August 1992-March 1994

The Effort to

Save Somalia

Joint History Office

Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Walter S. Poole
The Effort to

Save Somalia

August 1992 – March 1994

Walter S. Poole

Joint History Office

Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Washington, DC • 2005
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Poole, Walter S., 1943- 

The effort to save Somalia, August 1992-March 1994 / Walter S. Poole. 

 p. cm. 

Includes bibliographical references and index. 

1. Operation Restore Hope, 1992-1993. 2. Somalia Affair, 1992-1997. 3. United States--Armed 

Forces--Somalia. 4. United Nations Operation in Somalia. I. United States. Office of the Chairman of 

the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint History Office. II. Title.

DT407.42.P66 2005 

967.7305’3--dc22 

 2005017310
Overview

Written several years after the end of operations by US forces in Somalia, this monograph focuses specifically on the involvement of the Chairman of the 

Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff in planning and directing the operations in 

Somalia from August 1992 to March 1994. The study begins with a discussion of 

the conditions and circumstances that, in August 1992, led President George H. W. 

Bush to direct the American military to support relief efforts in Somalia and ends 

with the final withdrawal of US forces in 1994. The author, Dr. Walter S. Poole, 

relied primarily on Joint Staff files and interviews as sources of information.

In writing this account, Dr. Poole was given valuable help by many of the 

key participants and members of the Joint Staff; their contributions are cited in 

the footnotes. The final manuscript was reviewed by Dr. Poole and edited by Dr. 

David A. Armstrong; Ms. Susan Carroll prepared the index and Ms. Penny Norman prepared the manuscript for publication.

This study was reviewed for declassification by the appropriate US Government agencies and cleared for release. The volume is an official publication of the 

Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but the views expressed are 

those of the author and do not represent the official position of the Chairman or 

the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

	 	 	 	 	 David A. Armstrong

 Director for Joint History

Washington, DC

August 2005

Foreword
Overview

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1. UNOSOM I: First Efforts Falter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Road to Tragedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Launching the Airlift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Debating “Points of Security” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 2. UNITAF Halts the Anarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Ball Peen or Sledge Hammer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Defining a Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Coalition Forces Enter Somalia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Setting Limits on the US Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Accomplishing the Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

A Mixed Appraisal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 3. “Necessary Measures” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Resolution 837 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Aideed Becomes the “Center of Gravity” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

The Debate over “Mission Creep” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Accommodation with Aideed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

A Bloody Raid Forces a Decision to Withdraw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Liquidation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

PERT Chart, 17 August 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Contents

v
1

Overview

I

n shaping policy towards Somalia, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 

the Vice Chairman, and the Joint Staff had to advise how US military forces 

could execute an evolving range of missions “other than war”: humanitarian relief 

and suppression of banditry, followed by peace enforcement with international 

forces under United Nations (UN) command, all accompanied by a nation-building effort. The experience of the Vietnam War, where US military involvement 

deepened while political goals remained misty, shaped their thinking. From the 

beginning, these officers sought a definition of the political goals or “end-state” in 

Somalia. Yet, despite their efforts, US objectives underwent repeated change.

Press images of a massive famine provoked US intervention in Somalia. 

Severe drought destroyed local crops and famine resulted when marauding gangs 

seized food and blocked the distribution of relief supplies. Minimizing risks for 

US forces by confining them to ensuring the flow of aid also meant minimizing 

their role in political reconciliation and reconstruction. On the other hand, widening US military missions could further the attainment of political objectives but 

risked American casualties. Such losses eventually did turn public opinion against 

continued US involvement there.

In August 1992, as C-130s began an airlift of relief supplies, the Joint Staff 

warned about the danger of being drawn into an open-ended commitment. The 

State Department, on the other hand, recommended committing US ground 

troops to guard food distribution facilities at “points of security.” The Joint Staff 

warned against such a “long-term commitment of resources in a no-win situation,” and the Deputies Committee (DC) of the National Security Council (NSC) 

chose to seek UN forces for such tasks. During Deputies Committee meetings, 

the Vice Chairman, Admiral David E. Jeremiah, sought a definition of the Bush 

administration’s political objective or “end-point” in Somalia. Meanwhile, graphic 

media accounts of mass starvation drove policy. Late in November, with relief 

efforts hamstrung by feuding warlords, the dispatch of US ground troops to assure 

the distribution of relief supplies became a serious option. The Joint Staff wanted 

to keep the US role minimal and allow the UN contingents to play a more active 

Overview
2 

The Effort to Save Somalia

role. But Jeremiah and the Chairman, General Colin L. Powell, USA, reluctantly 

concluded that matters had deteriorated to the point where nothing except largescale ground intervention in Somalia would work. President George H. W. Bush 

directed that course of action. But, as General Powell and Secretary of Defense 

Dick (Richard) Cheney warned, the outgoing administration’s goal of withdrawing US forces by 20 January 1993 proved unattainable.

Even before the first US troops landed in Mogadishu on 9 December, Chairman Powell and the Commander in Chief, US Central Command, (USCINCCENT), General Joseph Hoar, USMC, sought to limit their mission, withdraw 

combat units as soon as possible, and quickly transfer responsibility from the 

US-led Unified Task Force (UNITAF) to the UN-led Operation in Somalia 

(UNOSOM). Although UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali wanted 

UNITAF to disarm all factions throughout the country, Powell and Hoar ensured 

that UNITAF remained focused on its humanitarian mission. Disarmament was 

enforced simply to the extent that, within UNITAF’s area of operations, heavy 

weapons were permitted only in small, clearly defined cantonment areas. The US 

military opposed having UNITAF completely disarm the population. This undertaking appeared totally unrealistic because a Somali clan felt safe only if its members were heavily armed.

The efforts of UNITAF could be rated a success in the sense that, when 

UNOSOM took over on 4 May 1993, Mogadishu was calm, heavy weapons had 

been stored in cantonments, and marauding gangs were suppressed. Food supplies were flowing, starvation practically had ceased, drought eased, and seeds and 

livestock were being replenished. The clans still had their customary arsenals of 

small arms, however, and the warlords showed little willingness to compromise or 

negotiate in good faith.

General Powell, Admiral Jeremiah and the Joint Staff argued that since 

humanitarian, political and security goals were so interdependent, an integrated 

US and UN policy must be established. Progress had to occur concurrently along 

all the tracks of this three-track strategy. Without a stable government, functioning police forces, and long-term economic aid, Somalia would slide back toward 

disaster. As matters turned out, the humanitarian task was accomplished, but 

security steadily eroded and political reconstruction was stillborn.

In June 1993, after Mohammed Farah Aideed’s militiamen killed twenty-four 

Pakistani troops, Pakistan’s representative on the Security Council demanded a 

prompt and strong UN response. The Joint Staff reviewed a series of drafts from the 
3

Overview

UN and the NSC Staff; General Powell and Admiral Jeremiah were consulted about 

wording, but they neither saw the final text nor knew that it had been approved at 

the White House. The result, Resolution 837, authorized “all necessary measures” 

to arrest and detain those who had either incited or carried out the attack. This 

commitment was hastily made, yet it had consequences that drew the United States 

directly into Somalia’s civil war. The administration wanted UNOSOM to succeed without US forces playing a prominent role. UNOSOM, however, inherited 

a shrunken UNITAF at the time of the turnover, and was controlled by a headquarters initially manned at only twenty-two percent of its authorized strength. 

UNOSOM’s civil and political elements also had significant shortfalls in staffing. 

Furthermore, a US quick reaction force (QRF) constituted UNOSOM’s teeth and 

US logistic support units made up its tail. The UNOSOM headquarters often used 

the QRF for dangerous missions while many other national contingents either 

served in the much more stable countryside or stayed in garrison in Mogadishu.

The UN Special Representative, Admiral Jonathan T. Howe, USN (Ret), who 

had been President Bush’s Deputy National Security Adviser, pressed forcefully and 

repeatedly for deploying US Special Operations Forces (SOF) to capture Aideed. By 

issuing an arrest warrant for Aideed and then offering a reward, Howe made that 

warlord the focus of US and UN attention. The State Department and the NSC staff 

agreed with Howe that removing Aideed would make “all the difference.” However, 

the Joint Staff, early in July, recommended limiting our efforts to “marginalizing” 

Aideed on grounds that sending the SOF would turn the “UN versus Aideed” battle 

into a “US versus Aideed” confrontation. The Director, J-5, Lieutenant General 

Barry McCaffrey, USA, conversely, supported sending SOF if USCINCCENT and 

the commanders on the ground wanted them. Late in July, an interagency team 

with Joint Staff representation visited Mogadishu and recommended making SOF 

available. General Powell, however, continued to oppose sending SOF because, like 

General Hoar, he saw many dangers and little hope of success.

In policy deliberations, the Deputies Committee wavered; finally, in midAugust, it moved toward the State-NSC approach of removing Aideed. On 21 

August, after ambushes of US troops and at the request of General Hoar, General 

Powell reluctantly changed his mind and recommended deploying SOF. Secretary 

of Defense Les Aspin approved sending a 440-man task force. A month later, as 

clashes continued and Aideed eluded capture, the Deputies Committee considered 

re-energizing the political track and simply isolating Aideed, perhaps even reaching an accommodation with him. Secretary of Defense Aspin spoke of devising 
4 

The Effort to Save Somalia

an “exit strategy” from Somalia; the Joint Staff also started working out a course of 

action. But policy adjustments by the Deputies Committee were so finely nuanced 

that lower echelons did not interpret them as major changes and field commanders 

could not translate them into concrete actions. The SOF pursued the military track 

by hunting Aideed even as General Hoar limited the QRF’s role to “force protection” and Secretary Aspin rejected a military request for a small number of tanks 

and Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFV) to strengthen the QRF. On 30 September, 

his last day in office, the Chairman advised President Clinton that the situation in 

Somalia was unraveling and all US and UN troops should be withdrawn. The policy 

muddle was exposed by a battle three days later that left eighteen US soldiers dead 

and turned the administration toward a speedy withdrawal of US troops.

Two years after the effort to save Somalia began, events there seemed to have 

circled back toward anarchy and clan warfare. Success in humanitarian relief was 

not followed by nation-building because the underlying political and security 

problems were never solved. The UN proved woefully inadequate for the latter 

tasks, with operations in the field and in New York hobbled by inertia, undermanning and incompetence. Shortcomings in US policy-making contributed to 

the unsatisfactory outcome. Somalia was a frequent topic of discussion among the 

President and his senior advisors, but for the months between November 1992 

when President Bush decided to intervene and October 1993 when President 

Clinton decided to pull out, discussions in the Deputies Committee where policy 

alternatives were formulated usually revolved around short-term tactics without 

reference to long-term objectives. Imprecision and drift often seemed to reign. 

Steps that General Hoar condemned as “mission creep” depended upon how the 

mission was being defined at that moment. Those who favored deploying SOF 

relied upon the maxim of fighting to win. Lieutenant General McCaffrey, the J-5, 

spoke of targeting Aideed without “personalizing” the conflict but did not specify 

how this would be avoided. General Powell wanted to keep objectives limited, 

which meant minimizing US military involvement. His change of mind about 

using SOF came in response to ambushes of US troops, not as part of a broad 

policy reconsideration. Within a few weeks after the SOF reached Mogadishu, 

the Deputies Committee began swinging back toward an accommodation with 

Aideed. Yet every change of tactics seemed only to reduce policymakers’ maneuver room and make UNOSOM’s success less likely. The hunt for Aideed continued, culminating in the firefight of 3 October. After that battle, the White House 

decided that any option other than prompt withdrawal had become unattainable.
5

T he US experience in Somalia has proven unique for two reasons. First, intervention sprang entirely from the humanitarian motive of saving lives. In a land 

ravaged by famine, the aim was to avert mass starvation by ending anarchy and 

permitting relief supplies to flow again. As news stories from Somalia grew relentlessly more grim, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Vice Chairman, and 

Joint Staff officers confronted the question of whether and how to use military force 

in a situation that threatened no US security interests and met none of the historic 

criteria for intervention. What, they asked, was the objective or “end state” to be 

sought? Their experiences made them keen to avoid a situation where military 

commitments would mount while political goals remained misty. Nonetheless, US 

objectives in Somalia underwent constant change. Second, an international force 

under a United Nations command tried to keep the peace, impose reconciliation 

upon warring Somali factions, and assist in rebuilding governmental institutions. 

Here the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Joint Staff had to cope with the shortcomings of an operation that was being managed not only by UN headquarters in New 

York but also by dozens of contributing governments. Too often, satisfactory solutions could not be found. The US experience in Somalia raised serious questions 

about whether politico-military goals could be integrated with a humanitarian mission and about the viability of peace enforcement operations under UN direction.

The Road to Tragedy

Somalia became an independent nation in 1960, but its political tradition of 

shifting alliances among clans and sub-clans fitted poorly with parliamentary government and free elections. In 1969, General Mohammed Siad Barre seized power. 

In 1977, he invaded the Ogaden region of neighboring Ethiopia, which was populated largely by ethnic Somalis. Almost simultaneously, Barre broke military ties 

with the USSR and obtained military equipment from the United States, the United 

Kingdom and France. The Soviets reacted by rushing arms, advisers and Cuban 

troops to Ethiopia; Barre’s troops were trounced and driven back into Somalia. 

Although he stayed in power, opposition to Barre’s rule mounted steadily. A fullChapter 1

UNOSOM I: First Efforts Falter
6 

The Effort to Save Somalia

scale guerrilla war began in May 1988. Barre’s soldiers retaliated by killing tens of 

thousands of civilians, but repression only made the opposition stronger. On 27 

January 1991, after four weeks of fighting that devastated the capital city of Mogadishu and compelled the evacuation of US Embassy personnel by helicopter, Barre 

fled south. Much of the country’s infrastructure lay in ruins. Perhaps what had 

passed for the normality of a nation-state in Somalia was really an aberration, created and financed by Cold War rivalry.1

Clan and sub-clan warfare spread across Somalia. In the north, a breakaway 

Somaliland Republic came into being. Partisans of “provisional president” Ali 

Mahdi and clansmen of General Mohammed Aideed fought each other in Mogadishu. Barre’s son-in-law, General Hersi Morgan, led fighters in the south; his 

main rival was Omar Jess. Arms were readily available to all factions, with weapons worth $9 billion coming from the USSR between 1975 and 1989, and another 

$4 billion in arms coming from eighteen countries, including the United States 

and Libya, between 1985 and 1989. Moreover, after the overthrow of Haile Mariam Mengistu in Ethiopia, many of Mengistu’s soldiers returned to their villages 

and sold their weapons to Somalis at bargain prices.

Launching the Airlift

Somalia as a nation and as a cohesive society had dissolved. Then an unusually severe drought struck. Food became a form of currency and marauding gangs 

seized this “money.” In mid-December 1991, the first relief supplies from abroad 

reached war-torn Mogadishu. Within thirty days, however, the International 

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that starvation threatened hundreds 

of thousands of refugees living in camps south of the capital. On 23 January 1992, 

the UN Security Council urged all parties to accept a cease-fire and urged states to 

contribute to humanitarian assistance. Three months later, the Council approved 

Resolution 751 (1) requesting Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to send 

fifty observers who would monitor a very fragile cease-fire in Mogadishu and (2) 

agreeing in principle to establish a UN security force for Somalia when the necessary conditions existed. The first UN observers arrived on 23 July. Simultaneously, UN Special Representative Mohammed Sahnoun estimated that 1.5 million 

Somalis faced imminent starvation. Private humanitarian organizations launched 

a worldwide appeal for aid.

The US government, which would have to pay for thirty-one percent of any 

UN peacekeeping operation, did not want to find itself funding “food guards” and 
7

UNOSOM I: First Efforts Falter

hoped that voluntary contributions from Saudi Arabia and other neighbors would 

suffice. But late in July 1992, as pictures of skeletal children jolted the American 

public, President George H. W. Bush decided that the United States should play 

a leading, visible role. That meant accelerating deliveries of food and medicine, 

promoting reconciliation among clans and warlords, and funding the deployment 

of UN food guards. An interagency Somalia Working Group, organized at White 

House direction, met for the first time on 30 July. Its chairman, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary of State Robert Houdek, asked the Joint Staff to estimate the costs of airdropping, airlifting or heli-lifting relief supplies.2

In the Joint Staff, the principal action officers for the first round of support to 

Somalia were Lieutenant Colonels John Wahlquist, USAF, and (as of 1 October) 

Perry Baltimore, USA, in J-5’s Middle East-Africa Division (MEAF), Lieutenant Colonels David Van Esselstyn, USMC, and Frank Brittain, USA, in J-3’s Joint 

Operations Division (JOD), and Lieutenant Colonel John Newton, USAF, in the 

J-4 Logistic Readiness Center (LRC). One or more of these officers would attend 

interagency Working Group meetings. Often, Wahlquist and Baltimore drafted the 

position papers that went to the Chairman. At the next level, Rear Admiral Frank 

P. Bowman, Assistant Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs, J-5, usually 

attended Somalia sessions of the Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC). Admiral David E. Jeremiah, the Vice Chairman, served as JCS representative on the 

National Security Council Deputies Committee; Bowman often accompanied him.

Although President Bush kept himself informed, NSC Principals did not meet 

about Somalia until late November when a major decision had to be made. By 

then, incremental decisions below that level had led the administration toward 

intervention. This pattern of policy choices being debated and determined below 

the Principals’ level would remain consistent during most of the American 

involvement in Somalia.

In mid-1992, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) possessed more 

expertise about Somalia than the Joint Staff. However, Deputy Assistant Secretary 

James Woods struck some officers in J-5 MEAF as overly enthusiastic about US 

involvement there. MEAF officers also regarded their State Department counterparts with caution. The Joint Staff ’s attitude toward involvement in Somalia was 

one of extreme wariness. An appraisal by Smith Hempstone, a conservative journalist with extensive African experience who was US ambassador to neighboring 

Kenya, mirrored action officers’ convictions so accurately that it would be quoted 

or paraphrased in a number of Joint Staff papers:
8 

The Effort to Save Somalia

There is little reason to believe that the bitter and long-standing clan rivalries that have turned Somalia into a particularly 

murderous African Lebanon will yield to outside intervention.... 

Tragic as the situation is in Somalia ... the dissolution of the Somali nation-state does not affect vital USG security interests. Accordingly, USG should think—and think again—before allowing 

itself to become bogged down in a quagmire without the promise 

of offsetting concomitant benefits.3

On 4 August, the Director, J-4, sent OSD an estimate of the costs of using 

two C-130 aircraft and three CH-47 helicopters for sixty days of delivering relief 

supplies. The Defense Department would have to spend about $3 million for the 

C-130s alone, about $7 million for the C-130s and CH-47s. The J-4 urged, however, that the administration approach this mission “with extreme caution” and 

paraphrased Ambassador Hempstone’s appraisal: “The sad fact is that no outside 

intervention can prevent a people intent on destroying themselves from succeeding if they so insist.”4

When the Somalia Working Group met again on 5 August, a spokesman from 

the Agency for International Development’s (AID) Office of Foreign Disaster 

Assistance proposed funding Red Cross flights into Somalia and limiting the military airlift to flights from Nairobi or Mombasa to Wajir, Kenya, near the Somali 

border. The Wajir airfield lay close to a refugee center established by the Kenyan 

government. In that case, commented Lieutenant Colonel Van Esselstyn, truck 

convoys would be cheaper and more efficient. Likewise, J-5 officers deemed a 

military airlift unwarranted and undesirable.5

Political and humanitarian concerns overrode the Joint Staff ’s objections. 

On 4 August, UN Special Representative Sahnoun had reported that 1.5 million Somalis would be at risk of starvation within a few weeks; hundreds were 

believed to be dying every day. Eight days later, Secretary General Boutros-Ghali 

announced that five hundred Pakistanis would go to Somalia as security guards 

for relief supplies. This force was christened United Nations Operation in Somalia 

(UNOSOM). President Bush promptly decided that US military aircraft would 

help transport the Pakistanis.

The Policy Coordinating Committee, chaired by Assistant Secretary of State 

for African Affairs Herman Cohen, met on 12 August. An NSC spokesman said 

that the White House wanted to be seen as taking a leading role in relief efforts. 
9

UNOSOM I: First Efforts Falter

Mr. Robert Wolthuis, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Global Affairs), 

reminded conferees that Operation Provide Comfort aiding the Kurds in 

northern Iraq, already had taken more than $1 billion from Defense’s budget. 

But every time the conferees started talking about specifics and limitations upon 

Defense assets, Cohen would interrupt: “Remember, people are dying.” Afterwards, Mr. Wolthuis told Joint Staff representatives that something would be 

done; the only question was how much.6 Very soon afterward, the State Department circulated a paper that mentioned such options as seizing and operating a 

command and control facility in Mogadishu as well as establishing a UN headquarters for heavy airlift operations. J-5 MEAF officers opposed these proposals.7

In preparation for an NSC Deputies Committee meeting on 14 August, 

MEAF officers drafted a paper intended to emphasize the perils of intervention. 

It cautioned that, although the United States had no vital interests in Somalia, the 

world community felt that Washington had a moral commitment because of US 

security assistance given to Somalia during the Cold War. Officers in J-5, MEAF, 

expressed concern that by agreeing to fly the five hundred Pakistanis into Mogadishu, the administration had “signed a blank check” to commit more resources. 

A UN Security Council resolution authorizing “all necessary measures” to secure 

Mogadishu airfield was under consideration. But such a resolution could create an 

open-ended commitment and set a dangerous precedent. The security situation at 

the airfield was unclear, and the Joint Staff worried about having to insert “peacekeepers” by force. Although other agencies were discussing US military intervention, either unilaterally or under UN auspices, no clear objectives had been 

defined and an intruding force would face major challenges. The author of the 

paper closed by quoting portions of Ambassador Hempstone’s bleak appraisal.8

The Deputies Committee, on 14 August, agreed that Defense would carry 

out an emergency food airlift, not only from Mombasa to Wajir but also to towns 

within Somalia as soon as security and operating conditions permitted. After sixty 

days, if feasible, military transports would be replaced by commercial or contract 

aircraft. President Bush publicly announced the plan for an airlift that same day. 

Andrew Natsios became Special Coordinator for aid to Somalia, an undertaking 

that now bore the name Operation Provide Relief.

9

On 15 August, General Powell sent an alert order to the Commander in Chief, 

Central Command, (USCINCCENT), General Joseph P. Hoar, USMC; an execute 

order to start the airlift followed next day. At the outset, four C-141s and eight 

C-130 aircraft were committed to supporting Provide Relief. Two C-130s 
10

The Effort to Save Somalia

arrived at Wajir on 21 August; four C-130s made the first US military flight into 

Belet Uen, Somalia, seven days later.10

Debating “Points of Security”

Aircraft brought food to distribution points in Somalia; looters and armed 

thugs then seized it. Non-governmental relief organizations shipped in supplies, 

but food was being stolen as soon as it reached the docks. Nonetheless, warehouses 

still held a good deal of food; freeing and distributing these stores was the problem.

Clearly, starvation would continue unless anarchy and banditry were quelled. 

Truck convoys appeared to be the only way to distribute and deliver enough tonnage. Accordingly, State and the Agency for International Development’s (AID) 

Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) pressed for establishing “points of 

security” or “zones of tranquility.” Under this approach, US ground troops would 

guard such critical facilities as airports, feeding centers and key roads. In a paper 

written for Admiral Jeremiah, MEAF officers argued against adopting State’s concept. Without a much larger commitment of combat force, they noted, it would be 

very difficult and costly to create an environment like that in Operation Provide

Comfort, which involved feeding and protecting the Kurds in northern Iraq. By 

pursuing an interventionist policy in Somalia, J-5 action officers correctly forecast, “we set ourselves up for a long-term commitment of resources in a no-win 

situation.” The longer US operations in Somalia continued, the less incentive there 

would be for the UN to implement its own program. However, on 20 August, the 

Deputies Committee agreed to develop further the “points of security” concept, 

pursue an “all necessary measures” resolution in the Security Council, expedite 

the movement of five hundred Pakistanis, and coordinate relief shipments with 

private and multilateral organizations.11

On 24 August, after hearing a UN technical team’s report, Secretary General 

Boutros-Ghali proposed deploying 750 UN soldiers to each of four security zones 

within Somalia. Counting the five hundred Pakistanis, UN security forces would 

total thirty-five hundred. Four days later, through Resolution 775, the Security 

Council approved his proposal.

The Policy Coordinating Committee met on 1 September, with Rear Admiral 

Bowman attending. The US airlift was going well and soon would reach a level 

of fourteen C-130s; it also would be expanded to cover towns where clan leaders 

exercised control and security risks remained low. Reporting on his recent trip 

to Kenya and Somalia, Mr. Andrew Natsios of AID said that the UN relief effort 
11

UNOSOM I: First Efforts Falter

labored under serious operational and organizational handicaps. But he recommended putting “points of security” under UN auspices, without involving US 

troops. Most conferees, including Bowman, agreed that implementing “points of 

security” as a US effort would be premature and would conflict with the aim of 

having the UN take responsibility for guarding relief supplies. On 4 September, 

the Deputies Committee endorsed establishing “points of security” under UN 

auspices. The idea then was presented to Marrack Goulding, Under Secretary 

General for Peacekeeping Operations, who appeared receptive.12

“Points of security,” however, proved hard to find. On 5 September, C-130s 

from Kenya began delivering supplies to Baidoa. Nine days later, C-5A and C-141 

aircraft landed the first Pakistani soldiers at Mogadishu. An Amphibious Ready 

Group (ARG) carrying about two thousand Marines had taken up station twentyfive nautical miles off Mogadishu. But the Pakistanis, outgunned by the warlords, 

did not try to move out from the airfield and could not be persuaded to protect 

relief convoys. At Baidoa and Belet Uen, as soon as food appeared, armed gangs 

as well as starving people migrated to those towns. The resulting turmoil led to a 

temporary suspension of US relief flights. When food ran out, the gangs would 

leave those towns and refugees again would be left to starve.13

Back in early August, the cost of a sixty-day airlift had been calculated at $9.5 

million. The NSC had decided that Defense would pay $8 million and State $1.5 

million. By mid-September, it appeared that sixty-day costs would balloon to 

$30 million.14 When the PCC reconvened on 23 September, members discussed 

how soon relief deliveries could shift from military to civilian aircraft. Congress 

and the Pentagon were getting complaints from civilian carriers who operated in 

Africa and wanted a share of work. The most realistic scenario, the PCC agreed, 

assumed that road corridors would open late in November following the deployment of UN security forces. All representatives then approved the following timetable: operate fourteen C-130s until 1 October, ten from 1-15 October, and four 

from 15 October until 30 November. The cost would be $24 million to Defense, 

$12 million to State and AID.15

During 23-24 September, Admiral Jeremiah visited Kenya and stopped briefly 

at Oddur in Somalia. He then advised General Powell that, although the UN effort 

fell short in manning and equipment, an adequate force could accomplish the 

task with relatively little risk. Outside Mogadishu, the security problem consisted 

of “technicals” (pickup trucks with automatic weapons mounted on them) and 

marauding teenagers, none a match for organized ground troops.
12

The Effort to Save Somalia

At a Deputies Committee meeting on 28 September, Under Secretary of State 

Frank Wisner gave a pessimistic appraisal of UN plans to deploy more troops and 

of the prospects for inter-clan political negotiations. Admiral Jeremiah recommended keeping fourteen C-130s flying for another two weeks. Admiral Jonathan 

Howe, USN, (Ret), Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 

agreed to do so. Deliveries, Howe emphasized, had to remain at current levels 

throughout the transition to a civilian airlift. Conferees approved, in principle, ending the military airlift on 1 December. They thought that relief should be changing 

from air to ground delivery but were unclear whether the UN had come to grips 

with the role its contingents would play in ensuring the safety of ground convoys. 

Admiral Howe also established, under the leadership of the Assistant Secretary of 

Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA), an interagency planning group 

to consider what “points of security” would require. The Joint Staff had voiced 

reservations about creating such a group, fearing that it might push for deploying 

US troops to “points of security.” Admiral Jeremiah observed that the administration needed to define the “end-point” of US policy, particularly as regards political objectives. At his direction, in mid-October, MEAF officers drew up a “PERT 

(Program Evaluation and Review Techniques) chart” (page 101) that outlined 

a series of sequential goals under three categories—humanitarian, security, and 

political—leading to the end-states of self-sufficiency, stability and reconciliation. 

