were killed in the final
Mogadishu firefight, which included the downing of a US
helicopter, television screens filled with the scene of a dead US
soldier being dragged through the streets by jubilant Somalis.
Clinton immediately called off the operation. US forces left
Somalia in disgrace. Some 19,000 UN troops remained for a
short period, but eventually left in futility.
The Somalia defeat elicited howls of protest and rage from the
military brass, congressional hawks, and right-wing
provocateurs itching for an excuse to declare political war on
the "liberal" Clinton administration.
The "Somalia syndrome" would dog Clinton throughout his
presidency, and mar every military mission during his tenure.
Today, as right-wing extremist George W. Bush occupies the
White House, surrounded by his father's operatives, and many
of the architects of the original raid, military fanaticism is all
the rage. A global war "without end" has just begun.
What a perfect moment to "clean up" the past.
Hollywood to the rescue
In promoting the film, producer Jerry Bruckheimer (who rewrote
another humiliating episode of US military history with "Pearl
Harbor") is seeking to convince Americans that the Somalia
operation was "not America's darkest hour, but America's
brightest hour;" that a bungled imperialist intervention was a
noble incident of grand moral magnificence.
CNN film reviewer Paul Tatara describes "Black Hawk Down" as
"pound for pound, one of the most violent films ever released
by a major studio," from "two of the most pandering, tactless
filmmakers in Hollywood history (Jerry Bruckheimer and Ridley
Scott)" who are attempting to "teach us about honor among
soldiers."
More important are the film's true subtexts, and the likely
emotional reaction of viewers.
What viewers see is "brave and innocent young American boys"
getting shot at and killed for "no reason" by "crazy black
Islamists" that the Americans are "just trying to help." (Subtext
one: America is good, and it is impossible to understand why
"they hate us." Subtext two: "Those damned ungrateful
foreigners." Subtext three: "Those damned blacks." Subtext
four: "Kill Arabs.")
What viewers will remember is a line spoken by one of the
"brave soldiers" about how, in the heat of combat, "politics
goes out the window." (Subtext one: there is no need for
thought; shoot first, talk later. Subtext two: it is right to
abandon one's sanity, morality and ethics when faced with
chaos. Subtext three: when the Twin Towers went down on
9/11, America was right in embracing radical militarism and
extreme violence, throwing all else "out the window.")
In the currently lethal political climate, in which testosterone
rage, mob mentality, and love of war pass for normal behavior
(while reason, critical thinking, and tolerance are considered
treasonous), "Black Hawk Down" will appeal to the most violent
elements of American society. Many who have seen the film
report leaving the theater feeling angry, itching to "kick some
ass." In short, the film is dangerous. And those who "love" it
are dangerous.
Considering the fact that Somalia is one of the targets in the
next phase of the Bush administration's "war on terrorism," the
timing of the film is no coincidence.
As Herbert London of the Hudson Institute said of "Black Hawk
Down," "I would never deny the importance of heroism in battle,
but just as we should recognize and honor heroes, we should
also respect the truthfulness of the events surrounding their
heroic acts. In the case of 'Black Hawk Down,' we get a lot of
the former and almost nothing of the latter."
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