A PERT chart breaks down an undertaking into its component activities, puts the 

relationships among various activities into networks, and establishes time estimates 

for completing the networks as well as the total project. Regularly updated and displayed at interagency discussions, the chart tracked progress in each category and 

showed how the goals in the three categories were interrelated.16

During October, however, the “end-point” of US policy continued to elude 

definition. From Kenya, Ambassador Hempstone advocated ending Operation 

Provide Relief, at least in its current form, on 30 October: “Now is the time to 

declare victory in Somalia and go home, if only to regroup for other missions.” 

The new interagency planning group studied what forces were required to protect 

relief supplies from their arrival in Mogadishu to their delivery in Baidoa and 

outlying areas. The group concluded that a brigade-size task force of about three 

thousand personnel would be needed. When these numbers were presented to 

the PCC on 9 October, LTC Baltimore sensed that members were surprised by 

how large they were. “I believe it opened some eyes,” he reported to J-5. The PCC 

decided against submitting this case study to the UN, lest it be interpreted as 
13

UNOSOM I: First Efforts Falter

indicating US willingness to fund such an undertaking. The PCC also proposed 

sending the last C-130 home on 15 December. Mr. Natsios strongly dissented, 

claiming that C-130s represented a visible US presence that charter or civilian 

aircraft could not duplicate. In rebuttal, members said that the military had other 

missions, and that a political message could be conveyed by various means.17

The Deputies Committee, on 21 October, endorsed efforts to encourage a 

greater UN security presence. It approved ending the military airlift on either 15 

December or 25 January. After that meeting, the Chairman agreed to 25 January. 

But worsening conditions within Somalia soon made these steps seem inadequate. 

In Mogadishu, Aideed refused to let the five hundred Pakistanis protect the 

airport, the docks or food convoys. UN Special Envoy Sahnoun resigned on 26 

October, after publicly criticizing the inadequacy of relief efforts. Two days later, 

Secretary General Boutros-Ghali asked the United States to air and sealift the 

three thousand troops authorized by Security Council Resolution 775: one battalion each from Belgium, Canada, Egypt and Nigeria, a Norwegian headquarters 

company, and a Pakistani augmentation. Apparently, Boutros-Ghali hoped that 

initiating air and sea movements would spur the warlords to bow to world opinion and not block these new contingents.18

On 2 November, Rear Admiral Bowman talked to Brigadier General Baril, the 

Secretary General’s Military Adviser. Baril said that UN troops would enter Somalia only with the consent of the parties, since this was to be a peacekeeping rather 

than a peace enforcement operation. All deployments had been suspended until 

Sahnoun’s successor, Ismet Kittani, could make an on-scene assessment.19

The National Security Council, on 4 November, agreed in principle to transport UN troops, if the security environment was “permissive.” The State Department and the Joint Staff had opposed going even that far. Repeated UN appeals 

for free lift were not well received in the Joint Staff. Defense, with Admiral Jeremiah’s concurrence, now relented on condition that State would bear fifty percent of 

the cost, estimated to total $23 million.20
15

Ball Peen or Sledge Hammer?

When the PCC reconvened on 6 November, members were in a somber 

mood. The Chairman, Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Houdek, asked the 

Central Intelligence Agency to assess whether the UN’s strategy appeared likely 

to succeed. Three days later Intelligence Community analysts conducted a videoteleconference (VTC) in which officers from J-3, J-4 and J-5 participated. The 

consensus was that far more than thirty-five hundred troops would be needed to 

ensure that relief supplies reached the two million Somalis in danger of starvation. 

Once UN troops were inserted, moreover, tremendous logistical difficulties would 

arise in maintaining them. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bray, USA, Joint Operations Division, J-3, analyzed “points of security” requirements for Bardera, where 

a five hundred-man Belgian battalion had been designated as the UN peacekeeping force. He concluded that, because the battalion would have to concentrate all 

its assets in order to conduct one escort mission, the force’s strength should be 

raised to between seventeen hundred and two thousand personnel.1

Meanwhile in Mogadishu, Aideed continued to threaten the five hundred 

Pakistanis and block the unloading of relief supplies. Richard Clarke of the NSC 

Staff asked whether the Joint Staff was doing evacuation planning. “No,” was the 

reply; the objective should be finding ways to make the Pakistanis more effective. 

From UN headquarters in New York, on 6 November, US Ambassador Edward 

Perkins sent the State Department his judgment that the worldwide credibility of 

UN peacekeeping efforts was at stake. The Serbs in Bosnia and the Khmer Rouge 

in Cambodia would pay no heed to the Security Council “if bandits force it to 

take flight in Somalia.” Consequently, he pressed for “a clear show of force and a 

demonstrable willingness to use it” against “the smallest bully on the block.” Also 

during this time, Senegal was organizing an African push for a UN-sponsored 

trusteeship for Somalia. The massive unknowns of that course, Perkins argued, 

created a good case for trying harder to make the current effort succeed. His cable 

would be quoted frequently at interagency discussions.2

Chapter 2

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy
16

 The Effort to Save Somalia

General Hoar was asked to assess Ambassador Perkins’ report; he did not 

submit a written reply, due to his concern that it might find its way into the interagency arena and be misinterpreted. Instead, CENTCOM planners orally provided the Joint Staff with two options. First, station a Marine Amphibious Ready 

Group (MARG) off the coast; it would be able to evacuate the Pakistanis but not 

secure Mogadishu. (On 10 November, the Pakistanis finally took control of the 

airport and set up a perimeter.) Second, deploy a carrier battle group off the coast. 

To force a lodgment ashore, either a reinforced MARG or an Army mechanized 

infantry brigade would be required.

Hoar worried that, if the United States took the lead, other nations would not 

join what they perceived to be unilateral action. The UN first should develop a 

detailed plan; then the United States could decide what role to play. Colonel Frank 

W. Brittain, USA, of J-3 informed his superiors that he favored deploying a carrier 

battle group, because doing so would force the UN to make a choice while avoiding any commitment of US ground troops.3

The PCC, on 12 November, endorsed the intelligence community’s pessimistic 

assessment and agreed that the Deputies Committee must decide whether to recommend a significantly larger UN troop presence. To make matters worse, it was 

becoming clear that the airlift alone could not avert mass starvation. Moreover, 

airlift costs for FY 1993 probably would exceed $60 million; AID could not pay 

for civilian planes to move the same tonnage currently being delivered by military 

aircraft. Consequently, Mr. Natsios stressed that the AID-funded airlift would drop 

from seven to two planes on 25 February, one month after the military airlift ended. 

Obviously, only a great increase in surface transport could offset this loss; there was 

little prospect of that. On 16 November, Special Representative Kittani reported that 

humanitarian supplies had become the basis of an otherwise non-existent economy. 

Somali “authorities” at all levels competed for anything of value; threats and killings often decided the outcome. Large sums were being extorted from private relief 

agencies; perhaps no more than twenty percent of relief supplies actually reached 

the needy. In Mogadishu, where the five hundred lightly-armed Pakistanis still 

were virtual hostages of the warlords, the airport had come under heavy fire on 13 

November and “provisional president” Mahdi’s men prevented ships from docking.4

Chaos of a purely bureaucratic kind reigned in New York. Ambassador Perkins, on 17 November, provided the State Department with a graphic picture of 

the confusion within the UN Secretariat. The Belgians’ deployment planned for 

Bardera had been changed to Kismayo and then, partly because General Hersi 
17

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

Morgan’s men were advancing toward Kismayo, changed again to Mogadishu 

in support of the Pakistanis. Egyptian peacemakers might prove unacceptable 

anywhere in Somalia. Months might pass before Nigerians were ready for any 

deployment. The last time the Nigerians prepared to deploy, their provisions had 

included a herd of cattle and several hundred chickens. “Simply stated,” said the 

Ambassador, “nobody has a clear idea who will be deployed, what they will take, 

where they will go, or when they will arrive.”5

On 19 November, Under Secretary Wisner asked Secretary General BoutrosGhali what the United States could do and what kind of help would be most effective. Boutros-Ghali, perhaps believing that the administration sought an invitation 

to act militarily, “stated emphatically that such assistance would not be helpful.”6

After a Deputies Committee meeting on 20 November, the J-3 drafted a warning order requesting USCINCCENT to list courses of action that involved deploying US combat troops to major ports and to relief centers in Somalia’s interior. 

Two days later, General Hoar proposed three alternatives:

1. At Kismayo in the south, a brigade-size force would establish a lodgement 

area. During its later phases, the operation would expand to Mogadishu.

2. A division-size force would secure Mogadishu. Movement to Kismayo and 

into the interior would occur during later phases.

3. Mogadishu and Kismayo would be seized simultaneously.

Hoar recommended the second alternative because it focused on Somalia’s political center of gravity and seized the largest port early; but he also rated alternative 

1 an acceptable course.7

The administration now had to decide whether to commit combat troops and 

in what strength. Ambassador Hempstone, on 20 November, argued for using 

US ground troops strictly as food guards and buffer forces in supporting traditional clan boundaries, without challenging the warlords. Hempstone thought 

that American occupation of Somalia would prove roughly comparable to Syria’s 

position in Lebanon. Syrians exercised operational control there and had imposed 

a semblance of order but lacked real legitimacy so that, if they left, a rapid breakdown would follow. The difference with Somalia, he claimed, was that the Syrians 

“want Lebanon and are willing to pay the price of occupying it.”8

In fact, J-5 MEAF action officers had developed three broad options, only one 

of which mentioned ground troops. These were:
18

 The Effort to Save Somalia

Option 1: Continue the current course, although with more US air and sealift.

Option 2, which was favored by the State Department: Push the UN to move 

more quickly and commit more troops (10,000 to 15,000 instead of 3,500). 

The United States would provide logistical support units and deploy a Marine 

Amphibious Ready Group to deter Somali attacks upon UN forces.

Option 3: Organize under UN auspices a US-led coalition, equal to a division 

in strength and containing US ground forces.9

On 23 November, the Deputies Committee considered these options. They 

discussed ways by which US officers might continue commanding US troops 

under a camouflage of UN control. Conferees looked upon the Korean War, when 

the Security Council authorized the US Government to appoint a commander, as 

a good precedent. The other major issue involved whether US troops should focus 

upon starvation relief and let the UN deal with political issues. Military spokesmen did not believe that such a distinction was possible and called attention to 

interrelationships traced by the PERT chart. Mogadishu and Kismayo were only 

the initial military objectives. Troops would have to move into the hinterlands 

later, challenging the warlords and thus destabilizing the political situation. Therefore, they held, performing relief missions also meant pursuing structural political 

changes. The President needed to know about the political side as well as the military one. He also should be made aware that a timetable of four to six months was 

meaningless; events would determine the pace of progress and withdrawal. All the 

conferees agreed that thirty-five hundred UN troops were too few and that about 

fifteen thousand would be needed.10

On 24 November, working under Rear Admiral Bowman’s supervision, 

Wahlquist and Baltimore prepared a talking paper for Admiral Jeremiah. Under 

all options, their paper stated, a sizeable peacemaking force (either UN or a UNsanctioned coalition) would establish a food distribution system, then be replaced 

by a smaller peacekeeping force. The paper held that Option 1 (the current course) 

did not go far enough and failed to demonstrate US resolve, particularly in a “nonpermissive” environment. Option 2 (10-15,000 troops) would mean committing 

about three thousand US medical, transport, quartermaster, intelligence and 

engineer troops. It was conceptually sound but unlikely to come about because 

other countries probably would not contribute significant combat forces unless the 

United States did. Option 3 (a division-size force) appeared “promising, doable, 
19

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

and could be quick,” especially if the United States provided the bulk of forces. 

But it would impose a US solution and could cost billions, risk American lives 

and likely lead to a very long-term commitment. Such action, moreover, could 

set a precedent for demands for US leadership throughout Africa. There also was 

a potential public relations problem to consider—killing teenage bandits to save 

starving children will not sell well on CNN. Beyond that, Option 3 understated by 

a factor of three or four the size of the force required. (A revision of 25 November 

changed that factor to two or three—“more like 32,000.”)

Thus, in summation, an invasion of Somalia would be overkill. Diplomatic 

efforts had not been exhausted; conditions remained dire in Mogadishu but 

showed improvement in the interior. Somalia’s warlords should be sent a message “using the ball peen, not the sledge.” Specifically, the ball peen would strike 

with more strength than Option 1 but less than Option 2, positioning a MARG 

offshore and concentrating ground contingents in Mogadishu with or without the 

agreement of local factions. If this approach failed, preparations should be made 

to launch Option 3 after President-elect Clinton had been inaugurated.11

When the Deputies Committee convened later that day, 24 November, some 

members argued that the factions must be disarmed before mostly US peacemakers could be replaced by UN peacekeepers. Military representatives opposed giving the peacemakers this mission, however, on grounds that taking away arms 

would be taking away livelihoods and so must provoke a fight. Moreover, implementing Option 3 would mean five to ten years of nation-building. Other Committee members also favored the ball peen option.

At 0900 hours on 25 November, the President presided over a decisive meeting that Generals Powell and Hoar attended. The Chairman, who had consulted 

beforehand with Admiral Jeremiah and the Service Chiefs, advocated Option 3; 

so did USCINCCENT. Both officers felt that the situation had deteriorated to the 

point where, if the administration was determined to take an active role, largescale intervention would be the best option. Secretary of Defense Cheney agreed 

with their assessment. But, Powell warned, it would be foolish not to anticipate 

taking on the full spectrum of Somalia’s problems. If the United States intervened, 

other consequences would follow and getting out would prove difficult.

President Bush selected Option 3—the sledge-hammer. That, conferees noted, 

meant trying to restore a stable security environment for delivering humanitarian 

aid and could lead to confronting the warlords and disarming the factions. Powell 

urged that Ambassador Robert Oakley be called out of retirement and appointed 
20

 The Effort to Save Somalia

special envoy. He had been Ambassador to Somalia in 1983-84 and, during 1987-

88, had worked under Powell on the NSC Staff as Director for Middle East and 

South Asian affairs. The Chairman saw Oakley as a man who could harmonize 

Defense’s concerns with the incoming administration’s objectives.12 Later that day, 

Acting Secretary of State Eagleburger informed Boutros-Ghali that, if the Security 

Council authorized member states to use force in order to ensure the delivery of 

relief supplies, the United States stood ready to take the lead in organizing and 

commanding such an operation.

Some Joint Staff officers thought that General Powell and Admiral Jeremiah 

had changed position because they recognized that President Bush wanted to use 

Option 3, not the “ball peen” approach. That was not so. General Powell accepted 

the necessity of intervention reluctantly, and rated Option 3 as the only realistic 

course of action if something had to be done. Both he and Jeremiah felt that, even 

though the UN had not made the right commitment, action was necessary. When 

Admiral Jeremiah told the Deputies Committee that “if you think U.S. forces are 

needed” on the ground “we can do the job,” the Vice Chairman was neither advocating nor arguing against that course of action. Rather, he felt frustrated by the 

long-running discussion about military capabilities when, as he saw it, the issue 

was what policy should be adopted.13

Public sentiment obviously shaped President Bush’s decision. The tragedy in 

Somalia was massive and television made it vivid. Preserving the UN’s credibility, 

a concern that would loom large by mid-1993, was a secondary factor at this point. 

Only the United States possessed the capacity to act promptly. The Joint Staff, like 

the USCENTCOM staff, favored simply providing more air and sealift for the time 

being. In the Joint Staff’s judgment, the difficulties attendant upon restoring order, 

bringing warlords to heel, and creating some semblance of a national polity accentuated the need for caution. The Chairman’s Assistant, LTG Barry R. McCaffrey, 

USA, shared their view that nothing in Somalia involved any US national interest.14

But General Powell, instead, chose immediate and large-scale intervention. The airlift was apparently helping the hinterlands, but it was very expensive and doing little 

for Mogadishu. If many thousands of lives were to be saved, a prompt commitment 

of US ground troops appeared necessary for opening ports and running convoys. 

The Chairman believed, as in the Persian Gulf, that intervention ought to be decisive. That was his consistent approach to the use of military power.
21

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

Defining a Mission

The President wanted US troops to enter Somalia as soon as possible and then 

be replaced by UN peacekeepers in the shortest feasible time. At the 25 November 

meeting, National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft said that US troops must be 

out of Somalia by 20 January, when President Bush would leave office. General 

Powell and Secretary Cheney promptly advised Scowcroft that this deadline could 

not be met. Meantime, implementation of the decision to intervene was proceeding. If preparatory actions began at once, troops could land on 7 December. The 

carrier USS Ranger could arrive off Mogadishu on 1 December. One amphibious assault ship, USS Tripoli, would follow on 6 December; another, USS Guam, 

would be at Kuwait on 10 December. There was agreement within the administration that, for command arrangements, the Korean War precedent (i.e., a US commander carrying out Security Council resolutions) was the one to follow.15

Secretary General Boutros-Ghali informed the Security Council, on 29 

November, that he saw five options:

1. Continue efforts to deploy forty-two hundred personnel for United Nations 

Operations in Somalia.

2. Withdraw all military forces.

3. Have UNOSOM stage a show of force followed, if necessary, by actual use 

of force in Mogadishu.

4. Have UN members, with the Security Council’s authorization, conduct a 

country-wide operation that would create the conditions necessary to ensure the delivery of relief supplies.

5. Conduct a country-wide operation under UN command and control.

Boutros-Ghali rated options 1, 2 and 3 unacceptable. The UN, already overstretched by peacekeeping tasks, could not exercise command and control over an 

operation of the size and urgency required by option 5. That, he acknowledged, 

left no alternative to option 4.

On 1 December, the State Department sent Ambassador Perkins a draft Security Council resolution that would authorize UN members to use “all necessary 

means” in establishing a secure environment for relief operations. General Powell, 

at the same time, sent USCINCCENT a warning order:
22

 The Effort to Save Somalia

When directed by the (National Command Authorities), USCINCCENT will conduct military operations in Somalia to secure the major food distribution points and air/sea ports, guard 

relief convoys and relief organization operations, and assist relief 

organizations in providing humanitarian relief in Somalia under 

UN auspices.”

Simultaneously, an NSC working group decided that selected US Defense attachés 

should be directed to solicit troop contributions for UN peacekeeping operations. 

Within the Joint Staff, J-3 began preparing a timeline for the first, peace-enforcing phase of operations; the J-4 addressed what air and sealift the United States 

should furnish, and J-5 set about defining the US role during subsequent peacekeeping operations.16

Secretary General Boutros-Ghali wanted to delete two paragraphs from the 

State Department’s draft UN resolution. The first of these paragraphs urged expeditious deployment of thirty-five hundred more UNOSOM peacekeepers. The second 

stated that UNOSOM would keep functioning while a US-led coalition intervened, 

and that UNOSOM’s commander would serve as deputy to the US commander. 

General Powell opposed making these deletions. In his judgment, separating 

UNOSOM from the US-led coalition could make the coalition appear too much 

like a US undertaking and thus delay the transition to UNOSOM. Powell believed 

that UNOSOM’s mandate—unlike that of the US-led coalition—should be very 

broad and include political reconciliation among Somalis, restoration of security, 

humanitarian relief, nation-building, and creation of a police force. He would let 

the US commander decide which Somalis should be disarmed and did not want, 

during this opening phase, to distinguish the peacemakers from the peacekeepers.17

Nonetheless, the US draft was amended largely as Boutros-Ghali wished. 

Resolution 794, approved by the Security Council on 3 December, authorized 

the Secretary General and member states to “use all necessary means to establish as soon as possible a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations 

in Somalia.” All members “in a position to do so” were asked to provide troops 

or contributions, the latter either in cash or in kind. Deployment of thirty–five 

hundred more UNOSOM troops was to proceed at the Secretary General’s direction, based upon how he assessed conditions on the ground. The paragraph about 

UNOSOM’s commander becoming deputy to a US officer disappeared.18
23

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

President Bush, on 4 December, publicly announced that US ground troops 

would enter Somalia in what was now christened Operation RESTORE HOPE. 

As General Powell had urged, Bush appointed Ambassador Robert Oakley to be 

his Special Envoy to Somalia. That same day, through a letter to Boutros-Ghali, the 

President emphasized that the US-led peacemaking or peace-enforcing coalition 

should have a limited, specific mission: Creating conditions that would allow starving Somalis to be fed and make possible the later transfer of this security function 

to a UN peacekeeping force. By 7 December, twelve countries had offered 13,650 

troops for the US-led coalition; fourteen more nations were considering manpower 

contributions. Moreover, five countries had offered 5,653 personnel for UNOSOM’s 

peacekeeping duties and another twenty were weighing participation.19

Back on 2 December, General Powell had sent General Hoar a planning order 

that assigned USCENTCOM an added mission: “disarm, as necessary, forces which 

interfere with humanitarian relief operations.” An “execute” order contained that 

same language. On 6 December, after Hoar protested directly to the Chairman, 

an amendment deleted that added mission. Then USCINCCENT’s mission was to 

secure air and seaports, ground routes and major relief centers; provide a secure 

environment, and protect and assist UN and non-government humanitarian and 

relief organizations. But Boutros-Ghali saw matters differently. Any forceful action, 

he told President Bush on 8 December, must ensure that at least the factions’ heavy 

weapons were neutralized. Boutros-Ghali deemed it essential that the purpose of 

intervention should be to “create a secure environment throughout Somalia and 

that this should be apparent from the outset.”20 The Bush administration, however, 

limited neutralization to weaponry that could interfere with relief work. It also 

refused to deploy any US troops into northern Somalia because no humanitarian need existed there. The only reason for going north would be to deal with the 

entirely different problem of a breakaway “Somaliland” regime.

Coalition Forces Enter Somalia

Operation RESTORE HOPE, meanwhile, moved forward at a rapid pace. The 

1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, was slated to be the major US 

element. On 26 November, Brigadier Generals David C. Meade and Richard A. 

Chilcoat, USA, came to J-3 JOD and recommended that the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) take part also. This division was well suited to covering wide 

areas. The drawback lay in its deployment requirements; much more air and sealift was needed to move helicopters and keep them fuelled than would be required 
24

 The Effort to Save Somalia

for a light division. Soon afterward, the Army decided to use the 10th Mountain 

Division instead. Prior to this time, J-3 had been looking for units that could be 

deployed to protect the five hundred Pakistanis at Mogadishu airport. The Army 

as well as the Marine Corps had identified such units, and the 10th Mountain 

Division had not been mentioned.21

On 3 December, General Hoar asked for more forces. The main addition consisted of the most of the 10th Mountain Division. Hoar’s other requests included: 

from the Army, combat support, combat service support and aviation units; from 

Special Operations Command, one active-duty psychological warfare operations 

battalion as well as civil affairs units from the Reserve Component; from the Air 

Force, one tactical airlift squadron (-); and from the Navy, one construction regiment (-). On 5 December, the Chairman told USCINCCENT that the National 

Command Authority had ordered execution of Operation RESTORE HOPE. 

Hoar was given virtually all the additional forces he had requested. Two brigades 

from the 10th Mountain Division did deploy, but enough contributions came 

from other countries to make dispatch of the whole division unnecessary.22 The 

major US units assigned to RESTORE HOPE were: 1st Marine Expeditionary 

Force from Camp Pendleton, California, 16,800 personnel; 10th Mountain Division (-) from Fort Drum, New York, 10,200 personnel; and the offshore Marine 

Expeditionary Unit, 1,800 personnel.

The Joint Staff worked with the State Department to identify and obtain host 

nation approval for aircraft staging and refueling at Lajes in the Azores, Torrejon 

and Moron in Spain, Sigonella in Sicily, Cairo, Djibouti, Addis Ababa, Mombasa 

in Kenya, and Oman. Some personnel went to Aden, but they were withdrawn 

after a bomb exploded in their hotel. As soon as troop movements began, the 

focus of operations moved to the US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and USCENTCOM. By 6 December, twelve KC-135A tankers had 

deployed to Lajes and twelve more to Moron; two Fast Sealift Ships were moving 

to Bayonne, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware; the Military Traffic Management Command was organizing rail movements between the 10th Mountain 

Division’s base at Fort Drum, New York, and Bayonne.23

During the pre-dawn hours of 9 December, Marines and Navy SEALs landed 

at Mogadishu. They came ashore unopposed but surrounded by journalists and 

camera crews. A small French Foreign Legion contingent from Djibouti joined 

the Marines. Lieutenant General Robert B. Johnston, Commanding General, I 
25

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), arrived in Mogadishu on 10 December and 

became the Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), Somalia.

Before RESTORE HOPE began, USCENTCOM had prepared a concept of 

operations with four slow-paced phases:

Phase I, D-Day (9 December) through D+24: Embarked Marines would secure the port and airfield at Mogadishu. Follow-on Marines from California 

and initial Army elements would occupy Baidoa and Baledogle, which had an 

airfield about seventy miles northwest of Mogadishu.

Phase II, D+24 through D+90: An Army brigade would secure the lodgement 

area around Baidoa. Relief centers at Belet Uen, Oddur and Gialalassi would 

be occupied.

Phase III, D+90 through D+180: The port and airfield at Kismayo, the land 

route between Baidoa and Bardera, and Bardera itself would be secured.

Phase IV, D+180 through D+240: Responsibility would be transferred to a 

UN peacekeeping force.

Instead, largely because Somali warlords did not resist, US and coalition 

peacemakers attained their objectives far ahead of schedule. Phase I was completed on D+7, 16 December, when Marines entered Baidoa. By then, 2,800 

Marines and 170 Army troops were on the ground in Somalia. Because Marines 

secured Baledogle airfield so promptly, the 2d Brigade, 10th Mountain Division deployed to Baledogle and then to Kismayo, instead of Baidoa as originally 

planned. Army and Marine units arrived at Kismayo on D+11, 20 December; 

Marines reached Bardera on D+15, 24 December.24

The air and sealift had been set in motion at the beginning of December. Five 

ships from the Maritime Prepositioning Force were deployed, four from Diego 

Garcia in the Indian Ocean and one from the Marianas. By 15 December, five Fast 

Sealift Ships needed to carry the 10th Mountain Division’s equipment had been 

activated. USTRANSCOM reported that the Army’s lack of validated movement 

requirements in the Joint Operational Planning and Execution System (JOPES) 

had forced USTRANSCOM into an ad hoc “push” system based upon telephone 

and message traffic. Aircraft, as a result, were flying with inefficient loads.25 The 

10th Mountain Division’s main deployment took place between 23 December 

and 6 January; the movement was not flawless. The Army loaded ships with 
26

 The Effort to Save Somalia

equipment that had not been listed in the Time-Phased Force Deployment Data 

(TPFDD). Moreover, the Army’s pre-positioned equipment afloat could not be 

offloaded for RESTORE HOPE. Shallow harbors in Somalia, lack of cranes in the 

port, and the reluctance of civilian captains to enter potentially hazardous waters 

stalled offloading and created a queue outside Mogadishu so long that the Army 

ships eventually left.

Setting Limits on the US Role

In Mogadishu, Baidoa, and Kismayo, the arrival of US and coalition forces 

quickly ended the worst disorders and allowed food distribution to resume. Even 

before Marines landed, the administration had promulgated guidance that would 

tightly limit the US-led coalition’s role in disarming factions. On 8 December, a 

message cleared by the Chairman, OSD and the NSC transmitted Acting Secretary of State Eagleburger’s instructions to Lieutenant General Johnston to make 

the following points during his first meeting with Somali warlords: No weapons 

at all would be permitted in “exclusion areas,” which at the outset would include 

Mogadishu’s port and airfield, the US Embassy compound (where the Joint Task 

Force would establish its headquarters), as well as the areas immediately around 

them. Within the JTF area of operations, heavy weapons would be permitted only 

in “cantonment areas,” meaning those small and clearly defined areas where personnel and equipment would be encamped.26

On 9 December, Rear Admiral Bowman and Ambassador Brandon Grove 

met with Under Secretary Goulding and Assistant Secretary General Kofi Annan. 

The UN officials believed that calling the US-led coalition a “unified command” 

was misleading. They preferred “Unified Task Force for Somalia.” Soon afterward, 

the administration accepted “UNITAF” as the term to be used. Goulding and 

Annan also argued strongly that now was the best time to disarm as many Somalis 

as possible throughout the country and pressed hard for deploying UNITAF into 

northern Somalia. Bowman and Grove said that some elements might go north, 

but only if they were transferred to the control of the United Nations Operations 

in Somalia (UNOSOM).27

Next day, in Washington, the NSC Core Group agreed that UNOSOM II 

would need a stronger mandate than Security Council Resolution 775 had given 

the original UNOSOM.28 The State Department was directed to prepare a draft 

resolution. The Joint Staff was instructed to prepare a paper describing what 

UNOSOM II ought to look like, and what units might participate in it. Already, 
27

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

the Joint Staff was working to bring advance elements from Jordan, Kuwait, 

Morocco, Nigeria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into 

Mogadishu as soon as possible. On 11 December, the NSC Deputies Committee 

decided that Secretary General Boutros-Ghali should be pressed even harder to 

endorse a larger UNOSOM II and a stronger Security Council mandate.29

The J-5 MEAF looked at whether and how the United States should participate in UNOSOM II. There seemed to be only two possibilities. First, withdraw 

US forces completely once a secure environment had been established. That 

course of action risked a subsequent deterioration and a possible collapse of the 

whole humanitarian and reconstruction effort. Second, contribute unique US 

capabilities—communications, engineers, logistic support, air traffic control, 

medical care, civil affairs—to UNOSOM II. General Powell strongly and repeatedly pressed this point. The J-5 noted that UN peacekeeping operations in Cambodia required twelve infantry and seven engineer battalions. With still other UN 

operations pending, J-5 MEAF believed that few if any nations could spare medics 

and engineers for Somalia.30

Concurrently, the J-5 MEAF proposed that a new Security Council mandate 

for UNOSOM II should specify the following: an increase in size from 4,200 to 

12-15,000 personnel; weaponry that was adequate to meet hostile challenges; 

rules of engagement permitting greater latitude for preventive actions, even the 

destruction of heavy weapons, and authority to help establish a Somali police 

force, which would be a critical early step toward national reconciliation and the 

full restoration of Somali sovereignty.

One crucial question—who would disarm the Somali factions—had gone 

unanswered. During a press conference on 14 December, General Hoar described 

disarmament as “a political issue, one that needs to be settled first and foremost 

by the Somalis.” But, on that same day, Secretary General Boutros-Ghali stated 

that gaining control over the factions’ arsenals was a “pre-requisite” to stability. In 

private meetings with US officials, Boutros-Ghali stressed his belief that UNITAF 

should disarm all factions. The J-5 MEAF, on 16 December, suggested a solution 

that would minimize UNITAF’s task and facilitate a quick transition to UNOSOM 

II. After the Security Council approved a new mandate, the United States would 

urge UNITAF contributors to join UNOSOM II. Next, UNOSOM II would 

enter northern Somalia. With few exceptions, UNITAF and UNOSOM II would 

neutralize heavy and crew-served weapons wherever they were found. Then, as 

UNOSOM II in the north developed greater confidence and operational integrity 
28

 The Effort to Save Somalia

while UNITAF continued pacifying southern and central Somalia, some UNITAF 

units could shift into UNOSOM II.31

By 20 December, more than thirty countries had pledged contributions, outstripping USCENTCOM’s ability to provide new arrivals with command and, 

control and logistic support. For UNITAF, General Hoar had accepted more than 

ten thousand personnel from France, Belgium, Canada, the United Kingdom, 

India, Turkey, Egypt, Botswana, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. 

These nations were accepted on a priority basis because (1) it was deemed politically important to get Islamic, African and European forces on the ground quickly 

and (2) these countries had responded first and/or would provide their own transport and logistical support.32 No contributor was refused; those offering the least 

self-sufficient forces simply were put at the end of the line. Some countries saw 

participation as a way to acquire equipment; a few used it to meet their payroll.

Secretary General Boutros-Ghali’s report to the Security Council on 19 

December did meet US desires by asking for an expanded military mandate for 

UNOSOM II, including substantially greater troop levels. He also argued for a 

slow area-by-area shift of control from UNITAF to UNOSOM II. But contrary 

to the US position, Boutros-Ghali recommended that UNITAF either disarm all 

organized factions and irregulars or at least confiscate their heavy weapons. Further, he proposed sending UNITAF forces into northern Somalia and postponing 

advanced planning for UNITAF’s transition into UNOSOM II. Boutros-Ghali 

even wanted to define two conditions for UNITAF’s withdrawal. First, heavy 

weapons belonging to the organized factions must be neutralized and brought 

under international control throughout Somalia. Second, heavy weapons belonging to “gangs” must be confiscated and destroyed throughout Somalia. The State 

Department, by contrast, had drafted a much less ambitious plan involving weapons-free security zones, voluntary surrender of heavy weapons, and involuntary 

disarming when weapons might directly impede humanitarian missions.33

The NSC Core Group, on 22 December, agreed that State and Defense would 

draft a message to Johnston and Ambassador Oakley authorizing the startup of a 

police force in Mogadishu. Also, State proposed (1) that UNOSOM troops—not 

US forces—be available for deployment to northern Somalia and (2) that the 

United States agree to such a mission once enough peacekeepers had arrived to 

replace US forces in the south. Next day, J-5 MEAF completed a study of how 

the transition from UNITAF to UNOSOM II could take place. Fully coordinated 
29

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

within the Joint Staff, cleared by USCENTCOM, and sent to other agencies for 

review, this study presented two options:

1. Lieutenant General Johnston would retain all peace enforcers under his 

control until UNITAF completed its mission. Concurrently, UNOSOM II 

would be activated as a separate but coordinated command, which would 

progressively assume control over sectors that UNITAF had made secure.

2. Lieutenant General Johnston would designate a section of his staff to control 

UNOSOM II peacekeepers. Headed by commander-designate of UNOSOM 

II, it would assume responsibility for sectors deemed secure and evolve into 

an independent staff.

In appraising these options, J-5 MEAF estimated that three to five thousand US 

personnel (e.g., supply, engineer and medical units) would be needed to support 

a UNOSOM II force of twelve to fifteen thousand. Moreover, even after the main 

body of US forces left Somalia, a small Quick Reaction Force (QRF) designed to 

respond to emergencies should be based offshore; it would gradually move back 

over the horizon.34

In Geneva, on 30 December, Under Secretary of State Wisner and Lieutenant General McCaffrey conferred with Boutros-Ghali. Wisner noted the time was 

right to pass a new Security Council resolution and move ahead with transferring 

responsibility to UNOSOM II. Boutros-Ghali replied that he preferred to wait 

until President-elect Clinton took office. After this meeting, the Secretary General went on to inspect UN relief operations in Sarajevo and then in Mogadishu. 

Boutros-Ghali ran a gamut of hostile demonstrators at both places. Lieutenant 

General Johnston told the Secretary General that Somali “technicals” had been 

taken into cantonments at Kismayo, Bardera and Baidoa; any technicals still active 

in Mogadishu would be eliminated. Johnston also said that he expected the security situation throughout Mogadishu to improve greatly by January’s close. Nonetheless, Boutros-Ghali evidently felt unsettled enough to want clear directions 

from President Bush and President-elect Clinton before seeking a new Security 

Council mandate.35

On 6 January 1993, Rear Admiral Bowman attended what had become a 

weekly session at UN headquarters in New York. The Joint Staff regularly sent a 

small contingent of J-3, J-4, J-5 and J-6 officers to work with UN officials. These 

officers found no comparable staff expertise at UN headquarters—a weakness that 
30

 The Effort to Save Somalia

would become more evident and more crippling as time went on. The UN headquarters could barely support a US-led operation, much less a UN one.

Under Secretary General Goulding argued that northern Somalia be included 

in UNOSOM II planning. Bowman agreed to assist UN planning, provided that 

such plans did not interfere with UNITAF’s withdrawal from the south. At General 

Powell’s urging, the United States supported selecting a Turkish officer to command UNOSOM II. Goulding felt certain that the Secretary General would agree, 

but still wanted to look for a black African commander who presumably would be 

more congenial to Somalis.36

Meanwhile, the Bush administration had been soliciting contributions for 

UNOSOM II with good results. By early January offers of support totaled 31,200 

personnel. Joint Staff officers reviewed these offers and helped draft the replies. 

About two-thirds of the potential contributors’ forces would need logistic support; some proposed contingents would be coming with little more than their 

uniforms. Although the UN had the final word, a number of governments were 

discreetly discouraged or urged to postpone the arrival of their contingents. 

USCENTCOM hoped to bring in the more self-sufficient contributors first, in 

roughly the following order: Australia, Germany, India, Pakistan, Sweden, Jordan, 

New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and Tunisia.37

Among all the potential contributors, Pakistan posed the most difficult problem for US policymakers. Since September, five hundred Pakistanis had been stationed around Mogadishu airport. Shortly after he decided upon US intervention, 

President Bush personally appealed to Pakistan’s President for another, larger contribution. Generals Powell and Hoar pressed the matter because they saw this as an 

opportunity to restore close US-Pakistani ties. The Pakistanis offered a four thousand-man brigade. They wanted to deploy the brigade immediately as part of UNITAF and have it join UNOSOM II later. Hoar also wanted the Pakistanis to join 

UNITAF, thereby creating a solid foundation for the transition to UNOSOM II.

The Pakistanis wanted substantial amounts of US equipment to strengthen 

their brigade. But the 1985 Pressler Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 

1961 prohibited military assistance to Pakistan, unless the President certified that 

Pakistan did not possess a nuclear explosive device and that US assistance would 

reduce significantly the risk of Pakistan’s acquiring one. The State Department and 

the NSC Staff felt that these restrictions, coupled with the Pakistanis’ need for extensive support, would complicate the brigade’s assignment to UNITAF. From the start, 

the Pakistani unit should be the anchor of UNOSOM II that would avoid Pressler 
31

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

Amendment restrictions. From Islamabad, however, the US Ambassador warned 

that Pakistanis would resent a proposal to shift their contribution to UNOSOM II.

In mid-December 1992, the State Department drafted an interim reply that 

any US equipment should be supplied directly to the UN for use in Somalia only, 

so that the Pressler Amendment would not come into play. The Director, Joint 

Staff, concurred but recommended one addition: because logistical facilities in 

Somalia were so restricted, scheduling of the brigade’s arrival must be coordinated 

through USCENTCOM.38

Early in February 1993, the J-5 MEAF proposed seeking a Presidential waiver 

of the Pressler Amendment, similar to what had been done during the 1980s. 

Instead, the administration decided that transport services and non-munitions 

articles (mostly trucks and trailers) would be leased to the United Nations. The 

UN, in turn, would lease them to the Pakistanis, who could use the equipment 

only while they were in Somalia as part of either UNITAF or UNOSOM II. The 

US Government then sought, from the UN Somalia Trust Fund, $7.8 million in 

reimbursement. The Pakistani advance element arrived in Mogadishu on 12 April; 

the brigade’s main body followed two weeks later.39

Meanwhile, at a national reconciliation conference in Addis Ababa on 4-15 

January, Somali factional leaders agreed that all militias should camp outside 

major towns and disarm by 1 March. But, as US officials had maintained from 

the very start of RESTORE HOPE, there could be no restoration of law and order 

without a national police force. Back on 21 December, Ambassador Oakley had 

urged the immediate start-up of a temporary local auxiliary guard force, under 

UNOSOM, followed by re-creation of a national police force. The Director, Joint 

Staff, proposed organizing an auxiliary guard force if UNITAF would cover the 

$100,000 cost of US trainers. On 30 December, the Deputies Committee agreed in 

principle. Two days later, the State Department instructed Ambassador Oakley to 

discuss this concept with UN Special Envoy Kittani.40

Oakley did not consider this step sufficient. On 12 January, he warned the 

State Department that problems resulting from the absence of a police force were 

“rapidly reaching crisis proportions.” Increasingly, he reported, UNITAF troops as 

well as Somali civilians were becoming the victims of street crimes. The administration, however, still held that creating a national police force was a UN responsibility. The Germans, who had advised the Somalis on police problems from 1965 

until 1990, were reluctant to take the lead. Italians wanted to play a major role, 

but US officials worried that their colonial rule had left a legacy of bitterness. 
32

 The Effort to Save Somalia

On 3 February, Assistant Secretary General Annan agreed to provide $2.4 million 

for an interim auxiliary force totaling about five thousand personnel countrywide; 

the US Government would be sole-source contractor.41

The police issue was part of a wider and graver question: Was the United 

Nations capable of shouldering burdens that temporarily were being borne by the 

United States? “The painful reality at UNOSOM,” a US official cabled from Mogadishu on 8 January, “is that there is very little leadership, considerable inertia and 

low morale.” The Secretary General’s office had not been assigning motivated, 

qualified personnel to the effort. Special Envoy Kittani, whom US officials did 

not regard very highly in any case, had fallen ill and wanted to go back to New 

York. On 12 January, Ambassador Oakley reported that UN political and relief 

structures outside Mogadishu lay “in a state of catastrophic weakness and disorganization.” Without a strong UN presence in the field, he warned, efforts to rebuild 

Somalia would collapse when the troops departed.42 The new administration, 

however, proved slow in recognizing that UN weaknesses across the board were 

endangering the whole enterprise.

Accomplishing the Transition

When President Clinton took office on 20 January, UNITAF consisted of 

24,500 US and about 13,000 non-US troops. For UNOSOM II, offers totaled 

about eighteen thousand personnel. Around seven thousand non-US personnel 

for UNOSOM II were actually in Somalia. It was assumed that the United States 

would contribute service and support units totaling several thousand personnel.

On 28 January, Lieutenant General Johnston reported that the factions had 

been largely neutralized and major weapons systems “reduced.” Humanitarian 

aid was flowing throughout UNITAF’s area of operations; local markets and commerce had reappeared. Consequently, Johnston considered UNITAF’s mission in 

southern Somalia complete and the time ripe for transition to UNOSOM II.43

The Defense Department badly wanted a quick transition for budgetary reasons. As a response to a humanitarian emergency and, therefore, not a part of the 

Department’s budget, Operation RESTORE HOPE was funded from the Services’ 

operations and maintenance budgets. The Navy initially expressed reluctance; 

the Joint Staff J-4 appealed to the OSD Comptroller and the Navy made its funds 

available. Over three months, it was calculated, RESTORE HOPE would cost $560 

million. As one of his last acts, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney had submitted what he called a zero-sum supplemental appropriations request, in which he 
33

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

proposed reprogramming $560 million to offset the money taken from the Services’ accounts.44 In April 1993, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin asked Congress to 

shift $750 million from the Services’ procurement and research and development 

appropriations to their operations, maintenance and personnel accounts. This was 

done in July by Public Law 103-50. The cost of UNITAF came to $692.2 million, 

none of it reimbursable by the UN.45

The new administration promptly scheduled a Deputies Committee meeting 

to review and validate overall US strategy for Somalia. At this point, the Joint Staff 

represented the best repository of continuity, particularly in its understanding of 

the UN’s weaknesses. Officers from the J-5 MEAF recommended creating a credible security and humanitarian role for the United Nations; that meant insuring 

the success of UNOSOM II. A new Security Council resolution should allow the 

utmost flexibility in carrying out peacekeeping operations.46

UNOSOM II could not function without sizeable US logistic support. Accordingly, US logistics units would be placed under UNOSOM II. However, a landbased quick reaction force made up of US troops would remain under USCENTCOM and the decision to employ US combat forces would stay in US hands.

As of late January, the timelines assumed for US military planning ran 

as follows:

March-April 1993: UNITAF transfers responsibilities to UNOSOM II.

May 1993: US forces in Somalia are reduced to about six thousand personnel.

Autumn 1993: The US quick reaction force withdraws from Somalia, and a 

Marine Amphibious Ready Group assumes its function.

December 1993: The US contribution to UNOSOM II totals around three 

thousand personnel.

December 1994: UNOSOM II withdraws, following the creation of a government of national unity.

The Joint Staff could not avoid purely political issues but sought to distance itself 

from them. Officers from J-5 MEAF argued that political reconciliation must be 

accomplished under UN rather than US leadership. By far the best course lay in former Special Envoy Sahnoun’s “bottom up” approach, revitalizing the system of clan 

elders, mobilizing local community action groups, and re-creating a police force.47
34

 The Effort to Save Somalia

The new Deputies Committee convened on 25 January. Samuel Berger, 

Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, chaired the meeting. He learned that anti-American sentiment among Somalis was increasing. 

Awe of US troops was declining, and Somalis were testing them. Still, the level of 

violence was no higher than originally expected. It was made clear that President 

Clinton supported all his predecessor’s policies except willingness to play a major 

part in UNOSOM II. During the transition, outgoing officials had said that the 

United States might contribute a quick reaction force and a few logistic units. 

Anything more would have to be discussed with the President. Admiral Jeremiah 

assured the Deputies that he felt comfortable about putting American troops in 

UNOSOM II under a foreign commander and wanted the foreign officer to take 

up his post as soon as possible.48

Frank Wisner, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy-designate, outlined 

a proposed course of action. In a memorandum to Secretary of Defense Les 

Aspin, dated 27 January, he stated that no time limit could be placed upon US 

logistic support for UNOSOM II. President Clinton needed to know that such 

an extended commitment was the price of success. Also, the new Secretary of 

State should persuade Boutros-Ghali to do several things. First, support a Security Council resolution that contained language from Chapter VII dealing with 

“enforcement.” According to Chapter VII, the Security Council could decide 

whether a threat to peace, breach of peace, or act of aggression had occurred and 

then authorize measures “to maintain or restore international peace and security.” 

Second, name a UNOSOM II commander, preferably a Turk, who was acceptable 

to the United States. Third, increase and improve UN staff support. Fourth, start 

organizing a police force under UNITAF and then under UNOSOM II.49

Concurrently, General Hoar informed the Joint Staff that forces adequate to 

accomplish UNITAF’s mission were either in Somalia or programmed to arrive 

there. Therefore, any additional offers should be directed to the UN and UNOSOM 

II. Hoar also sent Chairman Powell a proposed plan for withdrawing US forces:

Phase I: Reduce to 15,500 troops ashore and 4,500 afloat, with the Army and 

Marine Corps being cut to one reinforced brigade each.

Phase II: Reduce to twelve thousand troops ashore and four thousand afloat, 

leaving the Army and the Marine Corps with one under-strength brigade 

each. UNITAF’s area of operations had been split into nine humanitarian 
35

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

relief sectors. Now, sector-by-sector, UNITAF should start handing over responsibility to UNOSOM II.

Phase III: Reduce to six thousand troops ashore and four thousand afloat, leaving in Somalia only a quick reaction force and limited logistic support units.

Phase IV: Reduce to fourteen hundred troops ashore and four thousand 

afloat, moving the quick reaction force to ships that were over the horizon 

and leaving logistic support units ashore.50

The NSC Principals Committee, including General Powell, met on 28 January 

and recommended initially committing as many as four thousand support and 

logistic troops to UNOSOM II. But, as new civilian officials evidently were not 

aware, the UN’s ability to take on major tasks still was very much in question. For 

example, US initiatives had laid the groundwork for starting up an interim auxiliary police force. On 31 January, however, Lieutenant General Johnston voiced 

doubts that UN officials were truly committed to establishing it. Ambassador 

Oakley also warned that an “underlying culture of passivity and the bureaucratic 

manner in which all UNOSOM activities are conducted” boded ill for the future.51

President Clinton ordered an interdepartmental review of US policy. According to his directive, the review would focus upon what could be done to prevent Somalia from sliding back into anarchy and famine. The State and Defense 

Departments would develop a plan for recruiting, deploying, and equipping an 

adequate force for UNOSOM II. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were told to examine 

issues involving the Quick Reaction Force: the criteria for its withdrawal; the size 

and speed of any return; its availability for use in northern Somalia; and its command relationship with UNOSOM II.52

Late in February, an interagency working group chaired by Assistant Secretary of State Cohen reviewed the responses to the President’s directive. According to the National Intelligence Council, creation of a stable society could take 

years and require prolonged outside intervention and guidance. The interagency 

group agreed that, while the prospects for a new Somali political order appeared 

limited at best, a “bottom up” approach emphasizing local and regional governments had the best chance of succeeding. The Security Council still needed to give 

UNOSOM II a broader mandate; energetic US and international contributions to 

bolster the UN staff were vital. The UN enjoyed little credit with Somalis; they, as 

well as prospective donors to UNOSOM II, saw a strong US presence as critical. 
36

 The Effort to Save Somalia

Nonetheless, from now on, other donors must provide the bulk of aid; US assistance should serve only as a catalyst.53

By early March, the troop list of major contributors to UNITAF peacemaking 

and then to UNOSOM II peacekeeping read as follows:

Forces Projected

Donor Nation UNITAF Forces For UNOSOM II

Australia 1129 45

Belgium 859 875

Canada 1039 0

France 1572 1000

Germany 55 1500 (uncertain)

India 189 4000 (uncertain)

Indonesia 0 850

Italy 3183 2500

Jordan 0 900

Morocco 1264 1250 (uncertain)

Pakistan 880 4000

Saudi Arabia 669 669

Turkey 300 300

United States 13,884 4000

The Germans, Indians and Moroccans eventually would come, but the Indonesians and Jordanians would not.

Secretary General Boutros-Ghali selected Lieutenant General Cevik Bir of 

Turkey to command UNOSOM II; Bir took command on 8 March. On 26 March, 

the UN Security Council approved Resolution 814, the long-sought mandate 

based upon Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It authorized an expanded UNOSOM 
37

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

II to operate until 31 October 1993, emphasized the “crucial importance of 

disarmament” and demanded that all Somali parties comply fully with the commitments made at Addis Ababa. The UNOSOM II Force Commander would 

“assume responsibility for the consolidation, expansion, and maintenance of a 

secure environment throughout Somalia,” as well as organizing “a prompt, smooth 

and phased transition from UNITAF to UNOSOM II.” Resolution 814 had been 

drafted by US government agencies, but the administration did not appreciate 

how difficult achieving those objectives would prove and how deeply the United 

States would have to involve itself in that effort.

A Mixed Appraisal

Was the glass of reconstruction and reconciliation half full or half empty? 

Starvation had practically ceased but organized thievery was increasing and basic 

services like water and electricity still had not been restored in most cities and 

towns. No significant steps had been taken toward a national police force, but auxiliary police forces now totaled over five thousand. On 29 March, meeting again at 

Addis Ababa, representatives from fifteen Somali factions agreed that a transitional 

national council would act as the country’s principal political authority. The council would work with relief agencies and with UNOSOM II to carry out humanitarian assistance programs as well as cease-fire and disarmament accords. However, 

disarmament agreements had not been widely carried out, and none of the warlords showed willingness to compromise or negotiate in good faith.

Concurrently, the administration took several steps to bolster the UN’s venture in peacekeeping. Admiral Howe succeeded Ismet Kittani as the Secretary 

General’s Special Representative.54 Several US military and Foreign Service personnel also took up posts in Mogadishu, where they bolstered UN officials. Colonel Wahlquist became military advisor to the US Liaison Office in Mogadishu, 

where he worked under Ambassador Robert Gosende. Ambassador Oakley had 

returned home early in March.

The transition did proceed promptly and smoothly. On 29 March, the Deputies Committee agreed that the US contribution to UNOSOM II should stay at 

four thousand logistics and Quick Reaction Force troops through August 1993, 

then decrease to fourteen hundred by January 1994.55 Major General Thomas M. 

Montgomery, USA, had arrived to take up the posts of Commander, US Forces 

Somalia, and Deputy Force Commander of UNOSOM II. On 5 April, General 

Powell went to Mogadishu where Bir and Montgomery told him that they were 
38

 The Effort to Save Somalia

ready to make a transfer by the end of May. Lieutenant General Bir withheld his 

final consent, though, until late in April when Lieutenant General Johnston submitted a “worst case scenario” for Mogadishu. This scenario projected street riots 

like those of late February, which Bir felt UNOSOM II would be able to handle. 

The final act took place on 4 May, earlier than originally planned, when Johnston 

dissolved UNITAF and turned over all its responsibilities to UNOSOM II and its 

Force Commander, Lieutenant General Cevik Bir.

Central Command had expected the quick reaction force to consist, from 

the start, of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) stationed offshore. The French, 

however, warned General Hoar that they would withdraw unless some US ground 

combat forces stayed in Somalia. Consequently, Hoar created a force ashore 

whose organization and equipment resembled that of a MEU. He assigned it no 

armor for several reasons. Things were quiet and the force was supposed to serve 

a political purpose. Also, USCENTCOM saw no reason to deploy a heavy force 

on land that soon would transition to a light one offshore. The rabbit warrens of 

Mogadishu were judged to not be good places to commit armor, and lighter units 

could be moved to the interior more rapidly by airlift.56

Through PDD/NSC-6, dated 19 May, President Clinton charted a course for the 

longer term. He approved Chairman Powell’s recommendation that two groups of 

US forces participate in UNOSOM II. First, the support troops—as many as four 

thousand in May but dropping to fourteen hundred by January 1994—would be 

under the UN’s operational control and work for Lieutenant General Bir. Second, the 

Quick Reaction Force would stay under USCINCCENT’s command and operational 

control. The US and the UN would specify emergency situations for employing the 

QRF. When it deployed in the field, the QRF would work for the Commander of 

UNOSOM II and serve under the tactical control of Major General Montgomery. In 

some circumstances, the QRF might take tactical direction from the UNOSOM sector commander. Plans should be made to withdraw the QRF from Somalia during 

the summer of 1993, but redeployment would occur only upon the President’s order.

President Clinton also directed a range of efforts in the security, humanitarian 

and political areas. These included:

1. Supporting a program to collect heavy weapons and, in the case of renewed 

fighting, using enforcement power; helping to create a professional police 

force, at the regional as well as national level, as soon as possible; and considering providing Special Operations Forces if required.
39

UNITAF Halts the Anarchy

2. Pressing other donors to make good their aid pledges for humanitarian relief and reconstruction.

3. Ensuring that UNOSOM II remained actively involved in nation-building, 

and in supporting the establishment of structures restoring essential public 

services based upon legitimately vested authorities.

Periodically, the Deputies Committee would review progress—including the issue 

of major force withdrawals—until all US forces left Somalia.57

Just after President Clinton took office, Ambassador Oakley had submitted an optimistic appraisal: “The problems of Somalia are solvable. Investments 

of time, resources, and forces are needed to make it work. UNITAF’s role to 

‘jump start’ the process and create the immediate security environment has been 

accomplished.” With hindsight, however, Admiral Jeremiah felt that critical time 

was lost during the Clinton administration’s break-in period. New officials overrated the UN’s capabilities. In Jeremiah’s view, the White House kept operating 

for some time in a campaign mode, skeptical about the views of officials carried 

over from the Bush administration and of those who had not been on the election 

team. Partly as a result, he believed, the US government never committed enough 

resources to UNOSOM II. Already, for example, it was clear that creation of a 

police force depended entirely upon US efforts.58

Operation RESTORE HOPE certainly could be rated a success from the 

standpoint of humanitarian relief. By the spring of 1993, only small pockets of 

Somalis still needed help to avert starvation. Mogadishu was quiet, and gangs no 

longer roamed the countryside. From the outset, General Powell, Admiral Jeremiah and the Joint Staff had worked to keep the US-led intervention brief and 

a quick turnover from UNITAF to UNOSOM II was accomplished. But the UN 

remained extremely dependent upon US logistical support, to the point that logistic deficiencies influenced acceptance of troop offers. Few nations were capable of 

providing for their own essential needs; US troops had to provide most of them 

with direct support, a mission not foreseen in earlier planning. If the experience 

of RESTORE HOPE is a guide, US logistic troops will be among the first in and 

last out during most such UN operations.

A much graver difficulty flowed from the decision to put tight limits upon 

UNITAF’s disarmament efforts. After things went awry during the summer and 

autumn of 1993, critics would claim that a great opportunity had been missed 

back in December. Warlords then were so overawed by US power, they said, that 
40

 The Effort to Save Somalia

the factions in Mogadishu could have been completely disarmed. Some civilians on the NSC Staff would have preferred to do more disarming but the White 

House deferred to the military commander on the scene, whose judgment was 

backed by Admiral Jeremiah and General Powell. Lieutenant General Johnston 

worried that house-to-house disarming—as opposed to confiscating only heavy 

weapons and “technicals”—might keep UNITAF operating indefinitely. In practical terms, these officers felt certain, disarming an entire city was an impossible 

task. Could even a single street in a large American city be kept completely disarmed? Moreover, a humanitarian mission would have changed into a politicomilitary operation. Weapons seizures, consequently, did not go beyond what was 

necessary to insure that relief convoys moved safely. Late in February, despite the 

presence of US and Belgian troops in Kismayo, fighters led by Siad Barre’s son-inlaw attacked Aideed’s allies and drove them out of the city. In April, the Canadian 

brigade declared Belet Uen pacified after forcing militiamen to withdraw rather 

than disarming them. UNITAF tried to intimidate the warlords but not overtly 

interfere with them; Ambassador Oakley used the analogy of plucking a chicken 

feather by feather. But ultimately there was no way to keep the mission purely 

humanitarian. The effort at political reconstruction threatened certain warlords’ 

power and soon led to a confrontation with UNOSOM. Ali Mahdi, for example, 

put all his technicals in a cantonment by mid-February. Aideed, by contrast, quietly moved his technicals as well as much other equipment out of Mogadishu.

The US government had to decide how much to do in Somalia and how 

much it should leave to the UN. Growing doubts about the UN’s ability to carry 

out the tasks of security, reconciliation and reconstruction never led any US 

officers or civilian officials to recommend delaying the turnover. Ambassador 

Oakley promptly identified re-creating the national police force as a vital task, for 

example, yet only the most modest steps were started. The new administration’s 

undue optimism about UN capabilities only widened the gap between expectation 

and reality. In May 1993, when Force Command headquarters was staffed at only 

twenty-two percent of its authorized strength, UNOSOM II shouldered a much 

heavier burden than it was ready to bear.
41

Early in June, one month after it had assumed UNITAF’s responsibilities, UNOSOM II contained about eighteen thousand personnel from nineteen 

countries; Belgium, France, Italy, Morocco, Pakistan and the United States were 

its main contributors. An Indian brigade, expected in April, did not arrive until 

September. The Australians and Canadians, two of the best-equipped contingents, 

departed in mid-May and early June.

UNOSOM II barely had begun functioning before strains among its members and friction between the peace enforcers and Somali factions began eroding 

UNOSOM’s ability to carry out its mandate. Pakistanis, who formed the largest 

contingent, wanted to reach out to their fellow-Muslims. The Pakistanis really 

were expected to be a presence rather than a fighting force. Major General Montgomery was well aware of the dangerous environment—his own vehicle had been 

hit by bullets in April—but did not anticipate the scale of violence that erupted.

Mohammed Farah Aideed evidently worried that the “bottom up” strategy would undercut his power. UNOSOM headquarters, collaborating with the 

Pakistani contingent, prepared a plan to conduct inventories at five Authorized 

Weapon Storage Sites in Mogadishu that Aideed’s Somali National Alliance 

(SNA) militia was allowed to maintain. The plan was approved by Major General Montgomery and by Jonathan Howe.1

 Five teams, each accompanied by one 

Pakistani company, carried out the inspections on 5 June. The SNA had been 

notified by UNOSOM the night before. “Radio Aideed” was collocated with one 

site, and Aideed apparently feared that there might be a raid on the transmitter 

as well. After the inspections were completed, a Pakistani convoy drove into what 

UNOSOM headquarters later called “a carefully prepared three-sided ambush” 

laid by Aideed’s militiamen; twenty-four Pakistanis were killed. Simultaneous 

incidents, obviously coordinated, occurred elsewhere in Mogadishu.

Resolution 837

The UN and the US government acted swiftly to show their anger and resolve. 

Generals Powell and Hoar had rated the Pakistani contribution as crucial to 

Chapter 3

“Necessary Measures”
42

 The Effort to Save Somalia

UNOSOM’s success. US civilian officials believed that the coalition could not be 

sustained unless a hard stand was taken. Since Aideed had agreed to UNITAF’s 

entry and to the Addis Ababa accord on nation-building, there was strong feeling 

among US, UN and Pakistani officials that he had betrayed those commitments 

and acted as a rogue. Pakistan’s representative on the Security Council became the 

prime mover in pushing for prompt action. On Saturday, 5 June, Joint Staff officers 

discussed what sanctions the Security Council could apply to a situation where, 

since there was no central government, the laws of armed conflict did not apply. A 

draft resolution sent from New York specified Aideed by name as the target of UN 

reaction. Rear Admiral Bowman and Lieutenant General McCaffrey took charge 

of Joint Staff efforts on Sunday, 6 June. Officers from several directorates participated. Around 1100 hours, the NSC Staff sent them a proposed Security Council 

resolution. McCaffrey then held a telephone conference with representatives from 

other agencies. They discussed a number of options, including holding Aideed 

aboard an Egyptian ship and trying him in Pakistan. Late in the afternoon, a 

draft was forwarded to the US Delegation in New York. Approved by the Security 

Council that same evening, Resolution 837 authorized Secretary General BoutrosGhali “to take all necessary measures” against those responsible for the attack as 

well as those who had incited it, including “the investigation of their actions and 

their arrest and detention for prosecution, trial and punishment.” Neither General 

Powell nor Admiral Jeremiah recalled having seen the final version that went to 

New York; Lieutenant General McCaffrey had spoken frequently by telephone 

with both officers. The Chairman did ask National Security Adviser Anthony Lake 

that the resolution make no mention of Aideed, and this was done.2

Written in haste, Resolution 837 proved to be a turning point, a fact that no 

one appreciated at the time. A more deliberate review might have drawn attention to its potential pitfalls. After the turnover to UNOSOM on 4 May, no interagency body had met continuously to monitor the Somali situation. It had been 

assumed that UNOSOM II would face bandits, not centrally directed guerrillas. 

The Chairman’s oral guidance to Major General Montgomery was neither to make 

UNOSOM II an American show nor allow it to fail. The United States wanted 

UNOSOM II to succeed without having the US military play a prominent role—

and these goals would prove mutually exclusive.

On 6 June, General Hoar sent the Joint Staff a request for four AC-130 gunships. Next day, the Secretary General’s Military Adviser gave the US Delegation 

three “notes verbales” asking for one company of tanks with US crews, sixty M-113 
43

“Necessary Measures” 

APCs to be driven by UNOSOM personnel, and four attack helicopters. On 8 June, 

Special Representative Howe asked that the United States station an amphibious ready group and perhaps an aircraft carrier offshore and deploy the following 

reinforcements: six attack and four CH-47 cargo helicopters, OH-58D observation 

helicopters or an equivalent; AC-130 gunships; two C-130s; one tank company and 

at least sixteen APCs; A-10 attack aircraft or a similar capability; riot control equipment; Special Operations Forces; and sea logistics.3

 Both Lieutenant General Bir 

and Major General Montgomery supported what Joint Staff officers dubbed Jonathan Howe’s “wish list.” Howe contemplated deploying only six or at most twenty 

SOF personnel; this was the first of his many requests for SOF.

The administration decided to position an ARG offshore and send AC-130s, 

eight attack and two observation helicopters, sixty M-113s, lift for Turkish tanks, 

and riot control equipment. It did not provide an aircraft carrier, A-10s, sea logistics, a US tank company, or Special Operations Forces. By 8 June, before most of 

this equipment had arrived but with US urging, UNOSOM headquarters worked 

out a plan to attack Aideed’s weapons storage sites and his stronghold near UN 

headquarters. Four AC-130s, flying from Djibouti and working in tandem with 

US Army Cobra gunships, would provide the backbone for this operation.4

Moroccan and Pakistani troops, on 7 June, conducted clearing operations 

along 21 October Road, which was the UNOSOM forces’ main supply route. On 

11 June, Secretary of State Warren Christopher informed the US Delegation to the 

United Nations that Aideed and the SNA “should no longer be allowed to participate in the UN peace process in Somalia.” Aideed’s Habir Gidr sub-clan should 

remain involved but not under his leadership. Next day, UNOSOM troops raided 

SNA enclaves and disabled “Radio Aideed.”5

During 13-14 June, AC-130 gunships carried out strikes to destroy arms 

caches. Generals Powell and Hoar received detailed briefings about the plan for 

UNOSOM’s next offensive against Aideed’s strongholds. After nighttime attacks 

by AC-130s, troops would surround the area, confiscate weapons and detain 

militiamen. SOF would carry out command, control and communications functions, with the QRF remaining in reserve. Both Howe and Boutros-Ghali were 

pressing, without success, for deployment of SOF troops who would track and 

capture Aideed and his lieutenants. On 16 June an obviously disturbed Secretary 

of State Warren Christopher asked Chairman Powell whether another search 

and arrest mission would take place in the near future. The answers that had 

been given thus far, according to Christopher, were “yes” and “maybe yes.” Major 
44

 The Effort to Save Somalia

General Montgomery, the Secretary related, believed that the operation had to 

be carried out promptly if it was to be done at all. French, Italian, Moroccan and 

Pakistani ground troops were slated for use, with a US QRF providing air cover 

and a ground reserve. But the French and probably Moroccan troops would be 

leaving Mogadishu and returning to Baidoa within twenty-four hours. Consequently, Christopher was concerned that Aideed could regain the initiative unless 

UNOSOM acted. The operation did take place on 17 June, and much materiel 

was seized. But, much more significantly, this proved to be UNOSOM’s last major 

offensive effort. Pakistanis and Moroccans (the latter lost five dead and thirty-nine 

wounded on 17 June) would not continue offensive operations, and the French, 

under orders from Paris, redeployed to Baidoa.6

Aideed Becomes the “Center of Gravity”

Meanwhile, through a paper prepared for use at a Deputies Committee meeting, officers in J-5 MEAF had raised a broader issue: “The military is supplying the 

brawn, but who, if anyone, is supplying the brain? Is there a political road map to 

follow?” The mapmakers were not of one mind. On 21 June, the State Department 

circulated a draft message for Annan and Howe: Aideed’s removal as a major factor in Somalia’s political and military landscape—something that State treated as 

already having been accomplished—provided a “striking opportunity” to move forward with reconciliation and reconstruction. Simultaneously, however, a Defense 

Intelligence Report concluded that Aideed remained defiant, portraying himself as 

a victim of UN aggression, and that his faction still controlled that part of Mogadishu where the SNA had its strongholds.7

 In Mogadishu, on 2 July, Italian troops 

were ambushed near a pasta factory, losing three killed and twenty-one wounded.

Ground and air elements of the US QRF destroyed an SNA command and 

control center on 12 July, killing Habr Gidr elders. Until this time, people living 

in a targeted area had been given prior warning by airborne loudspeakers. Many 

UNOSOM partners, who had not been consulted beforehand, considered this 

attack too provocative and an escalation of violence. Worse, this attack affected 

Somali attitudes as much as the 5 June attack had influenced attitudes within 

UNOSOM. The SNA’s attitude hardened, and it attracted support from other 

sub-clans. By mid-July, firefights between UNOSOM troops and Aideed’s militia 

were occurring almost daily. US intelligence indicated that Aideed felt that he 

could bleed UNOSOM with small-scale attacks and ultimately face it down. If 

UNOSOM II continued on course, it risked becoming a hostage to banditry and 
45

“Necessary Measures” 

feuding militias, just like the initial group of five hundred Pakistanis assigned 

to UNOSOM.

Already, the UN’s credibility was sinking while Aideed was emerging as a 

folk hero. On 17 June, Jonathan Howe declared Aideed an outlaw for having 

incited the 5 June attack; a UN jurist reviewed the evidence and concluded that 

there were grounds for arrest. Howe moved carefully on this matter, consulting 

a number of times with Kofi Annan and then talking with Boutros-Ghali. Major 

General Montgomery favored seizing Aideed without warning, but it was felt that 

legal considerations required the issuance of a warrant. That action, of course, ran 

counter to the US Government’s wish that Resolution 837 avoid mentioning Aideed. Issuing a warrant and posting a $25,000 reward for information leading to his 

capture drove Aideed into hiding and may have boosted his popular standing.8

Should Aideed be seen as the hinge on which UNOSOM’s success turned? 

Jonathan Howe became the most prominent advocate of deploying Special Operations Forces. He maintained that capturing Aideed would make “all the difference in the world” and life in the capital would return to normal. Ambassador 

Robert Gosende, who headed the US Liaison Office in Mogadishu, advised the 

State Department that he fully agreed. Major General Montgomery also favored 

deploying SOF because the QRF was not suited to the mission and the allies 

would not act. He told one of Howe’s advisers that Aideed could be captured, 

but a surgical force was needed to avoid excessive violence.9 Lieutenant General 

McCaffrey, Director, J-5, favored supporting the field commanders in Mogadishu who had asked for SOF. General Hoar, however, refused to believe that the 

key to solving Somalia’s problems lay in seizing one man. He rated the chance of 

capturing Aideed as one in four: a fifty percent chance of getting the necessary 

intelligence and then a fifty percent chance of actually snaring the warlord, since 

he would not stay long in one place.10 General Powell and Secretary Aspin, siding 

with USCINCCENT, also opposed deploying SOF.

On 14 July, the Deputies Committee directed the Joint Staff to evaluate ways 

of dealing with Aideed. The J-5 weighed three possibilities: capturing Aideed; 

“marginalizing” him; or bringing him back into the reconciliation process. The 

Joint Staff chose “marginalizing” on grounds that Aideed was not “the center of 

gravity.” Its response to the Deputies Committee, circulated on 17 July, recommended (1) giving more emphasis to efforts at political reconciliation and (2) 

accelerating efforts to pacify Mogadishu and marginalize Aideed. However, capturing Aideed should remain a goal. If a sudden opportunity arose, and Major 
46

 The Effort to Save Somalia

General Montgomery felt the circumstances were perfect, the QRF as well as 

coalition forces were available. Special Operations Forces could reach Mogadishu 

in forty-eight hours, but keeping them there indefinitely would turn the “UN versus Aideed” battle into a “US versus Aideed” confrontation. The Office of the Secretary of Defense largely adopted the Joint Staff ’s position. Senior NSC Staff members, however, agreed with Howe and Gosende that Aideed should be arrested 

and removed from the scene as soon as possible. Deputy National Security Advisor Berger spoke with Under Secretary Wisner and Deputy Secretary of State 

Peter Tarnoff about moving SOF to Mogadishu. Howe wanted AC-130s, a Marine 

Expeditionary Unit stationed offshore, and Special Operations Forces. Almost 

daily, he telephoned Berger, Admiral Jeremiah or General Powell to press the case 

for deploying SOF. Again, Howe did not offer a concept of operations. At Admiral 

Jeremiah’s suggestion, Howe also requested SOF from the British and Australians, 

but none were forthcoming.11

Between 19 and 27 July an interagency assessment team headed by Ambassador David Shinn, the State Department’s coordinator for Somalia, visited Mogadishu and other sites; Colonel Baltimore went as the Joint Staff representative. The 

team concluded that political and humanitarian activities were not—and must 

now become—closely integrated with military efforts. UNOSOM needed a comprehensive, detailed plan for restoring Somalia’s political institutions. Although 

the bottom-up approach still appeared sound, UNOSOM seemed to be making largely ad hoc reactions to events. Americans should become less visible in 

UNOSOM’s senior staff posts, but take more mid-level assignments in its political 

and humanitarian sections. In Mogadishu, the biggest problem stemmed from 

General Bir’s inability to make national contingents follow his orders. The siege 

mentality that gripped UNOSOM ought to be broken by aggressive, round-theclock patrolling. Aideed held the initiative and had convinced many Somalis that 

UNOSOM was militaristic and vengeful. General Montgomery should be given a 

“short string” to use the QRF (if the opportunity arose) as part of a multinational 

effort to capture Aideed.12

When Secretary Aspin and General Powell met with the Shinn team, Colonel 

Baltimore delivered the briefing. Powell took deploying SOF and apprehending 

Aideed to be the team’s major recommendations. The Chairman, who still opposed 

sending SOF, felt that the Shinn team had gone in a direction quite different from 

the one he had hoped.13
47

“Necessary Measures” 

The Deputies Committee, with Colonel Baltimore, Rear Admiral Bowman 

and the Chairman’s Assistant, Lieutenant General Michael E. Ryan, USAF, in 

attendance, reviewed the Shinn team’s recommendations on 4 August. It decided 

that Hoar and Montgomery would assess what SOF capabilities were required for 

dealing with Aideed, “with an eye toward the US making such capabilities available to UNOSOM.” Also, the UN would be pressed to find commercial contractors who would take over logistic tasks being performed by US troops. Finally, a 

group headed by Ambassador Shinn should start drafting a plan of action for the 

next six months.14

Reconvening on 16 August, the Deputies Committee agreed to implement a 

four-part plan: first, continue the effort to apprehend Aideed; second, pursue the 

idea broached by the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments of having clan elders 

arrange a forced exile for Aideed; third, urge and assist the UN to arrest Aideed’s 

key lieutenants; and fourth, press the UN to prepare detailed plans for Aideed’s 

detention and trial. Thus the Committee explicitly endorsed the view that removing Aideed would “make all the difference” and implicitly moved toward deploying 

SOF as the way to achieve that goal. The PERT chart [Program, Evaluation and 

Review Techniques], at this point, was recording the degrees of progress as shown.15

Everyone in the Clinton administration agreed that UNOSOM badly needed 

reinforcements. India had promised a brigade, and Secretary General BoutrosGhali had asked his native Egypt to supply a second brigade of three thousand 

men. The Egyptians insisted upon getting one hundred M-113 APCs as a quid pro 

quo, on grounds that the United States had set a precedent by selling the UN forty 

M-113s for Pakistan’s use. Lieutenant General McCaffrey told Admiral Jeremiah 

that the price might have to be paid. The Deputies Committee, on 16 August, 

decided to expedite deployment of the Indian and Pakistani brigades by offering 

reimbursable lift. One month later, when nothing had moved forward, President 

Clinton informed Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak that dispatching a brigade 

“right away would mean a great deal to me.” The United States, he promised, 

would then ship to Egypt replacement equipment “such as APCs.”16 The Egyptians 

sent forces equivalent to a large battalion, which took over the Mogadishu airfield.

The Debate over “Mission Creep”

Before any more major contingents reached Somalia, the Clinton administration took a small but decisive step to increase US capabilities there. In July, President Clinton had approved dispatch of a team to intercept communications and 
48

 The Effort to Save Somalia

build a network of informers. Aideed had gone into hiding. Intelligence officers 

told the Chairman that human intelligence sources were available in Mogadishu 

but should not be activated unless SOF was on the scene, ready to respond. Powell 

expressed his belief that these sources were interested only in selling information. 

They would bring SOF close to Aideed but not to his actual hiding place because, 

if Aideed were captured, their income would disappear.17

In Mogadishu, on 8 August, four US soldiers were killed by a commanddetonated mine. Ten days later, intelligence officers reported an ability to acquire 

“actionable” intelligence. On 19 August, another mine left four US wounded. 

Faced with renewed requests from field commanders, General Powell reluctantly 

decided that SOF should be deployed to capture Aideed. He spoke with General Hoar, who reluctantly agreed, and with Lieutenant General McCaffrey, who 

favored supporting commanders on the scene. “We have to do something,” the 

Chairman then advised Secretary Aspin, “or we are going to be nibbled to death.” 

Secretary Aspin approved the recommendation; President Clinton was informed 

later. On 22 August, a third land mine explosion wounded six Americans. Three 

days later, 440 personnel of Task Force Ranger (130 special operations personnel; a company from the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment; 16 helicopters from the 

Army’s special operations aviation unit) arrived in Mogadishu. The number of 

personnel had been kept as low as possible. Concurrently, the AC-130 gunships 

were withdrawn. Special Operations Command had only a small number of these 

planes, and those in Somalia had been little used.18

A sense of crisis, going well beyond growing feelings of frustration, gripped 

the administration. The French and Belgian governments said that they intended 

to withdraw their contingents at the year’s end. General Hoar judged them irreplaceable and warned Powell that their departure could lead to UNOSOM’s “progressive deterioration and collapse.”19 Congress was about to reconvene, and even 

these few US casualties had prompted some members to call for a pullout. The 

White House had hoped that Howe’s appointment would preserve bipartisan support but, by the summer, it became obvious that the administration was doing far 

more than simply continuing its predecessor’s policy. When the Deputies Committee reassembled on 26 August, White House representatives conveyed a great 

sense of urgency about removing Aideed, deploying the Indian and Egyptian 

brigades, and organizing a national police force. A day later, Secretary Aspin publicly announced that the QRF would stay until violence in Mogadishu had been 
49

“Necessary Measures” 

quelled, faction leaders surrendered heavy weapons, and a national police force 

had begun operating in major population centers.20

On 1 September, the Somalia Working Group started working upon ways to 

dissipate Congressional pressure for quick withdrawal. Among other steps, the 

Joint Staff should examine how best to publicize the completion of contracts that 

would permit reductions in US logistic personnel. Unfortunately, the J-4 found 

little evidence of real progress in contracting; the food contract was only a small 

victory, and a fuels contract was nowhere near completion.

Creating a national police force remained a top priority. Back in July, Jonathan 

Howe had told the interagency team that it represented “our ticket out of here.” 

Somali policemen seemed to have retained a professional ethic that transcended 

traditional clan loyalties and made them almost a clan by themselves. The UN had 

established a rigid requirement that all donations for the police, penal and justice 

systems must be voluntary. On 16 August, the Deputies Committee decided to 

use US funds if no other source of funding proved immediately available; none 

did. But a proposal to provide the force with $25 million in Defense goods and 

services, along with $6 million from AID funds to help create a judicial system, 

struck J-4 as poorly conceived. In order to insure proper use of these funds and 

goods, as many as 550 US personnel (plus their logistic support) would have to go 

to Somalia. Nonetheless, the Chief Executive on 30 September signed a Presidential Determination directing that $25 million be drawn from Defense commodities and services, and that up to $2 million be furnished from Economic Support 

Funds. Additionally, AID would provide $6 million for the Somali judicial system.21 Even so, progress remained almost nonexistent.

Meanwhile, on 4 September, Jonathan Howe decided to try negotiating 

a forty-eight hour truce with Aideed and the SNA. The next day still another 

ambush by Aideed’s militiamen killed seven Nigerians.22 On 6 September, through 

a cable to the State Department, Ambassador Gosende urged a tough response: 

shelve plans for negotiating a truce; expand Task Force Ranger’s mission to 

include capturing Aideed’s lieutenants, and mount a major sweep, using additional forces, into Mogadishu’s most troublesome areas. General Hoar disagreed 

completely, and he immediately told Chairman Powell why. Unless UNOSOM 

either significantly changed its strategy or dramatically improved its command 

and control capabilities, Hoar argued, US forces would have to stay indefinitely and incur a “potential for additional mission creep.” In Hoar’s judgment, 

UNOSOM had lost control over Mogadishu. Despite repeated warnings that a 
50

 The Effort to Save Somalia

large-scale infusion of troops was needed, the UN had tried other avenues: wanting to expand into northern and central Somalia, then pursuing facile solutions 

“like get Aideed and all will be well,” and now seeking a reinforced US battalion 

for sweeps through Mogadishu. In General Hoar’s view, sweeps simply would 

move the weapons around. The Indian contingent, whenever it arrived, would 

not operate in Mogadishu; the anticipated Egyptian reinforcements would be too 

few; committing several thousand more US combat troops appeared unacceptable to Congress and the American public. “If the only solution for Mogadishu is 

large-scale infusion of troops and if the only country available to make this commitment is the US,” Hoar concluded, “then it’s time to reassess.” On 8 September, 

he sent General Powell an elaboration of his views. The UN was trying to create 

conditions that had not existed for many years, if ever, and could not be achieved 

in the near term. Therefore, the United States must either convince the UN to 

scale back these objectives or significantly increase its own commitment for an 

indefinite period. Both General Powell and General Hoar kept close watch over 

Task Force Ranger’s operational methods, procedures and tactics. Proposals from 

the field for Rangers to carry out ambushes, active patrolling, and convoy escort 

provoked powerful opposition from the Joint Staff.23

Under Secretary Wisner shared the fears about mission creep and felt strongly 

that arms-gathering sweeps, unaccompanied by any political strategy, would 

prove difficult and possibly pointless. He agreed with an observation by the 

Chairman that the Horn of Africa was a munitions market; weapons seized today 

could be replaced tomorrow. (A common joke among UNOSOM personnel was 

that every Somali carried one weapon and had two or three more in his house). 

Wisner suggested opening the “fast track” to a peace parley, which would mean 

power sharing by clan leaders and some warlords. He would let Task Force Ranger 

continue hunting for Aideed and his lieutenants, but very much opposed sending 

large-scale reinforcements to help disarm Mogadishu.24

The difficulty of regaining control over Mogadishu was vividly illustrated on 9 

September, when a US/Pakistani force came under attack from perhaps one thousand Somalis. Helicopter gunships provided suppressive fire, inflicting numerous 

casualties that probably included participating women and children, because the 

QRF commander saw no other way to save US troops. Even so, a Pakistani tank 

and a US bulldozer had to be abandoned. Somali women and children had built 

obstacles in the road to block escape. Two US soldiers were wounded; the Pakistanis lost one killed and three wounded. 
51

“Necessary Measures” 

Major General Montgomery felt that UNOSOM was being crippled by continuing friction between the military and the humanitarian/development community. The latter wanted to maintain a neutral, apolitical stance so there was no 

effective integration of military, political and humanitarian efforts. What should 

and could be done to turn matters around and revitalize the peacekeeping effort? 

Repeatedly, at interagency meetings, Admiral Jeremiah asked for a definition of 

the ultimate US objective or “end state” in Somalia. Updates of the PERT chart 

contained elaborate matrices designed to show where progress in the security, 

economic development and institution-building areas was falling short. The chart 

shown earlier represents where matters were thought to have stood on 17 August. 

But changing priorities and a host of variables vitiated much of the PERT chart’s 

value. In any case, there was no mechanism for translating what the matrices 

showed into what the US and especially the UN did. A serious problem, as the 

Vice Chairman saw it, lay in the fact that the State Department carried out no 

contingency planning. The NSC Staff, distracted by Bosnia, did not force State to 

initiate corrective actions when problems were identified. A firm US stance, Jeremiah believed, would have compelled UN headquarters to focus upon attainable 

goals and drop such early ideas as removing three million mines and redeploying 

Canadian troops to northern Somalia.25

Accommodation with Aideed?

The Deputies Committee, on 11 September, reached a consensus that 

appeared to back away from the hard line adopted on 26 August and move toward 

the Hoar-Wisner approach. Militarily, the Committee concluded, UNOSOM 

ought to concentrate upon pacifying Mogadishu. Politically, the “bottom up” 

approach should be replaced by an accelerated effort to achieve reconciliation 

among the warlords. US forces would still help any UNOSOM contingents that 

got into trouble, however, and would keep trying to apprehend Aideed and his 

lieutenants.26 Abandonment of the “bottom up” approach was no doubt realistic. 

Still, it is singular that a strategy that the NSC had endorsed, and on which considerable effort had been expended, should have been replaced by the Deputies in 

such a quick and seemingly casual manner.

There was a multiplicity of views in the field as well as in Washington. General 

Hoar apparently anticipated that UNOSOM would fail to carry out its mandate 

and wanted to limit damage to the United States. Jonathan Howe, who held a UN 

post but exploited his ties with top US officials to the utmost, despised Aideed and 
52

 The Effort to Save Somalia

believed that eliminating him would vastly ease problems of political reconstruction. Ambassador Gosende, who also detested Aideed, looked for ways to achieve 

Howe’s objective while backing away from some of Howe’s confrontational methods.

When General Hoar visited Mogadishu on 9 September and met Ambassador 

Gosende, he repeated his view that additional US forces would not solve Somalia’s 

problem. Gosende agreed on that point. The alternatives, Gosende continued, 

were to either find other forces or get out. But the Ambassador advocated activism, believing that a turning point had come and that a UN failure would damage 

US leadership worldwide. Hoar, conversely, held that the UN already had fallen 

down in the most basic tasks of supporting UNOSOM II.27

On 15 September, through a letter to Assistant Secretary of State George 

Moose, Ambassador Gosende spelled out his differences with General Hoar. 

He disputed Hoar’s claim that there were fundamental divergences between the 

objectives set forth in Secretary Aspin’s speech of 27 August and those in Security 

Council Resolution 814. Gosende pointedly recalled that “every phrase, period 

and comma” of Resolution 814 had been carefully coordinated within the US government. At that time, he added, the USCENTCOM staff had been only too happy 

to hand over to UNOSOM missions like political reconciliation and creation of a 

national police force. After his recent visit to Mogadishu, General Hoar had limited the QRF’s role to “force protection”; Gosende believed that Aideed and other 

warlords soon would perceive that UNOSOM had lost its teeth. Hoar claimed 

that nationally imposed limitations were the main obstacles to effective UN 

peacekeeping operations. Ambassador Gosende agreed, but added that the most 

far-reaching limitations were being imposed by USCENTCOM headquarters in 

Tampa and by Washington.28

Nonetheless, support for a policy that would stress compromise more than 

confrontation seemed to be gaining momentum. On 16 September, the Office 

of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Regional Security Affairs) recommended 

pressing the UN to emphasize a political instead of a military strategy: negotiate a cease-fire, then form a transitional national council; starting 1 November, 

use the QRF only for emergencies during limited periods; and by 1 January 1994, 

replace the US QRF with a foreign contingent. Next day, after reviewing this draft, 

the Director, J-5, advised General Powell that the QRF should remain to protect 

US forces. As for Aideed, Lieutenant General McCaffrey favored continuing an 

aggressive hunt without “personalizing” the conflict. He did not specify how the 

distinction would be drawn.29
53

“Necessary Measures” 

Ambassador Gosende suggested another way to get off “dead center”: establish a ten-man UN commission, with two Habr Gidr elders, to investigate the 5 

June incident. Aideed would go into a period of exile; the SNA would agree to a 

cease-fire, cantonment of heavy weapons, and demobilization of militia. Aideed’s 

rejection of this offer, argued the Ambassador, would alienate many of his clansmen and make it much easier to apprehend Aideed and his lieutenants. Gosende’s 

proposal, cabled to the State Department on 18 September, flowed from a conviction that the United States was not willing to commit enough manpower and 

political capital to destroy Aideed.30

The State Department did not reply directly. But a “non-paper,” which Secretary Christopher gave to Boutros-Ghali on 20 September, incorporated a good 

part of Ambassador Gosende’s views. The “bottom up” approach, it argued, could 

not succeed quickly enough to satisfy the US Congress and public. Therefore, the 

time had come to seek a cease-fire, create an interim governing authority, and 

open a dialogue with Aideed aimed at persuading him to leave Somalia. The QRF 

should move back “over the horizon” as soon as possible; rangers could leave 

once Aideed ceased being a problem, and contractors could take over some US 

functions after Mogadishu became secure. The Vice Director, J-2, detected some 

weaknesses in the “non-paper.” Aideed was being given no real incentive to leave 

Somalia, and what would happen if he resolved to stay? Moreover, an accommodation with Aideed would make him “the national strongman—a winner”: “This 

is one way to get out of Somalia if we have no illusions about the outcome.”

The Secretary General had no intention of letting Aideed emerge as a winner. 

Boutros-Ghali did ask Special Envoy Howe to examine the feasibility of establishing an interim government. But he told Secretary Christopher, on 25 September, 

that Aideed must be either neutralized or brought to justice and that the factions must be disarmed. Until those things were done, Boutros-Ghali said that he 

opposed withdrawing the QRF.31

Ambassador Gosende agreed that, if US troops were limited to force protection, a cease-fire should be negotiated as quickly as possible. On 27 September, 

USCINCCENT told the Chairman that he favored negotiating with the Habr Gidr 

subclan, although not with Aideed personally. General Hoar assumed that Aideed 

would continue to elude capture and, much like Gosende, suggested either creating 

a study commission and offering Aideed safe haven in another country or as a last 

resort ending Aideed’s outlaw status to achieve reconciliation. Once again, Hoar 

urged a coordinated effort—political, humanitarian and psychological as well as 
54

 The Effort to Save Somalia

military—to regain control of Mogadishu. He looked upon the QRF as the linchpin of the whole coalition and rated helicopter gunships as the QRF’s truly indispensable element. The South Koreans might be enticed into providing the QRF, if 

an amphibious ready group with embarked Marines stayed in Somali waters for 

several months.32

Patience was running out fast on Capitol Hill. Each firefight prompted more 

Congressional calls for a prompt US pullout. Republicans had been criticizing 

administration policy for several months, and now considerable numbers of 

Democrats joined them.33 On 28 September, Lieutenant General McCaffrey sent 

General Powell an appraisal of how US withdrawal would affect UNOSOM:

1. Withdrawing in 45 days, by 15 November, would create a high probability 

that UNOSOM would cease being viable and a rapid exodus of contributors 

would follow.

2. Withdrawing in 90 days, by 1 January 1994, would leave a medium to low 

probability that UNOSOM would stay viable. There seemed a reasonable 

possibility of avoiding the stark characterization that departure was a tactical defeat brought about by Aideed.

3. Withdrawing in 180 days, by 1 April 1994, would remain consistent with 

U.S. commitments and offer a reasonable probability of keeping UNOSOM 

successfully engaged.

The very next day, 29 September, saw Senate passage of a nonbinding “sense of 

Congress” resolution that by 15 November President Clinton should seek and 

obtain authorization for the US deployment to continue.34

Had a major policy shift already taken place? On 25 September, during a White 

House meeting about Bosnia, General Powell recommended either sending reinforcements to Somalia or changing the policy.35 Two days later, administration 

spokesmen did say publicly that the US government had moved away from its goal 

of capturing Aideed and was focusing instead upon isolating the warlord and creating a political structure without him.36 But the available evidence shows no determination to carry out a clear-cut change. Somalia continued as an agenda topic 

among NSC principals. However, after President Clinton signed PDD-5 [presidential decision directive] in May, review of policy options and formulation of guidance were done in the Deputies Committee. What came out of the Deputies Committee’s meetings was a series of incremental adjustments, occasionally inconsistent 
55

“Necessary Measures” 

and sometimes so finely nuanced that lower levels either did not interpret them as 

major changes or could not translate them into concrete actions.37 The PCC and 

DC were not intended to be decision-making bodies, and their decisions frequently 

reflected either consensus or lowest common denominator compromises. Ambiguity and improvisation continued to characterize the policymaking process. The 

upshot was that when the United States took sides in Somalia’s civil war, it chose an 

enemy but never could find an acceptable ally—and even if it had, that ally would 

have become just another faction.

Within the Pentagon, still another reappraisal had started, evidently driven by 

domestic political considerations. Secretary Aspin instructed a long-time associate, Mr. Clark Murdock, to attend some meetings of the Somalia Working Group 

and devise an “exit strategy.” When Mr. Murdock did so, during the week of 27 

September, he felt that Group members were much more pessimistic than the 

Principals had been given to understand. He then told them that the PERT chart’s 

three-track strategy was unrealistic, that things were going badly in Somalia, that 

the US should “bug out,” and that he intended to send the Secretary a report saying so.38 Rear Admiral Bowman also had become part of a general consensus that 

the time had come to change course.39 He met with Joint Staff officers on Friday, 

1 October, and gave them guidance for drafting a new strategy paper. Action 

officers still assumed, though, that the three-track strategy in the PERT chart portrayed US policy objectives. They worked through the weekend and were distributing their final report on Sunday, 3 October, when word of a bloody firefight in 

Mogadishu reached the National Military Command Center (NMCC).

Meantime, US commanders in Somalia had not received any new guidance 

from USCENTCOM, so the fight against Aideed went on. As a practical matter, there was no middle ground; the warlord had to be either hunted down or 

accepted back. On 7 September, in fact, Task Force Ranger put emphasis on hunting six of Aideed’s lieutenants. Jonathan Howe later recalled being told, as late as 

23 September, that SOF commanders still were optimistic about capturing Aideed.40 Meanwhile, in mid-August, Major General Montgomery had sent USCINCCENT a request for a mechanized task force as well as an air cavalry troop. General Hoar visited Mogadishu in September and said that such a request “would 

not fly politically.” On 14 September, Montgomery informed USCINCCENT that 

he wanted a tank platoon with four M-1 tanks, a mechanized company with 14 

Bradley M-2 IFVs, and an artillery battery with six 105 mm. howitzers. Minings, 

mortar attacks and ambushes had led him to conclude that heavy forces were 
56

 The Effort to Save Somalia

needed to protect US logistics convoys and installations in and around Mogadishu. On 21 September, Task Force Ranger captured one of Aideed’s most prominent lieutenants, Osman Ato. Next day, USCINCCENT told General Powell that 

he favored sending the tank platoon and the mechanized company but not the 

artillery battery. General Hoar also noted potential drawbacks to deploying more 

units: elevating Aideed’s stature; enlarging the US “footprint” in UNOSOM; and 

increasing the potential for collateral damage. General McCaffrey later remembered arguing repeatedly in conversations with Generals Powell, Hoar and Montgomery, for the deployment of armor. McCaffrey also recalled warning Under 

Secretary Wisner that, without armor and artillery reinforcements, he foresaw a 

disaster with one hundred US casualties and ten missing in action. On 23 September, Chairman Powell discussed USCINCCENT’s request with the Service Chiefs 

and particularly with the Army Chief of Staff, General Gordon R. Sullivan, who 

endorsed it. Powell then told Secretary Aspin that it had his support as well. The 

Secretary did not approve, however, on grounds that “the trend is going the other 

way” and that Congressional critics would berate the administration. At General 

Hoar’s urging, the Chairman repeated his request very soon afterward and the 

Secretary again did not act upon it. USCINCCENT raised Montgomery’s request 

with the Chairman three times between 22 and 30 September. Powell’s last day as 

Chairman was 30 September. When he paid his farewell call on the President, the 

two men stood on the Truman balcony of the White House; General Powell told 

President Clinton that the situation in Somalia was unraveling and urged that all 

US and UN troops be withdrawn.41

A Bloody Raid Forces a Decision to Withdraw

On the afternoon of 3 October, Task Force Ranger launched a raid that met 

unexpectedly strong resistance, produced a long list of US casualties, and turned 

Congress decisively against staying in Somalia. At 1540 hours, the Rangers 

stormed a building near Mogadishu’s Olympic Hotel and apprehended twentyfour of Aideed’s henchmen. But forty minutes later, as the Rangers prepared to 

leave by truck convoy, rocket-propelled grenades hit and downed a US helicopter. 

About ninety men of Task Force Ranger moved to and formed a perimeter around 

the wrecked helicopter, where swarms of Somali militia pinned them down. Then 

a second helicopter was hit and crashed two miles away; Somali militia eventually 

overran this site. A small relief column set out from the airport but had to pull 

back; so did a QRF company from the 10th Mountain Division. Major General 
57

“Necessary Measures” 

Montgomery ordered the QRF, which already was on the move, to assemble a battalion-size force at the airport. He also requested all the Pakistani M-48 tanks—

four of eight proved operational—and twenty-eight M-113s from Malaysians who 

made up UNOSOM’s QRF. This was a more deliberate effort to rescue the Rangers 

and hold down losses in the relief force. Task Force Ranger was being supplied 

by air, but it remained pinned down. A seventy-vehicle column, with US troops 

aboard the Malaysian armored personnel carriers (APCs), did not get under way 

until 2315. The force battled through strong resistance; two Malaysian soldiers 

were killed. Relief forces finally reached the crash sites around 0230 hours, but not 

until 0700 hours, after remains had been removed from a crashed helicopter, did 

all the men of Task Force Ranger make their way to safety. American casualties in 

Task Force Ranger and the QRF came to eighteen killed and eighty-four wounded; 

one helicopter pilot was held captive for eleven days. The Somalis claimed to have 

suffered 312 dead and 814 wounded.42

Just as the grim news from Mogadishu reached Washington on Sunday afternoon, 3 October, a Joint Staff team led by J-5 completed the paper commissioned 

by Rear Admiral Bowman two days earlier. In it, they recommended withdrawing the majority of US forces by 31 March 1994. The team proposed (1) rapidly 

arranging a cease-fire with the Habr Gidr clan “while bringing Aideed into 

domestic arrest or foreign exile and investigation,” (2) pressing efforts, which had 

been ineffectual so far, to establish a national police force and a judicial system, 

(3) raising UNOSOM’s strength from 26,000 to 28-32,000 by bringing in Egyptian, Indian and Pakistani reinforcements, (4) replacing US logistic troops with 

contractors as well as with other countries’ military units, and (5) restricting the 

QRF’s role, moving it over the horizon after US logistic troops departed.43 A few 

weeks earlier, these recommendations might have made a significant impact. Now, 

the main ones seemed overtaken by events.

Among themselves, senior civilians in the Pentagon wondered why the Rangers made this raid six days after administration spokesmen had said that the US 

goal now was to isolate Aideed, not capture him. They felt the military should 

have reacted to this policy change, and speculated that the NSC Staff probably assumed new guidance would be sent to the field.44 It must be emphasized, 

though, that Joint Staff officers did not believe that any policy change had been 

promulgated. To them and to Major General Montgomery as well, “marginalizing” or isolating Aideed remained the constant policy and maintaining military 

pressure was a subset of it. Thus the 3 October Joint Staff paper proposed bringing 
58

 The Effort to Save Somalia

Aideed “into domestic arrest or foreign exile and investigation.” Recalling how 

the hint of a forty-eight hour truce had been followed immediately by an ambush 

of Nigerian peacekeepers, Joint Staff officers were convinced that Aideed would 

respond only to unrelenting military pressure. Similarly, they saw Ambassador 

Gosende’s cable of 18 September not as a bid to change policy but as an attempt 

to re-energize the political track of the three-track strategy. Gosende was disappointed that his cable evoked no reply from the State Department and he too 

assumed that the policy remained the same.45

In any event, the Clinton administration faced a firestorm of criticism from 

Congress. Televised pictures of a dead American being dragged through Mogadishu’s streets fuelled popular revulsion against staying in Somalia. Secretary 

Aspin, in particular, came under attack for having refused to send the M-1 tanks 

and M-2 Bradley IFVs. Generals Hoar and Montgomery, in testimony before the 

Senate Armed Services Committee, gave their opinion that M-1s and M-2s would 

have reached embattled Rangers faster than the Pakistani M-48s and Malaysian 

M-113s. Ranger casualties probably would have been the same, they said, but 

a QRF force equipped with M-1s might have avoided any losses.46 This episode 

was widely interpreted as having contributed to President Clinton’s decision, 

announced on 15 December, that Aspin would be leaving OSD.

Public pressure was such that, immediately after the 3 October raid, President 

Clinton felt he had to safeguard forces on the ground and to decide exactly when 

the US military presence in Somalia would end.47 The NSC started issuing tasking directives at once, without awaiting military input. On 3 October, US forces in 

Somalia totaled about 4,650 personnel: 1,450 in the QRF; 450 in the Joint Special 

Operations Task Force; and 2,600 in logistic support units. Four OH-58D helicopters were flown into Mogadishu on 4 October. Next day, two helicopter gunships 

arrived and two AC-130 gunships flew from Italy to Mombassa, Kenya. In the 

Pentagon the Director, J-3, was temporarily absent on 3 October and Lieutenant 

General McCaffrey stepped in, which briefly created a jurisdictional issue. Initially, 

Admiral Jeremiah and the J-3 recommended sending two carrier battle groups and 

two amphibious ready groups, which would take several weeks to reach Mogadishu. McCaffrey pushed for prompt F-15 and B-52 strikes against equipment storage 

sites, and immediate shipborne deployment of a heavy brigade.48 On 5 October, 

the J-3 drew up US reinforcement options: a “light” package of 970 personnel that 

included a mechanized battalion task force and a mechanized company team; 

a “medium” one with 2,900 personnel, including a light infantry battalion, two 
59

“Necessary Measures” 

mechanized task forces, one aviation lift and one aviation attack company; and a 

“heavy” package comprising a 12,000- strong light infantry division.

There were almost continuous meetings over several days at various levels, 

and coordination was not always attained. Admiral Jeremiah held several telephone conversations with General Hoar; the two men spent six hours at the 

White House reviewing options with President Clinton. Jeremiah then talked to 

the Chief Executive alone. President Clinton voiced concern about criticism from 

Congress; providing more protection meant risking more casualties. Admiral Jeremiah proposed deploying carrier-based aircraft and Marine amphibious forces; 

Somalis knew what the planes could do and respected the Marines. The key point 

was that some US forces would be immediately available but offshore and thus 

immune from risk, except when landed and actively engaged. Clinton agreed.

Speaking to the nation on 7 October, President Clinton announced that 1,700 

Army troops with 104 armored vehicles would deploy to Somalia and stay under 

US command. Additionally, the carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as two 

amphibious ready groups with thirty-six hundred Marines would be stationed 

offshore. By 31 March 1994, Clinton promised, all US troops would be gone 

from Somalia “except for a few hundred support personnel in non-combat roles.” 

He now defined the US mission as four-fold. First, “protect our troops and our 

bases....” Second, keep open and secure the roads, port and lines of communication essential for the flow of relief supplies. Third, “keep the pressure on those 

who cut off relief supplies and attack our people, not to personalize the conflict 

but to prevent a return to anarchy.” Fourth, “help make it possible for the Somali 

people ... to reach agreement among themselves....”49

On 8 October, Lieutenant General McCaffrey sent Admiral Jeremiah recommendations about how to carry out the mission that President Clinton had 

just defined:

1. As an absolute prerequisite to the success of reconciliation efforts, rapidly 

recruit more troops for UNOSOM. Pakistan should be the prime target, 

Egypt next, and then South Korea as a source for the QRF. The United States 

would have to provide transportation and equipment, and even pay operating costs. Teams dedicated solely to recruitment should be formed in J-5, 

OSD, the State Department, and the US Delegation to the United Nations.

2. Press for a cease-fire, political reconciliation, and creation of a transitional 

governmental authority. The President’s reappointment of Robert Oakley 
60

 The Effort to Save Somalia

as his Special Envoy would allow the United States, not the United Nations 

and Jonathan Howe, to direct developments.

3. Revitalize the effort to create a national police force by appointing a US official, complemented by a UN officer in Somalia, who would have sufficient 

authority and resources.

4. Prepare to have civilians replace US logistic troops. Since the Joint Staff and 

OSD would work directly with contractors, McCaffrey predicted that this 

would be one of the more efficiently executed parts of the enterprise.50 His 

forecast was quite accurate. Of the four areas, logistics proved to be the only 

one in which any real progress occurred.

Five task forces on Somalia, each headed by an Assistant Secretary or a threestar officer, were set up. The five chairmen constituted an Executive Committee 

on Somalia. Lieutenant General McCaffrey chaired the task force on logistics 

transition. On 4 October, Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Kennedy, USA, from the 

International Logistics Division, J-4, led a team to UN headquarters in New York. 

He kept in daily contact with Colonel James M. Colvin, Jr., USA, in J-4. A UN 

logistics cell, about forty strong, had been moved into the new UN Department of 

Peacekeeping Operations. Two weeks later, despite President Clinton’s announcement of a withdrawal deadline, the UN had done nothing. Lieutenant Colonel 

Kennedy then prepared an options paper for the UN logistics cell. United Nations 

officials would have preferred to write a series of small contracts, but UNOSOM 

lacked the field personnel to manage them. Consequently, Kennedy pressed for 

one “umbrella” contract. The only way to continue functions being performed by 

US Army logistic units was to extend and expand the existing contract with a private firm, Brown and Root. Funds could be provided to Brown and Root through 

either a unilateral US contract or a UN Letter of Assist. The UN would ask about 

cost and availability; the US government specified prices and services. The UN 

then confirmed by a Letter of Assist that it would pay.

On 30 October, Lieutenant General McCaffrey spoke with Secretary General 

Boutros-Ghali about promptly completing a Letter of Assist and, by 15 November, providing Brown and Root with $50 million in “seed money.” Two days later, 

when the Executive Committee convened, the Vice Director, J-5, asked for OSD’s 

help in drafting legislation to fund a contract; the UN bureaucracy’s past performance created worry that a Letter of Assist would be delayed. On 5 November, 

Joint Staff, Army and UN representatives drafted a Statement of Work. It was 
61

“Necessary Measures” 

decided that the US Army’s twenty-three logistic support units in Somalia would 

lease $43 million worth of equipment to Brown and Root; the Director, Joint Staff, 

so informed USCINCCENT. On 10 November, the UN Contracts Committee 

accepted a US proposal and the Letter of Assist was issued. Nine days later, a contract for support through 31 March was signed. Brown and Root would take over 

all logistic functions by 15 January; Army Forces Command, acting as USCENTCOM’s Army component, would arrange for the Bangladeshi battalion at Mogadishu to provide security for Brown and Root logistic operations.

United Nations officials felt the contract was overpriced and gave the United 

States too large a role just when US troops were leaving. The cost may have been 

excessive, but US officials countered that time was of the essence and UNOSOM 

could be kept viable only by working through the US government, which dealt 

with Brown and Root. On 1 December, General John M. Shalikashvili, USA, the 

new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Under Secretary General Annan 

that US equipment leased to Brown and Root must be returned when the contract 

expired on 31 March. The Chairman suggested, though, that some items could 

remain if the UN requested them. A much larger amount of US equipment was 

sold, rather than leased, to the UN.51

Meanwhile, on 10 October, Aideed had declared a unilateral cease-fire. His 

militia had been hurt badly in the battle with Task Force Ranger. Five days later, 

USCINCCENT sent Major General Montgomery a statement of Commander’s 

Intent: Minimize US, UN and Somali casualties while supporting efforts to 

find a political solution. The protection of US forces, which included launching 

pre-emptive defensive strikes, remained the priority mission. Military operations would not expand beyond those limits unless doing so would contribute 

to a political solution. Any offensive operations (i.e., unprovoked attacks against 

installations, logistic sites and arms caches) would have to be approved in advance 

by the National Command Authority. On 19 October, the President ordered that 

Army Rangers be withdrawn from Somalia.

Joint Task Force Somalia, commanded by Major General Carl F. Ernst, USA, 

was activated on 20 October. Its mission was four-fold: first and foremost, protect US forces; second, support UNOSOM II’s operations, which meant that JTF 

Somalia functioned as the QRF; third, as required, secure lines of communication to ensure the continued flow of relief supplies; and fourth, prepare for the 

withdrawal of US forces. JTF Somalia came under the tactical control of Major 

General Montgomery as COMUSFORSOMALIA. However, Ernst had 180 per-
62

 The Effort to Save Somalia

sonnel in his headquarters while Montgomery had only about 40 in his, plus 15 

individuals assigned to the UNOSOM command staff that he used for US operations as well. Although General Hoar wanted to distance US from UN activities, 

Montgomery’s staff worked out of the US Logistical Support Command that was 

dedicated to supporting UNOSOM II. Consequently, JTF Somalia remained separate from UNOSOM and conducted detailed operational planning but reported to 

Major General Montgomery who had only a tiny staff and functioned mainly in 

a UNOSOM role. In these circumstances, some degree of misperception between 

Generals Ernst and Montgomery proved unavoidable. Montgomery expected JTF 

Somalia to protect US logistical bases and convoys, but the JTF staff drafted a campaign plan for possibly re-establishing UNOSOM’s control throughout Somalia.52

Liquidation

On 9 November, USCINCCENT sent General Shalikashvili and Secretary 

Aspin a four-phase plan for withdrawing:

1. Make withdrawal preparations; enhance the capabilities of air and sea 

points of exit.

2. By 31 December, reduce US forces ashore to 5-6,000 and transfer most logistic support functions to Brown and Root.

3. By early March, complete the transfer of logistic support functions, and 

give the QRF role to UN forces.

4. Complete withdrawal by 31 March.

This plan, which was approved and promulgated on 28 November assumed that 

the cease-fire would hold and that 10-15,000 UN troops would remain in Somalia. 

Already, though, the US Liaison Office had warned that UNOSOM “while still 

nominally intact, is mentally unraveling.” Other contributing countries felt they 

were in Somalia because the United States had pressed them to come. Why should 

they run risks that the United States appeared unwilling to take?53

Early in November, UNOSOM’s main combat elements were: one Egyptian 

and two Pakistani brigades as well as Bangladeshi, Malaysian, Nepalese, Nigerian, 

Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirate battalions in and around Mogadishu; 

one Italian brigade at nearby Gialalassi; and one newly-arrived Indian brigade at 

Baidoa. UNOSOM’s viability seemed to depend largely upon whether the Egyptian 
63

“Necessary Measures” 

and Pakistani contingents remained. On 9 November, the Egyptian government 

asked the United States for 213 M-113 APCs and more than 400 other vehicles. 

The administration decided to supply seventy M-113s and nothing more. Pakistan 

requested 30 tanks, 80 APCs, and 150 vehicles.54

The UN Security Council on 16 November, through Resolution 886, established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the 5 June attack; this action effectively ended the hunt for Aideed. Concurrently, however, UNOSOM Headquarters concluded that Aideed probably intended to resume fighting at some later 

time because a peaceful resolution would not serve his interests. Richard Clarke 

of the NSC Staff reacted by asking members of the Somalia Executive Committee 

to assess where matters seemed to be heading. The J-5 prepared an assessment 

that the UN humanitarian effort was too passive, that political reconciliation had 

not advanced appreciably, and that Somalis no longer took UNOSOM’s military 

presence seriously. The administration should either take “aggressive action” to 

enhance UNOSOM’s credibility after US forces withdrew or, failing that, end the 

UN mandate and bring coalition partners home by 31 March. The J-5 advocated 

an intensive media campaign declaring UNOSOM’s primary mission a success 

because starvation had been stopped, and placing Somalia’s future squarely in the 

hands of its people.55

There was now a surfeit of senior American civilians in Mogadishu: Jonathan 

Howe, who reported to Boutros-Ghali; Robert Oakley, who reported to President 

Clinton; and Richard Bogosian, who replaced Robert Gosende at the US Liaison 

Office. Guidance from them sometimes appeared contradictory. Ambassador 

Oakley told Major General Montgomery not to provoke the SNA by test-firing 

AC-130s within earshot of Mogadishu, but then encouraged Major General Ernst 

to prepare a plan for reopening 21 October Road. On 16 November, Ambassador 

Bogosian conferred with Lieutenant General Bir. Bir wanted UNOSOM troops 

to start depending on voluntary cooperation from the clans and use force only in 

self-defense. Even without US participation, Bir believed that a sixteen thousandman UN force could remain viable by refocusing its mission away from security 

to political and humanitarian goals.

Although more UN troops were in Mogadishu by October than had been 

there in May, security was worse. Clearly, however, Aideed had been impressed 

by JTF Somalia’s show of strength. The test came over whether US and UN forces 

would reopen 21 October Road, along which SNA militia had set up more than 

a dozen roadblocks. This three-lane avenue running through Mogadishu was the 
64

 The Effort to Save Somalia

main supply route to the north; the alternative, a bypass road, consisted of one 

dirt lane each way and added one hundred kilometers to the route. JTF Somalia, 

working with the Pakistanis, planned a UN operation to reopen 21 October Road; 

US intelligence believed that the SNA would not fight. About 20 November, Major 

General Ernst briefed Lieutenant General James R. Ellis, USA, Commanding 

General, Third Army, who was visiting. Ellis then went to UNOSOM Headquarters, where he was told that Headquarters had decided against clearing the road 

because of anticipated casualties. On 25 November, Major General Montgomery 

told Ambassador Bogosian that no offensive operations were envisioned and that 

such action probably would require presidential approval. In fact, Montgomery 

saw no military necessity to reopen 21 October Road as long as the bypass, which 

had been improved by UNOSOM engineers, remained usable. Ernst said later that 

the SNA militia, realizing that neither JTF Somalia nor UNOSOM II would take 

the offensive, soon recaptured the initiative in Mogadishu.56

Major General Montgomery felt that UNOSOM II had lost the initiative on 7 

October, when President Clinton announced a withdrawal deadline. He considered his guidance very narrow and excluding any offensive maneuver. Montgomery rated JTF Somalia a success simply because it deterred any SNA interference 

with the US withdrawal.57

The path of reconciliation led to Aideed’s emergence as a “winner,” as the J-2 

had foreseen. Ambassador Oakley spoke to SNA representatives who made clear 

that Aideed would not negotiate with UNOSOM until the arrest warrant had 

been lifted and his lieutenants released. Privately, Americans referred to these 

SNA spokesmen as “the North Koreans of Somalia.” The warrant on Aideed was 

withdrawn, but General Hoar felt that eight of the thirty-nine detainees, who were 

directly linked to the 5 June ambush, should remain in confinement. Those eight 

stayed in custody although, at White House meetings in late November, it became 

apparent that high officials did not know why the men were still being held.58 But 

Aideed and the Americans both wanted progress toward a political settlement, 

albeit for different reasons. So on 2 December a US Army C-12 aircraft, which 

supported Ambassador Oakley, flew Aideed to Ethiopia for reconciliation talks 

with rival clan leaders. Since Aideed would neither board a UN aircraft nor share 

a plane with Ali Mahdi, Oakley decided to let him use the C-12.

Concurrently, the Deputies Committee decided to look favorably upon a 

strategy, advocated by the NSC Staff and the State Department, of decentralizing UNOSOM’s activities. Operations in Mogadishu would be deemphasized 
65

“Necessary Measures” 

and activities shifted to other cities. For example, UNOSOM headquarters would 

move to Baledogle, US equipment would be distributed among outlying police 

units, and local councils would receive bloc aid grants. The J-5, on 6 December, 

described decentralization as an “intriguing” concept but observed that no US 

forces were available to support additional projects. The 43rd Engineer Battalion, 

the only such US unit in Somalia, was due to depart on 18 December. Without 

political reconciliation, J-5 continued, decentralization would place dispersed UN 

forces at significant risk. But if reconciliation came about, decentralization would 

be unnecessary. The Somalia Executive Committee also discussed whether to rely 

on other ports instead of Mogadishu. The J-4, however, concluded that three to 

six months would be needed to restore Kismayo, five months for the Old Port of 

Mogadishu. In any case, Mogadishu’s port and airfield still would remain necessary to evacuate US and UNOSOM contingents.59

The NSC Staff and the State Department felt that decentralization offered the 

best chance of marginalizing uncooperative Somalis, because only secure regions 

would receive humanitarian support. Ambassador Oakley, on 9 December, 

advised the Somalia Executive Committee that decentralization ultimately would 

fail without political reconciliation and accompanying security guarantees. Just 

after Christmas, Jonathan Howe told the Acting Secretary of State that decentralization outside Mogadishu was largely ephemeral and described the UN’s slowness in moving to organize a national police force as scandalous.60

The 31 March deadline meant that two decisions about US forces had to 

be made: How would units withdraw, and how few personnel ought to remain? 

Unconfirmed intelligence reports indicated that Somalis possessed shoulder-fired 

SA-7 surface-to-air missiles. Planes leaving Mogadishu airport would be vulnerable, and the administration did not want to run the slightest risk of substantial 

casualties. General Shalikashvili discussed the matter with Major General Montgomery during a visit to Mogadishu on 20-21 December, and then with General 

Hoar early in January. Accordingly, SS Empire State and the motor vessel Mediterranean Sky took troops aboard at Mogadishu and steamed to Mombassa, Kenya, 

where troops switched to commercial aircraft and flew home.

As to a residual presence, US personnel occupied forty-three billets on the 

UNOSOM staff; the UN asked that twelve billets be filled after 31 March. The 

NSC Staff and the State Department favored leaving enough US personnel to 

influence events and ensure that the UNOSOM staff kept functioning. But OSD, 

the Joint Staff, General Montgomery and USCINCCENT advocated leaving only 
66

 The Effort to Save Somalia

the minimum required to support the US Liaison Office. As Montgomery put it, a 

few personnel were not critical; the time had come for others to carry the load.61

Twelve officers from all Services were assigned to serve in the Logistic Support 

Center on UNOSOM’s civilian side.

In mid-January 1994, the Deputies Committee decided that the United States 

would remain actively engaged in Somalia. That meant assisting a large police/

justice program as well as a sizable rehabilitation effort, requiring greater Somali 

responsibility and threatening an aid cutoff if progress did not occur. But the 

seven thousand police were poorly equipped, unevenly distributed throughout the 

country, and lacked direction. Moreover, UNOSOM’s police component had no 

planners, no operations officers, and no accountants. Commander William Stettinius, USN, who was assigned to Regional Security Affairs, OSD, went to Somalia 

as an adviser on police issues. At his advice and that of an Australian, Bill Kirk, the 

UNOSOM Force Commander instructed area commanders to oversee the police. 

However, the SNA refused to deal with Stettinius in his UNOSOM capacity and 

held that no equipment should be distributed until a truly national police force 

had been formed. Shipment from US ports of $25 million worth of US equipment, 

principally trucks, rifles and sidearms, was under way. Stettinius assured SNA representatives that equipment being positioned around the country would not be distributed until a police structure was put in place—and that never happened.62

Each week, Somalia seemed to unravel a little more. The UN released the 

last detainees, including Osman Ato, on 18 January. Major General Montgomery 

stepped down as Deputy UNOSOM Force Commander on 7 February. “It’s time 

to get out,” he declared publicly. “At some point in time you’ve got to stand up 

and take responsibility, and Somalis will not take responsibility.” Concurrently, 

UN headquarters announced that Jonathan Howe’s tour as Special Representative would end. By early March, security in Mogadishu had deteriorated so badly 

that Ambassador Bogosian recommended threatening to close the Liaison Office 

and end all US assistance unless Somali factions quickly proved they could make 

peace and restore order. During 12-13 March, General Shalikashvili visited Mogadishu and conferred with US military and civilian officials. What, the Chairman 

asked, were the chances of US and UN failure? Even if the United States ended 

its efforts and famine returned, he remarked, the original mission still could be 

regarded as a success. Ambassador Bogosian said that UNOSOM would collapse 

without US support; participation should continue as long as progress was discernible. General Montgomery, who was overseeing the US pullout, argued that 
67

“Necessary Measures” 

Marines were lightning rods. If some stayed as security officers, the administration must be prepared for casualties. The Chairman stated his “gut feeling” that 

the administration would rather not evacuate. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense 

Walter Slocombe commented that the administration also would rather not see 

any more casualties.63

The last eleven hundred US Marines left Mogadishu on 25 March. By then, 

French, German, Belgian, Italian, Turkish and Tunisian contingents also had 

withdrawn. UNOSOM’s strength totaled about 20,000, consisting mainly of 7,220 

Pakistanis with QRF responsibility, 1,660 Egyptians in Mogadishu, and 4,930 

Indians at Kismayo and Bardera. Meantime, Aideed and Ali Mahdi met at Nairobi, Kenya, and signed an agreement on broad principles for reconciliation and 

reconstruction. The accord proved short-lived and probably was a ploy to keep US 

aid flowing. UNOSOM quickly proved impotent in the face of renewed clan warfare. The warlords aimed at seizing UN stockpiles, mostly supplied by the United 

States, and even at disarming UNOSOM contingents. A Zimbabwean company, 

for instance, was surrounded and forced to surrender all its weapons and equipment. Egyptians were told that militias would let them evacuate from Mogadishu unopposed only if they left all their equipment behind. By summer, the US 

government was urging the UN to end its mandate. When the US Liaison Office 

closed and its 55 Marine guards were evacuated on 19 September, Somalia had 

reverted to a political state not far from the anarchy of 1992.
69

For the United States, the cost came to 32 killed in action, 172 wounded and $1.3 billion spent through 30 June 1994. The effort in Somalia succeeded as a 

short-term humanitarian mission but then failed as an attempt at nation-building and as an international venture in peace enforcement. Even at the outset of 

Operation RESTORE HOPE, there were those who foresaw the final outcome. On 

1 December 1992, just before the first US Marines landed at Mogadishu, Ambassador Smith Hempstone sent the State Department a cable titled “The Somali 

Tarbaby” that proved remarkably prescient:

Somalis ... are natural-born guerrillas. They will mine the roads. 

They will lay ambushes. They will launch hit-and-run attacks.... If 

you liked Beirut, you’ll love Mogadishu.

To what end? To keep tens of thousands of Somali kids from 

starving to death in 1993 who, in all probability, will starve to 

death in 1994 (unless we are prepared to remain through 1994)? 

... I have heard estimates ... that it will take five years to get Somalia not on its feet but just on its knees....

Finally, what will we leave behind when we depart? The Somali is 

treacherous. The Somali is a killer. The Somali is as tough as his 

country, and just as unforgiving....

We ought to have learned by now that these situations are easier to 

get into than to get out of, that no good deed goes unpunished.1

The Joint Staff ’s attitude, while never so pungently phrased, was roughly the 

same as Ambassador Hempstone’s, opposing the decision to carry out a major 

ground intervention in November 1992. Joint Staff officers did experience short 

periods of hope, during the early phase of UNITAF and later when the police project seemed about to move forward, but skepticism was the more frequent sentiment. General Powell came to favor large-scale intervention but strictly for humanitarian relief objectives. During the summer of 1993, he rejected recommendations 

Conclusion
70

from the Director, J-5, and the Shinn team to deploy SOF and hunt Aideed. The 

Chairman changed his position late in August only after American soldiers had 

been targets in three ambushes, then he concluded within a month that the enterprise was failing and that US and UN troops should withdraw.

The US objective in Somalia proved to be a constantly shifting target. Somalia 

was a frequent agenda and discussion topic for the President and his senior advisors, but for the months between November 1992 when President Bush decided 

to intervene and October 1993 when President Clinton decided to pull out, 

imprecision and drift often reigned. Discussions in the Deputies Committee, 

where guidance was formulated, came to revolve around short-term tactics without reference to long-term objectives. Steps that General Hoar condemned as 

“mission creep” really depended on how and by whom the mission was being 

defined at that moment. Those who advocated deploying SOF relied upon the 

maxim of fighting to win. General Powell wanted to keep objectives limited, 

which meant minimizing US military involvement. His change of mind about 

using SOF came in response to ambushes of US troops, not as part of a broad 

policy reconsideration. Within two weeks after the SOF reached Mogadishu, some 

who had advocated its deployment began calling for an accommodation with 

Aideed. Yet hindsight suggests that every change of tactics only reduced policymakers’ maneuver room and made UNOSOM’s success less likely. After 3 October, the White House decided that political factors rendered any option other than 

prompt withdrawal unattainable.

Working under UN direction proved a frustrating experience. Many senior 

US military officers came to look upon Jonathan Howe as the architect of disaster, 

determined to give UNOSOM a reach that far exceeded its grasp, and preoccupied with military solutions instead of political ones. That may be unfair, in 

that he was the energetic executor of a flawed policy. Obviously, in retrospect, 

the objectives prescribed by Resolution 814 were too ambitious. The US government usually played a central role in shaping policy but not always in executing it. 

“I realized after I got here what I was facing,” Howe said in February 1994. “You 

can’t have thirty different hands on the tiller.”2 So many of UNOSOM’s contributors were either unresponsive or actually working at cross-purposes that the Force 

Commander found himself little more than a figurehead. The UN bureaucracy’s 

shortcomings—under-manning, inertia, incompetence—compounded the difficulties and made failure almost inevitable. As an example, funds needed in June 
71

1993 to subsidize militia demobilization and voluntary disarmament did not 

become available until January 1994.

The UN proved a suitable instrument for carrying out a humanitarian operation, but not a peace enforcement one. Joint Staff officers had started meeting regularly with UN counterparts in New York during December 1992 and recognized 

these shortcomings sooner than did many State Department and White House 

officials. Ultimately, though, disenchantment with UN peacekeeping was reflected 

in the stringent criteria that President Clinton applied on 3 May 1994 to any 

future US participation. According to PDD 25, the United States would either vote 

for or take the lead in calling for multilateral peace operations when, among other 

things: UN members were prepared to provide forces and funds; the US government judged political and military objectives to be clear and feasible; and UN 

involvement represented the best means of advancing US interests. Ordinarily, 

large-scale participation in peace enforcement that was likely to involve combat 

would be conducted either under US command or through competent regional 

organizations, such as NATO or ad hoc coalitions.3 Seen from this perspective, 

the experience of the operation in Somalia seemed likely to cast a long shadow.
AID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Agency for International Development

APC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Armored Personnel Carrier

ARG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amphibious Ready Group

DC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deputies Committee

ICRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International Committee of the Red Cross

IFV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Infantry Fighting Vehicles

ISA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International Security Affairs

JOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joint Operations Division

JOPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joint Operational Planning and Execution System

JTF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joint Task force

LRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Logistic Readiness Center

MARG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marine Amphibious Ready Group

MEAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Middle East–Africa Division

MEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marine Expeditionary Force

MEU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marine Expeditionary Unit

NMCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . National Military Command Center

NSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . National Security Council

OFDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance

OSD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Office of the Secretary of Defense

PCC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Policy Coordination Committee

PDD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presidential Decision Directive

PERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Program Evaluation and Review Techniques

QRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quick Reaction Force

SNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Somali National Alliance

SOF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Special Operations Forces

TPFDD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time-Phased Force Deployment Data

UN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .United Nations

UNITAF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unified Task Force

UNOSOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . United Nations Operation in Somalia

USCINCCENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Commander in Chief, US Central Command

USTRANSCOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . US Transportation Command

VTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . video-teleconference

Acronyms

73
75

Notes

Chapter 1

1

 See John L. Hirsch and Robert B. Oakley, Somalia and Operation Restore Hope (1995), 

pp. 3-16.

2

 Memo, LtCol Van Esselstyn to Dir, J-3, “Somalia Working Group Meeting Notes,” 30 Jul 

92, C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk 1; J-5 MEAF; “Conversational Topic: Humanitarian Support for Somalia,” 31 Jul 92, J-5 MEAF File.

3

 Msg, Nairobi 243067 to SecState, 30 Jul 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. Not long afterward, 

Ambassador Hempstone paid a visit to Somalia. The State Department then instructed 

him not to visit the country again.

4

 Memo, Dir, J-4, to ASD(GA), “Request for Cost Estimates ...,” 4 Aug 92, U, J-5 

MEAF File.

5

 State Dept., “Recommendations on Somalia,” 4 Aug 92, U; “Somalia Working Group 

Meeting Results, 5 Aug 92,” C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” 

Bk. 1.

6

 Memo, LtCol Van Esselstyn to Dir, J-3, “Results of Somalia PCC,” 12 Aug 92, S-OADR, 

J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk. 1.

7

 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Military Operations Options ....,” 14 Aug 92, U, J-5 MEAF File.

8

 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia,” 14 Aug 92, S-OADR, 

J-5 MEAF File.

9

 “Summary of Conclusions from NSC DC Meeting, 14 Aug 92,” Att to Memo, Exec Secy 

NSC to SJS et al., 15 Aug 92, C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” 

Bk. 1; Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: 1992, pp. 1441-42. Natsios was 

Assistant Administrator for Food and Humanitarian Assistance, AID.

10 Msg, CJCS to USCINCCENT, 151756Z Aug 92, C-OADR; Msg, USCINCCENT to 

Joint Staff, 152344Z Aug 92, C-OADR; Msg, CJCS to USCINCCENT, 170050Z Aug 92, 

C-OADR; J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Msgs,” Bk. 1. On 27 August, USCINCCENT decided to deploy two more C-130s and take away four C-141s. BGen Frank 

Libutti, USMC, became the Commander, Joint Task Force PROVIDE RELIEF.

11 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia,” 20 Aug 92, C-OADR; 

“Summary of Conclusions for NSC Deputies Committee Meeting,” 20 Aug 92, C-OADR, 

J-5 MEAF File.
76

12 Memo, COL Brittain to Dir, J-3, “Somalia PCC,” 1 Sep 92, U, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk. 1; “Summary of PCC Meeting on Somalia,” Att to Memo, 

Exec Secy NSC to SJS et al., 3 Sep 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File; J-5 MEAF Info Paper, 

“DC Meeting on Somalia,” 28 Sep 92, C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, 

Memos,” Bk. 3.

13 Info Paper by Somalia Working Group, “Current and Near-Term Situation in Somalia,” 

22 Sep 92, S-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk. 3. The longneglected asphalt runway at Baidoa soon began to deteriorate.

14 Tab D in J-5 MEAF Binder “DC Mtg on Somalia,” 4 Sep 92.

15 “Summary of PCC Meeting on Somalia,” Att to Memo, Exec Secy NSC to SJS et al., 24 

Sep 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “DC Meeting on Somalia,” 28 Sep 

92, C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk. 3.

16 TelCon, ADM David Jeremiah, USN (Ret.), with W. S. Poole, 10 Oct 94; MFR by Paul 

Kinsinger, “Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia, 28 September,” 29 Sep 92, S-OADR, 

J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk 3. Lieutenant Colonel Wahlquist 

believed that ADM Jeremiah’s stops in Kenya and Somalia on 23-24 September had led the 

Vice Chairman to change his view about the feasibility of shifting rapidly from a primarily military airlift to a civilian one. Jeremiah, through his Executive Assistant, informed 

RADM Bowman that transition planning should be driven by events and not by calendar 

deadlines. Reducing or eliminating DoD’s airlift role, ADM Jeremiah now felt, was acceptable only (1) if such action did not reduce the total delivery of relief supplies and (2) if 

the Somali clans made progress toward political reconciliation. At Bowman’s suggestion, 

Wahlquist redrafted the 28 Sep Information Paper to capture these views. In effect, the 

Joint Staff was moving closer to State’s position.

17 Msg, Nairobi 1658 to SecState, 1 Oct 92, C-OADR, Tab to “PCC Mtg on Somalia, 9 Oct 

92”; J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “‘Points of Security’: Case Study in Baidoa,” 9 Oct 92, S-OADR; 

MFR, LTC Baltimore to Col Berger, “PCC on Somalia, 9 Oct 92,” 9 Oct 92, S-OADR, J-5 

MEAF Binder for “PCC Mtg on Somalia, 9 Oct 92,” J-5 MEAF File; “Summary of PCC 

Mtg on Somalia,” Att to Memo, Exec Secy NSC to SJS et al., n.d., C-OADR; “Interagency 

Planning Group Status Report,” 15 Oct 92, S-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE 

RELIEF, Memos,” Bk. 4.

18 “Summary of Conclusions of Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia,” 21 Oct 92, 

C-OADR; J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “PCC Mtg on Somalia,” 29 Oct 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF 

File. By 1 November, US military aircraft had flown 942 sorties and delivered 11,165 metric tons of relief supplies.

19 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, n.d., C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

20 J-5 MEAF Form 136, “UN Request for Additional Airlift to Somalia,” 5 Nov 92, COADR, J-5 MEAF File; Memo, ASD(ISA) to SecDef and DepSecDef, same subj. and date, 

C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn PROVIDE RELIEF, Memos,” Bk. 5.
77

Chapter 2

1

 “Summary of PCC Meeting on Somalia,” Att to Memo, Exec Secy NSC to SJS et al., 10 

Nov 92, C-OADR; DCI, National Intelligence Council Memo, “Can United Nations Force 

Successfully Carry Out Their Mission in Somalia?” 10 Nov 92, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF Master File; Info Paper by LTC Bray, J-3 JOD, “Points of Security: Bardera Case Study,” COADR, J-4 LRC Files, “Somalia Relief ” Folder.

2

 Msg, USUN 5143 to SecState, 6 Nov 92, S, J-3 JOD File, “Opn Provide Relief, Memos,” 

Bk. 5. COL Perry Baltimore, USA, interviewed by W. S. Poole 28 Apr 95.

3

 Memo, COL Brittain to Chief, J-3 JOD, “Request for USCINCCENT Assessment of 

USUN Message,” 12 Nov 92, C, J-3 JOD File, “Opn Provide Relief, Memos,” Bk. 5.

4

 “Summary of PCC Meeting on Somalia,” C-OADR, Tab A-1 in J-5 MEAF Binder for DC 

Mtg on Somalia, 20 Nov 92; J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “PCC Meeting on Somalia,” 12 Nov 92, 

S-OADR; Ltr, UNSYG to Pres UNSC, 24 Nov 92, U, J-5 MEAF File.

5

 Msg, USUN 5420 to SecState, 17 Nov 92, C-OADR, J-4 LRC Files, “PROVIDE RELIEF: 

Sit Reps/Msgs, 10 Nov-31 Dec 92.”

6

 Msg, USUN 5526 to SecState, 21 Nov 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

7

 J-5 MEAF Info/TP, “Small Group Meeting on Somalia,” 23 Nov 92, S-OADR, J-3 JOD 

File, “Opn Provide Relief, Memos,” Bk. 6; “USCINCCENT Commander’s Estimate,” 22 

Nov 92, S, J-5 MEAF File.

8

 Msg, Nairobi 25912 to SecState, 20 Nov 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

9

 Discussion Paper, “Somalia Security Options,” 20 Nov 92, S, J-5 MEAF File.

10 “Spectrum of US Role Across Three Options,” 22 Nov 92, S, J-5 MEAF File. The cost of 

Option 1 was estimated at $250 million in FY 1993. Option 2 would require an additional 

$250 million—or, if other countries did not contribute, $1 billion. Assuming that the 

United States furnished most of the troops, Option 3 would cost between $850 million 

and $1.25 billion more than Option 1. “Rough Estimate of Costs to the US of Somalia 

Options,” 23 Nov 92, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

11 J-5 MEAF Info/TP for VCJCS, “Small Group Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia,” 

24 Nov 92, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

12 GEN Colin L. Powell interviewed by BG D. A. Armstrong, USA(Ret.) and W. S. Poole, 

21 Feb 95. Before the NSC meeting, all participants were given a paper that described the 

three options cited above. Memo, Exec Secy NSC to CJCS et al., “Presidential Meeting 

on Somalia, November 25 at 9:00 AM,” 24 Nov 92, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. The Chairman also received the Wahlquist-Baltimore draft; the J-5 MEAF Info/TP, “NSC Principals 

Meeting on Somalia,” 25 Nov 92, S-OADR, bears the stamp, “CJCS has seen.” In the 1995 

interview, GEN Powell could not recall whether he presented all three options at the meeting. Joint Staff officers were not told what advice GEN Powell had presented.

13 ADM Jeremiah telcon with W. S. Poole, 10 Oct 94. A Washington Post story on 6 December claimed that ADM Jeremiah said: “if you think U.S. forces are needed...we can do the 

job” during a DC meeting on 21 November. Actually, the Assistant to the Chairman, LTG 
78

Barry R. McCaffrey, attended that meeting. ADM Jeremiah went to meetings on 23 and 24 

November, and spoke the words quoted at one of those sessions. TelCon, ADM Jeremiah 

with COL Perry Baltimore, 10 Dec 93, and related by COL Baltimore to W. S. Poole.

14 That remained GEN McCaffrey’s position throughout the US involvement. MFR by BG 

David Armstrong, USA (Ret.), “PHONECON with GEN Barry McCaffrey,” 5 Oct 95.

15 GEN Colin L. Powell interviewed by BG D. A. Armstrong, USA (Ret.) and W. S. Poole, 

21 Feb 95. USS Tripoli and USS Guam were LPHs displacing 18,800 tons.

16 Msg, SecState 387178 to USUN, 1 Dec 92, S-OADR; J-5 MEAF TP/Info Paper, “Small 

Group Teleconference on Somalia,” 1 Dec 92, S-OADR; J-5 MEAF File; Msg, CJCS to 

USCINCCENT, 011335Z Dec 92, S-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn Restore Hope, Memos,” 

Bk. 1.

17 J-5 MEAF Info/TP, “DC Meeting on Somalia,” 2 Dec 92, J-5 MEAF File.

18 Dept of State, Dispatch, 14 Dec 92, pp. 883-884. This resolution marked the first time 

that the UN acted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter without having been invited to 

intervene.

19 Ltr, President Bush to UNSYG, 4 Dec 92, J-5 MEAF File.

20 Msg, CJCS to USCINCCENT, 021925Z Dec 92, S-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Operation 

Restore Hope, Memos,” Bk. 1. Msg, Joint Staff J-3 to USCINCCENT, 062030Z Dec 92, 

S-OADR; J-5 MEAF Info/TP, “Small Group DC Teleconference on Somalia,” 7 Dec 92, 

S-OADR; Ltr, UNSYG to Pres Bush, 8 Dec 92, J-5 MEAF File.

21 Meade and Chilcoat were serving in the Army’s Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, 

Plans and Operations. Another factor—although evidently not the decisive one—that 

entered into Army calculations was a worry that the 10th Mountain Division could be 

slated for deactivation during the next round of downsizing. Very recently, some of its 

units had been sent to Florida in the wake of Hurricane Andrew to assist with disaster 

relief. Participating in Operation RESTORE HOPE could enhance the Division’s image. 

LtCol Ritchie M. Lilly, USMC, 6 Apr 93; LTC Robert M. Bray, USA, 7 May 93; and COL 

Frank W. Brittain, USA, 7 May 93, all members of J-3 JOD, interviewed by W. S. Poole.

22 Msg, USCINCCENT to Joint Staff, 040015Z Dec 92, S-OADR; Msg, CJCS to USCINCCENT, 051823Z Dec 92, S-OADR, J-3 JOD File, Tab 1A in “Restore Hope, Memos,” Bk. 1.

23 Msg, USCINCCENT to Joint Staff, J-5, 020330Z Dec 92, S-OADR; Msg, USCINCTRANS to USCENTCOM, 070216Z Dec 92; J-4 LRC File, “Restore Hope: Sit Reps/Msgs, 

4-8 Dec 92.”

24 SOA 69, “Flow of ARFOR Forces into Somalia,” 26 Dec 92, S-OADR, J-4 LRC File, 

“Restore Hope: Status of Actions 1-112.”

25 Msg, USCINCTRANS to USCENTCOM, 160257Z Dec 92, S-OADR, J-4 LRC File, 

“RESTORE HOPE: Sit Reps/Msgs, 15-19 Dec 92.” The same problem of having to rely 

upon an ad hoc system had arisen in 1990 during DESERT SHIELD deployments to the 

Persian Gulf. Information in the remainder of this paragraph comes from a J-4 Briefing to 

the Joint Staff in Apr 93.
79

26 Msg, SecState 394279 to CJTF PROVIDE RELIEF, 8 Dec 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

27 Draft Msg, USUN to SecState, 9 Dec 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

28 UNOSOM I consisted of the five hundred Pakistanis at Mogadishu airport plus the four 

battalions that had not yet deployed.

29 “Summary of Conclusions for Core Group Meeting on Somalia, December 10, 1992, 

10:00 AM,” S; “Summary of Conclusions of Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia,” 11 

Dec 92, Att to Memo, Exec Secy NSC to SJS et al., 12 Dec 92, S, J-5 MEAF File.

30 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Options for US Role in UNOSOM II,” n.d., S-OADR, J-5 MEAF 

File.

31 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “NSC Core Group Meeting on Somalia,” 16 Dec 92, S-OADR, J-5 

MEAF File.

32 Msg, SecState 409375 to Lagos et al., 20 Dec 92, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

33 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “NSC DC Group Meeting on Somalia,” 23 Dec 92, S-OADR, J-5 

MEAF File.

34 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Proposed US Role in UNOSOM II in Somalia,” 23 Dec 92, SOADR, J-5 MEAF File.

35 Msg, SecState 591 to Rome et al., 

4 Jan 93, S-OADR; Msg, Geneva 11231 

to SecState, 30 Dec 92, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

36 MFR by RADM Bowman, “6 Jan 93 UN Meeting on Somalia,” 7 Jan 93, 

C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

37 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “NSC Core Group Teleconference on Somalia,” 4 Jan 93, SOADR, J-5 MEAF File. None of these contributors was entirely self-sufficient.

38 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “NSC Core Group Teleconference on Somalia,” [ca 4 Feb 93] J5 MEAF File. The amendment’s author was Sen. Larry Pressler (R, SD). J-5 MEAF Info 

Paper, “NSC Core Group Meeting on Somalia,” 16 Dec 92, S-OADR; Msg, Islamabad 

18292 to SecState, 14 Dec 92, C-OADR; J-5A 6593-93 to DJS, 18 Dec 92, S-OADR, J-5 

MEAF File.

39 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, ca 4 Feb 93, cited above; Msg, SecState 52971 to Islamabad, 21 

Feb 93, C-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “Opn Restore Hope, UNOSOM II, Kuwait-Zimbabwe.” 

The Trust Fund then contained $115 million, mostly contributed by Japan. It was intended 

to defray transportation and in-country expenses of troops contributed by poorer nations.

40 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Somali Police and Guard Force Issues,” 13 Jan 93, S-OADR; Msg, 

SecState 491 to USLO Mogadishu, 2 Jan 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

41 Msg, Mogadishu 75 to SecState, 12 Jan 93, C-OADR; J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “Somali 

Police and Guard Force Issues,” 13 Jan 93; Draft Msg, SecState to Mogadishu, 5 Feb 93, C, 

J-5 MEAF File.

42 Msg, USLO Mogadishu 45 to SecState, 8 Jan 93; Msg, Mogadishu 76 to SecState, 12 Jan 

93, J-5 MEAF File.
80

43 Rpt, Cmdr, UNITAF to USCENTCOM, J-3 & Dir, J-5, Joint Staff, “Commander’s Assessment of Operation RESTORE HOPE,” 28 Jan 93, U, J-5 MEAF File.

44 Ltr, SecDef to Dir, OMB, 12 Jan 93, U, J-4 LRC File, “RESTORE HOPE: Sit Reps/Msgs, 

8-13 Jan 93.” By late March, the estimate of US costs during FY 1993 had risen to $1.2 billion, with the Defense Department paying $852 million.

45 GAO Rpt to Congressional Committees, “Peace Operations: Cost of DOD Operations in 

Somalia,” Mar 94, U.

46 The State Department’s latest draft avoided mentioning either the UN Charter’s Chapter 

VI (“peaceful settlement of disputes”) or Chapter VII (“enforcement”) in order to preserve 

flexibility. The draft would authorize UNOSOM II to “ensure the maintenance of a secure 

environment for humanitarian relief operations, taking all appropriate actions against 

elements threatening that secure environment, and to promote reconciliation and a political settlement in Somalia.” As will be seen, that came fairly close to the language finally 

adopted. Draft Text of UNSC Resolution, n.d. [ca 25 Jan 93], J-5 MEAF File.

47 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “NSC Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia,” 25 Jan 93, 

S-OADR; “Planning Assumptions for US Military Presence in Somalia,” n.d., S-OADR, 

J-5 MEAF File.

48 J-5 MEAF File.

49 Memo, USD(P) to SecDef, “Somalia: The January 28 Principals Meeting,” 27 Jan 93, 

S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

50 Msg, USCINCCENT to Joint Staff, 292250Z Jan 93, C-OADR; Ltr, USCINCCENT to 

CJCS, 27 Jan 93, U, J-5 MEAF File. This withdrawal plan already had gone through revisions and would undergo more.

51 J-5 MEAF Information Paper, “US Logistics Support for UNOSOM II,” 7 Apr 93, 

S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. In preparation for the 28 Jan meeting, GEN Powell read J-5 

MEAF Talking Paper, “NSC PC Mtg on Somalia,” 28 Jan 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. It 

contained the views about UNOSOM II and the QRF that are outlined above. Msg, USLO 

Mogadishu to USCINCCENT et al., 311313Z Jan 93, C-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

52 Memo, DATP(NSA) to VCJCS et al., “Somalia Core Group-Taskings,” 8 Feb 93, 

S-OADR.

53 Memo, Exec Secy, State Dept. to Exec Secy, NSC, “Conclusions Reached at the February 

26 Interagency Working Group Meeting on Somalia,” 5 Mar 93, S-OADR; National Intelligence Council Memorandum, “Somalia: Searching for a Political Solution—the Next 24 

Months,” 22 Feb 93, S; J-5 MEAF File.

54 Howe had difficulty recruiting US personnel for his staff. He asked DoD for an officer 

who would serve as liaison with MG Montgomery, but no one was ever assigned. LTC 

Michael A. Sheehan, USA, interviewed by W. S. Poole, 20 Jul 95. The State Department 

also had difficulty in finding personnel to serve in Somalia.

55 J-5 MEAF Info Paper, “US Logistics Support for UNOSOM II,” 7 Apr 93, S-OADR, J-5 

MEAF File. LtGen Johnston, one month later, informed General Powell that twenty-six 
81

hundred logistic troops would be needed in UNITAF’s area of operations. Contractors 

were meeting other requirements.

56 MG Waldo Freeman, USA, interviewed by BG Armstrong and W. S. Poole, 17 July 2000. 

LTG McCaffrey, who was now Director, J-5, later recalled having pressed for a more powerful QRF: either a battalion task force with M1A1 tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles or 

an armored cavalry unit, as well as Apache attack helicopters. GEN Powell followed the 

normal practice of relying upon the unified commander to determine the composition of 

the force. MFR by BG Armstrong, “Phonecon with GEN Barry McCaffrey,” 5 Oct 95. 

57 PDD/NSC-6, “US Policy on Somalia,” 19 May 93, Att to SM-124-93 to CJCS et al., 24 

May 93, S. Two portions of PDD-6 took the Joint Staff by surprise: first, the QRF’s departure being made a matter for President Clinton’s decision; second, major redeployments 

being made a matter for approval by the Deputies Committee. COL Perry Baltimore, USA, 

J-5 MEAF, interviewed by W. S. Poole, 24 May 93. The QRF consisted of the 1st Battalion, 

22d Infantry Regiment; the 3d Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment; the 10th Forward Support Battalion (all from the 10th Mountain Division); and a Special Operations Command 

Element. Eight Cobra helicopter gunships stayed with the QRF.

58 Msg, USLO Mogadishu 151 to SecState, 24 Jan 93, C. ADM David Jeremiah, USN (Ret.), 

interviewed by Dr. Lorna Jaffe, 16 Jun 94. ADM Jeremiah telcon with W. S. Poole, 10 Oct 94.

Chapter 3

1

 According to MG Freeman, USCENTCOM saw the cantonment of weapons as a way to 

promote disarming without challenging the Somalis’ manhood. Howe broke the agreement between UNITAF and clan leaders by insisting upon inventory followed by confiscation. MG Freeman interviewed by BG Armstrong and W. S. Poole, 17 July 2000.

2

 MAJ Fred T. Pribble, USA, and Col James P. Terry, USMC, Chairman’s Legal Counsel, 

interviewed by W. S. Poole, 25 May 95. Telcon, VADM Frank P. Bowman with W. S. Poole, 

31 Aug 95. GEN Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), interviewed by BG David Armstrong, USA 

(Ret.), and W. S. Poole, 21 Feb 95. Mr. Lake later claimed that GEN Powell had approved 

the draft before it was sent to New York, but when Powell challenged that claim the NSC 

Staff specified only a telephone conversation with an unidentified Joint Staff officer.

3

 Msg, USCINCCENT to Joint Staff, 062345Z Jun 93, S; Ltr, Jonathan Howe to USYG 

Annan, 8 Jun 93, C, J-5 MEAF File. Howe did not provide a concept of operations.

4

 Memo, USCENTCOM J-3 to Joint Staff J-3, “U.S. Logistics Support for UNOSOM II,” 21 

Jul 93, S, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. III.” On 7 Jun, MG Montgomery 

sent USYG Annan an urgent request for fifteen items of riot and crowd control equipment. 

The UN asked the United States to supply six items. Five were sent; shipment of CS gas 

[tear gas] was delayed for legal review.

5

 Msg, SecState 176657 to USUN, 11 Jun 93, C, J-5 MEAF File; Memo, DCI Rep to JCS 

to CJCS et al., “COS Mogadishu Ops Report,” 9 Jun 93, S, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, 

Current Issues, Vol. I.” 

6

 FRAGO No. 43 by LTG Bir, 15 Jun 93, S; Msg, SecState 182748 to CJCS, 16 Jun 93, S, 

J-5 MEAF File; “USFORSOM After Action Report” by LTG Montgomery, Jun 94. Great 
82

care was taken to limit Somali casualties. Warnings were broadcast 15, 10 and 5 minutes 

beforehand; helicopter searchlights pinpointed the building that was targeted; and then 

20 mm. rounds were fired at the roof. MG Montgomery always submitted concept plans 

to USCINCCENT; the plans then went to Defense and State for review. LTG Thomas M. 

Montgomery, USA, interviewed by W. S. Poole, 21 Jun 95.

7

 Information Paper by COL Baltimore for DC Mtg on Somalia, 15 Jun 93, S; Washfax, 

State to J-5 et al., 21 Jun 93, C; J-5A 3205-95 to DJS, 22 Jun 93, C; Def Int Rpt, J-2 383-93, 

“Somalia: Situation Update,” 24 Jun 93, S; J-5 MEAF File CT. Soon afterward, COL Baltimore became MEAF Division Chief; Col Jeffrey A. Wall, USAF, succeeded him as Africa 

Branch Chief.

8

 Memo, “Somalia: Dealing with Aideed,” 12 Jul 93, S, J-5 MEAF File; Msg, 140139Z Jul 

93, C, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. III.” LTG Montgomery interviewed 

by W. S. Poole, 21 Jun 95. Several times, before 17 June, US helicopters had tracked Aideed and hovered above him. Telcon, ADM Jonathan Howe, USN (Ret), with W. S. Poole, 

3 Oct 95. Howe recalled that the idea of a reward originated with UNOSOM officers, 

mainly Americans, who argued that otherwise Somalis would not treat the arrest warrant 

seriously. Howe tried and failed to get US funds, then turned to UN headquarters. The 

SNA, meantime, was putting larger bounties upon the heads of Somalis who worked for 

UNOSOM. 

9

 LTC Michael A. Sheehan, USA, interviewed by W. S. Poole, 20 Jul 95. Montgomery 

made this statement on 3 July 1993. Next day, from Bangkok, LTC Sheehan sent the State 

Department a cable conveying this information. 

10 MG Waldo Freeman, USA (Ret), interviewed by BG Armstrong and W. S. Poole, 17 July 

2000. MG Patrick L. Hughes, USA, who in 1993 was USCENTCOM J-2, later recalled that 

General Hoar’s 1-in-4 estimate originated at a June meeting of USCINCCENT with his J-2 

and J-3. Hughes visited Mogadishu in July believing that Aideed could be captured. But 

then he went with a SEAL team into the heart of the city and met a “source” who had been 

a police chief under Siad Barre. An officer with considerable experience, Hughes felt that 

he had never encountered a man who was more brutal—and there were many Somalis like 

him. Hughes then decided that the odds of success were indeed only 1-in-4 and recommended against sending SOF. MG Hughes interviewed by BG Armstrong and W. S. Poole, 

17 Oct 95; Telcon, ADM Howe with W. S. Poole, 3 Oct 95.

11 Draft Memo, ASD(ISA) to SecDef, “Dealing with Aideed,” 28 Jun 93, S-OADR, J-3 JOD 

File, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. II”; Washington Post, 3 Apr 94, p. 12; Msg, USLO 

Mogadishu 1556 to SecState, 9 Jul 93, C; J-5 Form 136, “Options for Dealing with Aideed,” 

15 Jul 93, S-OADR; J-5, “Somalia Options Paper,” 17 Jul 93, S; Memo, LtCol Lilly to Chief, 

WHEM, J-3, “Somalia Game Plan and Options,” 22 Jul 93, U; Memo, Dir, J-5 to CJCS, 26 

Jul 93, S; J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. III.” Col Wahlquist’s Notebook, 

20 Jul 93; ADM David Jeremiah, USN (Ret), interviewed by Dr. Lorna Jaffe, 16 Jun 94; 

GEN Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret), interviewed by BG David Armstrong, USA (Ret) and W. 

S. Poole, 21 Feb 95.

12 The team’s final report is in Msg, USLO Mogadishu to SecState, 271112Z Jul 93, S, J-5 

MEAF File. See also Talking Points by COL Baltimore, “Somalia Round Table Discussion 

with SecDef,” 3 & 10 Aug 93, S, J-5 MEAF File.
83

13 GEN Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret), interviewed by BG David Armstrong, USA (Ret) and W. 

S. Poole, 21 Feb 95. The team, however, had come at Howe’s request. MG Freeman believed 

that its purpose, from the outset, was to justify sending SOF. MG Freeman Interview.

14 “Summary of Conclusions of Meeting of the NSC Deputies Committee” on 4 Aug 93, 

Att to Memo, Exec Secy, NSC to SJS et al., 10 Aug 93, S, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. IV.”

15 “Summary of Conclusions of Meeting of the NSC Deputies Committee,” 16 Aug 93, SOADR, J-5 MEAF File. Admirals Jeremiah and Bowman attended the meeting.

16 Memo, Dir, J-5, to VCJCS, “Plus-up for Egyptian Participation in UNOSOM II,” 17 Aug 

93, U; J-5A 04308-93 to VCJCS, 19 Aug 93, S-OADR; Msg, USDAO Cairo to Joint Staff, 

241555Z Aug 93, J-5 MEAF File; Msg, Pres Clinton to Pres Mubarak, 151719Z Sep 93, S, 

J-5 MEAF File.

17 GEN Powell Interview.

18 GEN Powell Interview; Washington Post, 3 Apr 94, pp. 10, 12 and 30 Jan 94, p. 13. Three 

force packages for Task Force Ranger were presented, each of which included AC-130s. 

The Commander in Chief, Special Operations Command, GEN Wayne A. Downing, USA, 

wanted AC-130s but believed that Task Force Ranger could perform its mission without 

them and did not press the matter. General Hoar judged AC-130s unnecessary, chiefly 

because of his concern over the collateral damage they could inflict. The Joint Staff also 

recommended against including AC-130s in the force package. Senate Armed Services 

Committee, “Review of ... the Ranger Raid,” pp. 28-31. GEN Powell, in an interview with 

BG Armstrong and W. S. Poole on 21 May 1996, said that he had no recollection of the 

AC-130 issue being brought to him. The Senate Report stated, without evidence, that he 

“evidently” recommended against including AC-130s.

19 Msg, USCINCCENT to CJCS, 202031Z Aug 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

20 New York Times, 28 Aug 93, pp. 1, 4.

21 “Summary of Conclusions of the Somalia Working Group’s Teleconference on September 2, 1993,” U; Talking Points by LTC Colvin, “J-4 Comments on Concept for Somalia 

National Police Force,” 1 Sep 93, U; Presidential Determination No. 93-43 to SecDef and 

SecState, 30 Sep 93, J-5 MEAF File.

22 “Detailed Rpt on 5 Sep 93 Incident at Checkpoint 42 in North Mogadishu,” 7 Sep 93 by 

LTC Oyinlola, U, Col Wahlquist File.

23 Msg, SecState 272687 to USLO Mogadishu, 5 Sep 93, S; Msg, USLO Mogadishu 1920 

to SecState, 6 Sep 93, S-OADR; Msgs, USCINCCENT to CJCS, 061735Z and 062030 Sep 

93, S-OADR; Msg, USCINCCENT to CJCS, 081632Z Sep 93, S, J-3 JOD File “Current 

Issues, UNOSOM II, Vol. V”; Senate Armed Services Committee Report, “Review of ... 

the Ranger Raid,” pp. 29-30. By this time senior American military officers did not hold 

Ambassador Gosende in high regard.

24 Memo, USD(P) to CJCS, 8 Sep 93, Att to Draft Memo, USD(P) to SecDef, “Somalia: 

Exploring a Political Settlement,” 8 Sep 93, S-OADR, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current 

Issues, Vol. II.” Evidently this draft never went to the Secretary of Defense.
84

25 USFORSOM After Action Report by MG Montgomery, Jun 94; ADM Jeremiah 

Interview.

26 Memo, Exec Secy, NSC to SJS et al., “Summary of Conclusions of Deputies Committee Meeting on Somalia, September 11, 1993,” 13 Sep 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File; Draft 

Memo, USD(P) to SecDef, “Toward a Strategy for Somalia,” 11 Sep 93, C, J-3 JOD File, 

“UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. VI.” The career UN staff in Mogadishu pursued a topdown approach of working with warlords to organize a power-sharing confederation. 

USFORSOM After Action Report by MG Montgomery, Jun 94, S.

27 Col Wahlquist’s Notebook, 9 Sep 93. Hoar also told Gosende that he felt 

the USLO was intruding into operational matters.

28 Letter, Ambassador Gosende to AsstSecState George Moose, 15 Sep 93, C. Subsequently, 

the USCENTCOM Chief of Staff told Gosende that limitations were imposed by Washington, not Tampa. Msg, USLO Mogadishu 2135 to SecState, 29 Sep 93, S.

29 Draft Memo, OASD(RSA) to USD(P) and SecDef, “Somalia Exit Strategy,” 16 Sep 93, 

S-OADR; Memo, Dir, J-5, to CJCS, 17 Sep 93, U, J-3 JOD File, ”UNOSOM II, Current 

Issues, Vol. VI.”

30 Msg, USLO 2055 Mogadishu to SecState, 18 Sep 93, C; Washington Post, 11 Nov 93, 

p. 39.

31 State Dept., “Draft Non-Paper: Somalia: Where Do We Go From Here?” n.d. (20 Sep 

93),” S; Memo by Vice Dir, J-2 (COL J. W. Pardew, USA), “Somalia,” 30 Sep 93, S; Ltr, 

UNSYG to SecState, 25 Sep 93, U, J-5 MEAF File. GEN Powell did not know about the 

State Department’s 20 September paper. US Senate Armed Services Committee Report, 

“Review of Ranger ... Raid,” p. 44.

32 Msg, USLO Mogadishu 2092 to SecState, 24 Sep 93, C; Msg, USLO Mogadishu 2135 to 

SecState, 29 Sep 93, S; Memo, USCINCCENT to GEN Powell, “Some Thoughts on Somalia,” 27 Sep 93, S, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues, Vol. VI.”

33 Msg, SecState 291176 to USLO Mogadishu, 23 Sep 93, C.

34 Memo, Dir, J-5, to CJCS, “US Forces Withdrawal Plan from Somalia,” 28 Sep 93, S, J-5 

MEAF File; NY Times, 30 Sep 93, p. 1.

35 US Senate Committee on Armed Services Rpt, “Review of Ranger Raid,” pp. 35, 44.

36 NY Times, 28 Sep 93, p. 1.

37 GEN Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret) interviewed by BG David A. Armstrong, USA (Ret) 

and W. S. Poole 21 May 1996; ADM Jeremiah Interview, 16 Jun 94.

38 Telcon Mr. Clark Murdock with W. S. Poole, 27 & 28 Apr 95.

39 Telcon, VADM Frank P. Bowman with W. S. Poole, 31 Aug 95.

40 Telcon, ADM Howe with W. S. Poole, 3 Oct 95. When MG Garrison read this passage, 

he commented that Howe “was not told by any members of Task Force Ranger that we 

were optimistic about getting Aideed.” Letter, USSOCOM Historian to JHO, 12 Feb 96. 

According to MG Hughes and MG Freeman, senior officers of Task Force Ranger contin-
85

ued displaying a “can-do” attitude, while higher levels in both Special Operations Command and USCENTCOM rated Aideed’s capture as possible but not necessarily probable. 

MG Hughes, 17 Oct 95, and MG Freeman, 17 Jul 2000, interviewed by BG David Armstrong and W. S. Poole.

41 Msg, COMUSFORSOMALIA to USCINCCENT, 141900Z Sep 93, S; Memo, USCINCCENT to CJCS, “Additional Forces,” 22 Sep 93, S, J-3 JOD File, “UNOSOM II, Current 

Issues, Vol. VI”; USFORSOM After Action Report by MG Montgomery, Jun 94, S; US Senate Armed Services Committee Report, “Review of the ... Ranger Raid,” pp. 25, 34. In LTG 

McCaffrey’s view, USCINCCENT had earlier constituted the primary opposition to placing armor in Mogadishu. BG Armstrong, MFR, “PHONECON with GEN Barry McCaffrey,” 5 Oct 95; Washington Post, 31 Oct 93, pp. 1, 5; GEN Powell Interview, 21 Feb 95.

42 A vivid account of the battle is given in Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down (NY, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1999). In his memoir, President Clinton states that “when I approved 

the use of U. S. forces to apprehend Aideed, I did not envision anything like a daytime 

assault in a crowded, hostile neighborhood. I assumed we would try to get him when he 

was on the move.... Apparently, that’s also what Colin Powell thought he was asking me 

to approve; when I discussed it with him after I left the White House..., Powell said he 

would not have approved an operation like that unless it was conducted at night. But we 

hadn’t discussed that, nor apparently had anyone else imposed any parameters on General 

Garrison’s range of options.” William J. Clinton, My Life (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), pp. 

552-553. 

43 ADM Jeremiah Interview, 16 Jun 94, U; “Completing the U.S. Mission in Somalia,” Att 

to Memo, Dir, J-5, to RADM Luecke, 3 Oct 93, S.

44 Telcon, Mr. Clark Murdock with W. S. Poole, 28 Apr 95.

45 COL Perry Baltimore, USA, interviewed by W. S. Poole, 28 Apr 95.

46 Testimony of Gen Joseph Hoar before the Senate Armed Services Committee, 13 Oct 

93, and of MG Thomas Montgomery and MG William Garrison, 12 May 94, U.

47 The Attorney General, at one point, indicated a belief that the fighting on 3 October 

constituted “hostilities” as defined by Section 5B of the War Powers Resolution. Earlier, 

the administration had reviewed issues associated with the Resolution and decided to 

institute periodic consultations with senior members of Congress. The Chairman’s Legal 

Counsel, Col James P. Terry, USMC, gave his opinion that the confrontation with Aideed 

was international police action analogous to the eradication of an international terrorist organization, a circumstance never held to equate to hostilities. Although this issue 

remained unresolved, the Legal Counsel’s position did attract a good deal of interagency 

support. Information Paper by Col Terry, “War Powers Issues—PRD 28,” 2 Sep 93, C; 

“Summary of Conclusions of Principals Committee Meeting on War Powers Issues,” 2 Sep 

93, Att to Memo, Exec Secy, NSC to SJS et al., 7 Sep 93, S; Memo, Col J. P. Terry, USMC, to 

DoD and CIA General Counsels, “Application of Section 5B of the War Powers Resolution 

to the Current Situation in Somalia,” 12 Oct 93, U.

48 MFR, “Phonecon with GEN Barry McCaffrey,” 5 Oct 95. The storage sites proved to 

be empty.
86

49 J-3 JOD Issue Paper, “U.S. Deployment Timelines,” 5 Oct 93, S; J-3, “Projected Force 

Options in Mogadishu,” n.d., S, J-3 JOD File. Telcons, LtCol Ritchie Lilly, USMC, 3 Oct 94 

and ADM David Jeremiah, 10 Oct 94 with W. S. Poole. In fact, a movement of one Marine 

Amphibious Ready Group had been planned. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1993, pp. 2023-2025. To implement new policies, Richard Clarke of the NSC Staff 

and James Dobbins of the State Department co-chaired a Somalia Coordination Committee that reported to the Deputies Committee.

50 Memo, Dir, J-5, to VCJCS, “Non-Paper: Completing the U. S. Military Mission in Somalia,” 8 Oct 93, U, Folder, “UNOSOM II, Current Issues,” Vol. VII, J-3 JOD File.

51 LTC Gordon Kennedy, USA, interviewed by W. S. Poole 14 Oct 94; “Logistics Transition 

Update,” 5 Nov 93, U; “Executive Logistic Talking Points, Executive Committee Meeting, 

5 Nov 93,” J-5 MEAF File; “Logistics Transition Update,” 6 Nov 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF 

File”; J-5 Issue Paper, “Somalia Update,” 2 Dec 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. Brown and 

Root used two hundred US civilians, mostly retired military personnel, and about two 

thousand Somalis.

52 Msg, USCINCCENT to COMUSFORSOMALIA, 152300Z Oct 93, S, J-5 MEAF File; 

MG Carl F. Ernst, USA, 17 Jan 95 and LTG Thomas M. Montgomery, USA, 21 Jun 95 

interviewed by W. S. Poole. Montgomery originally suggested that he be Commander, JTF 

Somalia, but USCINCCENT decided that would give him too many responsibilities.

53 “USCINCCENT Strategic Concept for the Redeployment of Forces from Somalia,” 9 

Nov 93, S, OPORD/USFORSCOM 2, 280758Z Nov 93, J-5 MEAF File; Msg, USLO Mogadishu 2364 to SecState, 29 Oct 93, C.

54 Talking Paper, “Somalia Executive Committee Teleconference,” 12 Nov 93, S-OADR, J-5 

MEAF File.

55 Msg, White House Situation Room to Joint Staff et al., 12 Nov 93, C; Memo, Richard 

Clarke to Somalia Exec Cmte, “Meeting on Tuesday, 16 March, 1:30 p.m.,” 13 Nov 93, 

S-OADR; J-5 Issue Paper, “US Policy on Somalia,” 15 Nov 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File. 

Ironically, UNOSOM reached its peak strength in mid-November: 29,732 from twentynine nations. The Commission of Inquiry finally would produce an ambiguous report that 

distributed blame fairly widely.

56 MG Carl F. Ernst, USA, 17 Jan 95 and LTG Thomas M. Montgomery, USA, 21 Jun 95 

inteviewed by W. S. Poole; Msg, USLO Mogadishu 2530 to SecState, 17 Nov 93, C, J-5 

MEAF File; MFR, Col Wahlquist to Amb Bogosian, n.d., C; Msg, USLO Mogadishu 2607 

to SecState, 26 Nov 93, C. JTF Somalia was dissolved on 17 January.

57 Memo, LTG Montgomery to BG Armstrong, 24 Apr 95, U.

58 Early in January, on the advice of a UN legal adviser, Secretary General Boutros-Ghali 

ordered the last eight prisoners released.

59 J-5 Talking Paper, “6 Dec 93 Somalia DC Mtg,” 6 Dec 93, S-OADR; Form 136 J-4 Action 

2121/430, 24 Nov 93, S-OADR, J-5 MEAF File.

60 Msg, SecState 387511 to USLO Mogadishu, 29 Dec 93, C.
87

61 USFORSOM After Action Report by MG Montgomery, Jun 94; J-3 Form 136, SJS 2121/ 

439, “US Force Presence in Somalia after 31 March 1994,” 27 Dec 93, C; Msgs, COMUSFORSOMALIA to USCINCCENT, 131700Z and 241000Z Dec 93, C, J-5 MEAF File.

62 Msg, USLO Mogadishu 261 to SecState, 6 Feb 94, C; Msg, Rabat 1271 to SecState et al., 8 

Feb 94, C; Msg, USLO Mogadishu 395 to SecState, 21 Feb 94, C. A Malaysian officer, Lieutenant General Aboo, had replaced Lieutenant General Bir as Force Commander on 20 

January. The Joint Staff opposed sending 258 trucks for the police, after learning that 267 

Toyotas already had been made available from UN stocks at Mogadishu. On 9 December, 

the Somalia Executive Committee overrode the Joint Staff ’s objections. Memo, Dir, DSAA, 

to DJS, 10 Dec 93, U; Form 136, J-5 2121/426-1, 14 Dec 93, C.

63 Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb 94, p. 7. Msg, USLO Mogadishu 540 to SecState, 8 Mar 94, C. Col 

Wahlquist’s Notebook, 12 & 13 Mar 94.
89

Index

3 October raid: 56–68, 85n42, n47

5 June attack: 63, 64

21 October Road: 43, 63–64

Abraham Lincoln, USS: 59

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: 31, 37

Aden: 24

Agency for International Development: 8, 

10, 11, 16, 49

Aideed, Mohammed Farah: 6, 15

and Addis Ababa accord: 42

arrest warrant for: 3, 45, 64, 82n8

and attacks on UNOSOM II forces: 2–3, 

41–42, 44–45, 46, 49

as central to conflict in Somalia: 44–47, 

51–52

declaration of cease-fire: 61

development of US policy regarding: 

3–4, 43–44, 51, 52, 53

emergence as a “winner”: 53, 64

forces in Mogadishu: 40, 41

and Nairobi accord: 67

and Pakistani troops: 2–3, 13, 15, 41–42

and UN peace process in Somalia: 43

UN Security Council actions regarding: 

42, 63

use of SOF to try to capture: 3–4, 43–44, 

46, 47, 48, 50, 52, 55–56, 70, 82n8, n10, 

84n40, 85n42, n47

Air Force, US: 24

Airborne Division (Air Assault), 101st: 

23–24

Aircraft

AC-130s: 83n18

C-5A used to transport foreign soldiers 

to Somalia: 11

C-130s used to airlift relief supplies: 1, 

9–10, 11, 12–13, 76n16, n18

C-141s used to transport foreign soldiers 

to Somalia: 11

C-141s used to deliver relief supplies: 

9–10, 76n16, n18

gunships: 42–43, 46, 48, 50, 54, 58, 

81n57

requests for attack helicopters: 42–43, 

81n56

staging and refueling areas for: 24

Airlift for foreign troops: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16

Annan, Kofi: 26, 32, 44, 45, 81n4

Anti-American sentiment among Somalis: 

34

Aspin, Les: 3–4, 33, 34, 52, 56, 58, 62

and exit strategy: 55

and policy regarding Aideed: 3–4, 45, 

46, 48

and role of Quick Reaction Force: 48–49

Assistant Secretary of Defense for 

International Security Affairs: 12

Ato, Osman: 56, 66

Australia: 30, 36, 41, 46

Azores: 24

Baidoa, Somalia: 11, 25, 26, 29, 44, 62–63, 

76n13

Bardera, Somalia: 15, 16–17, 25, 29, 67

Baledogle, Somalia: 25, 65

Baltimore, LTC Perry, USA: 7, 12, 18, 46, 

47, 82n7

Bangladesh: 61, 62

Baril, BG: 13

Barre, General Mohammed Siad: 5–6, 40, 

82n10

Belet Uen, Somalia: 10, 11, 25, 40

Belgium: 13, 15, 16–17, 28, 36, 40, 41, 48, 

67

Berger, Samuel: 34, 46

Bir, LTG Cevik: 36–38, 43, 46, 63, 87n62

Bogosian, Richard: 63, 64, 66
90

Botswana: 28

“Bottom up” approach to political 

reconciliation: 33–34, 35–36, 46, 51, 

53

Boutros-Ghali, Boutros

and Aideed: 45, 53

and deployment of UN troops: 8, 10

and detainees: 86n58

and disarmament of Somalis: 27

and logistic support contract: 60–61

options presented to the UN Security 

Council: 21, 28

and political reconciliation: 53

and proposed role of UNITAF: 2, 23

request for US transport for foreign 

troops: 13

and requests for SOF troops: 43–44

and UNOSOM: 8, 22

and UNOSOM II: 28, 29, 36–37, 43–44, 

47, 53

and US role in Somalia: 17, 20

Bowman, RADM Frank P.: 7, 10–11, 13, 

18, 26, 29–30, 42, 47, 55, 57, 76n16, 

83n15

Bray, LTC Robert, USA: 15

Brittain, LTC Frank, USA: 7, 16

Brown and Root: 60–61, 62, 86n51

Bush, George H. W.: 8, 9–10, 30

and decision to send US troops: 2, 7, 

19–20, 21, 23

and UNITAF: 29

Bush administration

and creation of a national police force: 

31

and foreign contributions to UNOSOM 

II: 30

Canada: 13, 28, 36, 40, 41, 51

Carrier battle group, proposed stationing 

off Mogadishu: 16

Casualties

Malaysian: 57

Moroccan: 44

Nigerian: 49

Pakistani: 2–3, 41, 50

Somali: 57, 81n6

US: 48, 50, 56, 57, 58, 69

Cease-fire: 62

Aideed unilateral announcement of: 61

US calls for: 52, 53–54, 59–60

Central Intelligence Agency, assessment of 

UN strategy: 15

Cheney, Richard (Dick): 2, 19, 21, 32–33

Chilcoat, BG Richard A., USA: 23–24, 

78n21

Christopher, Warren: 43–44, 53

Clan warfare: 5–6, 8

Clarke, Richard: 15, 63, 86n49

Clinton, William Jefferson: 19, 29, 56, 58

exit strategy: 4, 58–59, 60, 61, 64

and forces for UNOSOM II: 47, 61

and intelligence operations in Somalia: 

47–48

and US role in Somalia: 38–39, 47–48, 

59, 71

and US role in UNOSOM II: 34, 35, 38

and use of Special Operations Forces in 

Somalia: 38, 48, 85n42

Clinton administration: 39

assessment of UNOSOM II: 47

criticism from Congress: 54, 56, 58

failure to recognize UN weaknesses: 32, 

39, 40, 71

and need to remove Aideed: 48–49

and US role in Somalia: 54, 70, 85n47

Cohen, Herman: 8–9, 35

Colvin, COL James M., Jr., USA: 60

Command and control

of the Quick Reaction Force: 33, 38

for UNITAF troops: 28

for UNOSOM II: 34

of US forces for UNOSOM II: 34

Commander in Chief, US Central 

Command (USCINCCENT): 2, 19. 

See also Hoar, General Joseph; US 

Central Command.

and command of the Quick Reaction 

Force: 38

instructions to Montgomery: 61, 86n52

and plans for Operation PROVIDE 

RELIEF: 75n10

proposed courses of action: 17, 53–54, 

82n10, 85n41

warning orders to: 17, 21–22
91

Commercial contractors

contract with Brown and Root: 60–61, 

62, 86n51

costs: 60–61

proposed use for relief deliveries: 11, 12, 

76n16

US desire to use for logistic tasks: 47, 49, 

53, 57, 60

Defense, US Department of 

and costs of airlift relief supplies: 8

and funding for Operation RESTORE 

HOPE: 32–33, 80n44

and recruitment of foreign support for 

operations in Somalia: 22, 35

responsibility for airlift costs: 11, 13

supplemental appropriations request: 

32–33

Disarmament of Somalis

in “exclusion areas”: 26

failure of efforts: 39–40, 50

failure to carry out agreements on: 37

in Mogadishu: 26, 39–40, 50, 81n1

responsibility for: 22, 27, 37, 39–40

role of UNITAF in: 2, 26, 39–40, 81n1

UN desire for UNITAF role in: 26, 

27–28

UNOSOM II mandate to accomplish: 

36–37

Djibouti: 24–25, 43

Dobbins, James: 86n49

Downing, General Wayne A., USA: 83n18

Eagleburger, Lawrence: 20, 26

Egypt: 13, 17, 24, 28, 47, 48, 50, 57, 59, 

62–63, 67

Ellis, LTG James R., USA: 64

Empire State, SS: 65

Engineer Battalion, 43rd: 65

Engineers: 27

Eritrea: 47

Ernst, MG Carl F., USA: 61–62, 63, 64

Ethiopia: 5–6, 47, 64

Executive Committee on Somalia: 60, 63, 

65, 87n62

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961: 30–31

France: 28, 36, 38, 41, 44, 48, 67

French Foreign Legion: 24–25

Germany: 30, 31, 36, 67

Gialalassi, Somalia: 25, 62

Gosende, Robert: 37, 45, 46, 49, 52, 53, 58, 

63, 83n23, 84n27, n28

Goulding, Marrack: 11, 26, 30

Grove, Brandon: 26

Guam, USS: 21, 78n15

Habir Gidr sub-clan: 43, 44, 53–54, 57

Helicopters downed: 56–57

Hempstone, Smith: 7–8, 9, 12, 17, 69, 75n3

Hoar, General Joseph, USMC: 2, 9, 58

and detainees: 64

and Pakistani troops: 30–31

and political reconciliation: 53–54

proposed options for US role: 16, 17, 19, 

53–54, 70

and proposed withdrawal plan: 34–35, 

65

requests for troops for UNITAF: 24

and role of UNITAF in disarming 

Somalis: 2, 23, 27

and UNOSOM II: 38, 41–44, 48, 49–50, 

51–52, 53–54, 62, 84n27

and US troops for Somalia: 34, 55–56

and use of SOF to capture Aideed: 3, 45, 

47, 48, 82n10, 83n18

Houdek, Robert: 7, 15

Howe, Admiral Jonathan T., USN (Ret.): 

3, 12, 37, 41, 43, 44, 48, 55, 59–60, 63, 

66, 70, 80n54

and Aideed: 3, 45, 46, 49, 51–52, 82n8, 

84n40

and disarmament: 81n1

failure to offer concept of operations: 

46, 81n3

and need to create a national police 

force: 49, 65

and political reconciliation: 53

requests for SOF personnel: 43–44, 45, 

46, 83n13

requests for units and equipment: 43

Hughes, MG Patrick L., USA: 82n10, 
92

84n40

Humanitarian operations. See also Relief 

supplies.

confined to secure areas: 65

need to address political changes to 

accomplish: 18, 46, 51, 53–54

success of: 39, 63, 66–67, 69, 71

India: 28, 30, 36, 41, 47, 48, 50, 57, 62–63

Indonesia: 36

Intelligence operations, US: 47–48

Interagency working group on Somalia: 

35–36

International Committee of the Red Cross: 

6

Italy: 31–32, 36, 41, 44, 62, 67

Japan: 79n39

Jeremiah, Admiral David E.: 2, 7, 12, 13, 

34, 39, 58–59, 76n16, 77n13, 83n15

assessments of the situation in Somalia: 

11, 39, 40

and disarmament: 40

and need to define political objective: 

1–2, 12, 20, 51

and policy options: 18–19

and UN Security Council Resolution 

837: 3, 42

and UNOSOM II: 46, 47

Jess, Omar: 6

Johnston, LTG Robert B., USMC: 24–25, 

26, 28, 29, 32, 35, 38, 40, 80n55

Joint Chiefs of Staff: 1–2, 5, 35. See also

Joint Staff.

Joint Operational Planning and Execution 

System (JOPES): 25–26

Joint Special Operations Task Force: 

58–59

Joint Staff

and aircraft staging and refueling areas: 

24

and assessment of UN weaknesses: 33, 

71

and cost estimates: 7, 8

and creation of a national police force: 

31, 87n62

and effort to capture Aideed: 3, 45–46, 

57–58

and equipment for foreign troops in 

Somalia: 31

and logistic support for UNOSOM II: 

49

J-3 Joint Operations Division: 22

J-4 Logistics Readiness Center: 22, 49, 

65

J-5 Middle East–Africa Division: 22, 52, 

63, 65. See also Middle East–Africa 

Division.

and logistic support contract: 60–61

and need to define political goals: 2

and need to keep intervention brief: 39

and the Quick Reaction Force: 52

recommendation for withdrawal: 57

representatives sent to work with UN 

officials in New York: 29–30, 71

and response to June 1993 attack on 

Pakistani troops: 2–3

and review of offers of foreign support 

for UNOSOM II: 30

and UN Security Council Resolution 

837: 42

and UNOSOM II: 26–27, 43, 53, 63

and US transport for foreign troops: 13

and use of Task Force Ranger: 50, 83n18

wariness regarding involvement in 

Somalia: 7–8, 9, 20, 69–70

warning orders to USCINCCENT: 17

Joint Task Force Somalia: 24–25, 61–62, 

63–64, 86n52, n56

Jordan: 27, 30, 36

Judicial system for Somalia: 49, 57, 66

Kennedy, LTC Gordon, USA: 60

Kenya: 8, 11, 24, 67

Kirk, Bill: 66

Kismayo, Somalia: 16–17, 25, 26, 29, 40, 

65, 67

Kittani, Ismet: 13, 16, 31, 32, 37

Kuwait: 21, 27, 28

Lake, Anthony: 42, 81n2

Libutti, BG Frank, USMC: 75n10

Logistic support

for UNITAF troops: 28, 80n55
93

for UNOSOM: 3

for UNOSOM II: 33, 34, 35, 38, 39

Mahdi, Ali: 6, 16, 40, 64, 67

Malaysia: 57, 62, 87n62

Marine Amphibious Ready Groups

off Mogadishu: 11, 16, 18, 19, 43, 54, 59, 

86n49

proposed use as Quick Reaction Force 

for UNOSOM: 33

Marine Corps, US

forces for Somalia: 11, 24, 34–35, 66–67

units stationed off Mogadishu: 11

Marine Division, 1st: 23–24

Marine Expeditionary Forces, 1st: 24–25, 

26

Marine Expeditionary Unit: 24, 38, 46

McCaffrey, LTG Barry R., USA: 3, 20, 29, 

42, 45, 47, 48, 52, 54, 56, 58–60, 77n13, 

n14, 81n56, 85n41

Meade, BG David C., USA: 23–24, 78n21

Medics: 27

Mediterranean Sky, MV: 65

Middle East–Africa Division: 82n7

attitude toward State Department 

positions: 7, 9

cost estimates: 77n10

opposition to “points of security” 

strategy: 10

papers drafted for the NSC Deputies 

Committee: 9, 44, 80n51

PERT chart: 12, 18, 47, 51, 55

proposals for US role: 17–18

and proposed waiver of the Pressler 

Amendment: 31

and UNOSOM II: 27, 28–29, 33–34, 

64–65

Military Traffic Management Command: 

24

Mogadishu, Somalia

Aideed role in: 15, 41, 46, 47–48

arrival of US forces in: 24–25, 26

assessment of situation in: 19, 46, 63–64

attacks on US soldiers in: 48

Authorized Weapon Storage Sites: 41, 

81n1, 85n48

development of a police force in: 28

downing of US helicopters in: 56–57

foreign troops in: 11, 13, 15, 16, 24, 44, 

50, 62–64, 79n28

Marines stationed near: 11

Pakistani soldiers in: 11, 13, 15, 16, 24, 

79n28

proposals to send US troops to secure: 

17

relief supplies for: 15, 16

UNOSOM II force used against Somalis: 

44–45, 50

UNOSOM II mission in: 51

US assistance to UN officials in: 37, 46

US Liaison Office: 37, 45, 62, 63, 65–66, 

67, 84n27

use of port at: 65

weapons in: 26, 29, 39–40, 43–44, 50, 

81n1

Mombasa, Kenya: 8, 9, 24, 58, 65

Montgomery, MG Thomas M., USA: 37–

38, 58, 63, 66, 80n54

assessment of the situation: 41, 43–44, 

51

and control of the Quick Reaction Force: 

38

and downing of US helicopters: 56–57

and efforts to capture Aideed: 45–46, 

47, 56–58

Joint Chiefs of Staff instructions to: 42

and Joint Task Force Somalia: 61–62, 

64, 86n52

and requests for units and equipment: 

43, 55–56, 81n4

USCINCCENT instructions to: 61, 81n6

and withdrawal from Somalia: 65–67

Moose, George: 52

Morgan, General Hersi: 6, 16–17

Morocco: 27, 28, 36, 41, 43, 44

Mountain Division, 10th: 24, 25, 56–57, 

78n21, 81n57

Mubarak, Hosni: 47

Murdock, Clark: 55

Muslims: 41

Nairobi, Kenya: 67

Nation-building. See also Judicial system 

for Somalia; Police force for Somalia.
94

failure of effort: 51, 69

as UNOSOM mission: 22

UNOSOM II role in: 27, 34, 35, 39, 57, 

65, 84n26

National Command Authority: 24, 61

National Intelligence Council: 35

National Security Council

and allocation of airlift costs: 11

Core Group: 26, 28–29

Deputies Committee. See National 

Security Council Deputies Committee.

Principals Committee: 35

and proposed UN Security Council 

resolutions: 42

staff. See National Security Council staff.

tasking directives issued by: 58–59

and UNOSOM II: 26–27

and US transport for foreign troops: 13

National Security Council Deputies 

Committee

and command of US troops: 18

and creation of a national police force: 

31, 49, 66

and decentralization of UNOSOM II 

activities: 64–65

discussions of policy options: 1, 19, 33, 

34, 47, 48–49, 51, 54–55, 70

and failure to adequately communicate 

policy adjustments: 4, 57–58

inadequacies of policy development 

regarding Somalia: 4, 20, 70

members: 7

MEAF papers for: 9, 44

and need for greater UN security 

presence: 13

and need to capture Aideed: 3, 45–46, 

47, 51

and “points of security” strategy: 10, 11

and political reconciliation in Somalia: 

51

and post-withdrawal aid to Somalia: 66

and proposed shift to civilian carriers: 

12, 13

Somalia Coordination Committee: 

86n49

and UNOSOM II: 27, 37–38, 39

and withdrawal of US troops from 

Somalia: 39

National Security Council staff: 81n2

and decentralization of UNOSOM II 

activities: 64–65

and disarmament: 40

effect of distractions on Somalia policy 

development: 51

and effort to capture Aideed: 3, 46

Natsios, Andrew: 9, 10–11, 13, 16, 75n9

Navy, US

and funding for Operation RESTORE 

HOPE: 32

SEAL units: 24–25

units for Operation RESTORE HOPE: 

24

Nepal: 62

New Zealand: 30

Newton, LTC John, USAF: 7

Nigeria: 13, 17, 27, 30, 58, 62

Norway: 13

Oakley, Robert: 19–20, 23, 28, 31, 32, 35, 

37, 39, 40, 59–60, 63, 64, 65

Oddur, Somalia: 25

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense 

(Regional Security Affairs): 52, 66

Office of the Secretary of Defense: 7, 46

Olympic Hotel: 56

Oman: 24

Operation DESERT SHIELD: 78n25

Operation PROVIDE COMFORT: 9

Operation PROVIDE RELIEF: 9–10, 

75n10

Operation RESTORE HOPE: 23–26, 32–

33, 39, 69, 78n21

Pakistan: 2, 3, 30, 36, 41–42, 57, 59, 62–63, 

67

Pakistani troops

Belgian troops in support of: 16–17

June 1993 attack on: 2–3, 41

in Mogadishu: 11, 13, 16–17, 24, 30–31, 

41, 43–44, 57, 64, 79n28

role of: 41

for UNOSOM: 8, 11

for UNOSOM II: 41, 44

US support for: 8, 9, 10, 11, 24, 30–31
95

Perkins, Edward: 15, 16–17, 21–22

“Points of Security” strategy: 10, 12, 15

Police force for Somalia

Clinton administration focus on: 48–49, 

60

failure to establish: 37, 65, 66

responsibility for creating: 31–32, 35, 39

role of UNOSOM II in: 27, 34, 35, 57, 65

UNITAF role in: 28, 31, 34

as UNOSOM mission: 22

US trainers for: 31–32

US support for: 39, 49, 60, 65, 66, 87n62

Policy Coordinating Committee: 7, 8–9, 

10–11, 12, 15, 16, 55

Political goals, Joint Chiefs of Staff concern 

regarding the lack of: 1–2

Political reconciliation

Addis Ababa accords: 31, 37

agreement on transitional national 

council: 37

“bottom up” approach to: 33–34, 35–36

and decentralization of UNOSOM II 

activities: 64–65

post-withdrawal failure of: 66–67

as UNOSOM mission: 22, 33–34

as UNOSOM II mission: 46, 51, 52, 

59–60

US desire for UN to deal with: 18, 46

as US mission: 61

Powell, General Colin L., USA: 80n51, 

84n31

and Aideed: 45, 48, 70

and foreign troops: 30

and need for military intervention: 2, 

19–20, 69–70, 77n12

and need to define political goals: 2, 19

and UNITAF: 2, 23, 80n55, 81n56

and UN Security Council Resolution 

837: 3, 81n2

and UNOSOM II: 27, 30, 35, 37–38, 

41–42, 46, 49–50, 52, 54, 56

and UNOSOM II planning: 43–44, 46, 

48

and USCENTCOM mission: 23, 39, 40

and use of SOF personnel: 45, 48, 70, 

83n18, 85n42

warning orders to USCINCCENT: 17, 

21–22

Presidential decision directives

PDD-5: 54

PDD-6: 38, 81n57

PDD-25: 71

Pressler, Larry: 79n37

Pressler Amendment: 30–31

Program Evaluation and Review 

Techniques (PERT) chart: 12

and interconnectedness of relief and 

political issues: 18, 51

and UNOSOM II: 47, 51, 55

Public Law 103-50: 33

Quick Reaction Force

command and control of: 38

force protection role: 4, 52, 61

Pakistani forces for: 67

role of: 4, 52, 54, 56–57

for UNOSOM: 3, 81n56, n57

for UNOSOM II: 29, 33, 34, 35, 37–38, 

44, 48–49, 51, 52, 53, 56–57, 58–59, 

61–62

US desire to limit the role of: 51, 52, 53

US Marine Amphibious Ready Group 

as: 33

US Marine Expeditionary unit as: 38

use in efforts to capture Aideed: 45–46

“Radio Aideed”: 41, 43

Ranger, USS: 21

Ranger Regiment, 75th: 48, 53, 58, 61

Relief supplies. See also Humanitarian 

operations.

airlift of: 1, 7, 8, 9–10, 11, 12–13, 76n16, 

n18

coordination of shipments of: 10

cost estimates for airlift of: 7, 8, 11

estimates of troops needed to protect: 

12–13, 15

failure to reach the needy: 1, 16

foreign donors: 39

for Mogadishu: 15, 16

“points of security” strategy to protect 

distribution of: 10, 12, 15

security for distribution: 1, 21–23, 

61–62
96

Ryan, LTG Michael E., USAF: 47

Sahnoun, Mohammed: 6, 8, 13, 33

Saudi Arabia: 27, 28, 36, 62

Scowcroft, Brent: 21

Senegal: 15

Shalikashvili, General John M., USA: 61, 

62, 65, 66, 67

Shinn, David: 46, 47, 69–70

Sicily: 24

Slocombe, Walter: 67

Somali clans, attachment to weapons: 2

Somali National Alliance militia: 41, 43, 

44–45, 49, 63–64, 66, 82n8

Somali warlords, messages to regarding 

weapons: 26

Somalia

agreement to establish a transitional 

national council: 37

grants for local councils: 65

justice system for: 49, 57, 66

national police force. See Police force.

post-withdrawal aid to: 66

post-withdrawal deterioration of: 66–67

proposed UNOSOM II role in the north 

of: 27–28, 30

push for UN-sponsored trusteeship for: 

15

US refusal to deploy troops to northern 

areas of: 23, 26

Somalia Executive Committee: 60, 63, 65, 

87n62

Somalia Working Group: 7, 8, 49, 55

South Korea: 54, 59

Spain: 24

Special Envoy to Somalia: 23. See also

Gosende, Robert; Oakley, Robert.

Special Operations Forces, US 

Clinton position on the use of: 38

command and control role in UNOSOM 

II operations: 43–44

Howe’s requests for: 43

role in UNOSOM II operations: 43–44, 

70

units for Operation RESTORE HOPE: 

24

use of to capture Aideed: 3–4, 45–46, 

48, 70, 82n10, 83n13, n18, 84n40

State, US Department of

and Aideed: 3, 44, 45, 53

and aircraft staging and refueling in 

foreign countries: 24

and decentralization of UNOSOM II 

activities: 64–65

and development of Somalia policy: 9

failure to plan for contingencies: 51

and Pakistani contributions: 30–31

personnel in Somalia: 80n54

and “points of security”: 10

and political reconciliation role for 

UNOSOM II: 53

proposed use of US troops to guard food 

distribution facilities: 1

and recruitment of foreign support for 

operations in Somalia: 35

responsibility for airlift costs: 11, 13

Security Council resolutions proposed 

by: 21, 22, 26–27, 80n46

and US role in disarmament: 28

and US transport for foreign troops: 13

Starvation

brought under control: 39, 63

efforts to avert: 1, 5, 6–10, 16, 39

Stettinius, Comdr. William, USN: 66

Sullivan, General Gordon R.: 56

Sweden: 30

Tanks

Pakistani: 57, 58

requests for: 4, 42–43, 55–56, 58, 63

Tarnoff, Peter: 46

Task Force Ranger: 48, 49, 50, 53, 56–57, 

61, 83n18, 84n40

Terry, COL James P., USMC: 85n47

Time-Phased Force Deployment Data: 

25–26

Timelines assumed for US military 

planning: 18, 21, 33

Transportation problems: 25–26

Tripoli, USS: 21, 78n15

Truck convoys: 10, 11, 12, 13

Tunesia: 30, 67

Turkey: 27, 28, 30, 36, 67
97

Unified Task Force (UNITAF)

command and control for foreign 

troops: 28

costs of: 32–33

foreign troops for: 24, 28, 30–31, 32, 36, 

80n55

mission: 2, 23

relationship with UNOSOM: 22, 23, 

28–29

relationship with UNOSOM II: 27–28, 

29, 30

role in disarmament: 26, 27–28, 39–40, 

81n1

success of: 2, 39

transfer of responsibilities to UNOSOM 

II: 2, 3, 28–29, 32–38, 39

troops for: 23, 28, 32, 33, 34–35

US logistic support for: 28, 80n55

United Arab Emirates: 27, 30, 62

United Kingdom: 46

United Nations

Contracts Committee: 61

credibility of peacekeeping operations: 

15, 20, 33, 45, 63, 71

Department of Peacekeeping 

Operations: 60

dependence on US logistical support: 39

failure to respond to Clinton’s 

announcement of a US withdrawal 

deadline: 60

inability to support UN operations in 

Somalia: 29–30, 32, 33, 35, 40

inadequacy of efforts in Somalia: 4, 5, 52

informed of US willingness to lead 

military operations: 20

Joint Staff contingents sent to work at 

Force Command headquarters: 29–30, 

35

and logistic support contract: 60–61

“points of security” strategy: 10–11, 15

Secretariat’s lack of clear plans for action 

in Somalia: 16–17

understaffing of Force Command 

headquarters: 40

US care to avoid indicating willingness 

to fund missions: 12–13

US equipment leased to for use in 

Somalia: 31

US funding for peacekeeping operations: 

6–7

United Nations Charter

Chapter VI: 80n46

Chapter VII: 34, 36–37, 78n18, 80n46

United Nations Operations in Somalia 

(UNOSOM)

command of: 22, 23

mission: 22, 23

Quick Reaction Force for: 3, 81n56, n57

relationship to UNITAF: 2, 3, 22, 23, 

28–29

staffing of headquarters of: 3

troop strength: 8, 10, 21, 22, 23

troops comprising: 8, 23, 79n28

US logistic support for: 3

United Nations Operations in Somalia II 

(UNOSOM II)

animosity of Somali factions toward: 41, 

44–45, 50

assessment of threats facing: 41, 42, 63

command and control: 29, 30, 34, 35, 

43–44, 49–50, 62

commander: 30, 34, 36–37, 66, 70–71, 

87n62

decentralization of activities: 64–65

detainees: 86n58

and efforts to capture Aideed: 43–44, 

50, 82n8

failure after withdrawal of US troops: 

66–67, 70–71

failure to create an effective police force: 

66, 70

foreign troops for: 30–31, 32, 36, 41, 43, 

44, 47, 48, 54, 57, 59, 62–63, 86n55

headquarters: 64–66

Logistic Support Center: 66

nation-building role: 39, 69, 70, 84n26

need for a stronger UN mandate for: 

26–27, 28, 35, 36–37, 80n46

need to integrate political, humanitarian, 

and military roles: 46, 51, 53–54

and northern Somalia: 30

and political reconciliation: 51–52, 63

proposed US contributions to: 27, 29, 

30, 32, 33, 34–35, 36, 37–38
98

prospective views of effects of US 

withdrawal on: 54

Quick Reaction Force for: 29, 33, 34, 35, 

37–38, 44, 46, 48–49, 51, 52, 54, 56–57, 

58–59, 61–62

relationship with UNITAF: 27–28, 29, 

30

requests for US equipment to support: 

42–43, 81n4

role in disarmament: 36–37

siege mentality: 46

SOF role in: 43–44, 47

strains among contributors: 41, 46, 

70–71

success of: 63, 70–71, 86n55

troop strength: 27, 29, 67, 86n55

UN planning for: 30, 34, 43, 70–71

UN support for: 35, 40, 52, 70–71

US assessments of: 46, 49–50, 51–52, 63, 

64, 66–67, 70–71

US contributions to: 39, 42–43, 55–56, 

58–59, 61–62, 66–67

US draft resolution regarding: 26–27

US equipment for: 43, 47, 60–61, 63

US logistic support for: 33, 34, 37–38, 

39, 43, 47, 49, 57, 58–59, 60–61, 62

US personnel assigned to staff: 65–66, 

70, 80n54

United Nations Security Council

and Aideed: 42

Commission of Inquiry (on the 5 June 

attack): 63

options presented to by Boutros-Ghali: 

21

proposed “all necessary measures” 

resolution: 9, 10, 42, 80n46

Resolution 751: 6

Resolution 775: 10, 13, 26

Resolution 794: 22

Resolution 814: 36–37, 52, 70

Resolution 837: 3, 41–42, 45

Resolution 886: 63

UN Somalia Trust Fund: 31, 79n39

US Army forces for Somalia: 24, 25, 34–35

US Central Command

and armored forces for Somalia: 38

and foreign support for UNOSOM II: 

30

mission: 23, 24, 55

proposed options for US role: 16

and Quick Reaction Force for UNOSOM 

II: 33, 38, 51–52

support for UNITAF troops: 28, 81n1

timeline for Operation RESTORE 

HOPE: 25

and UNOSOM II mission: 52

US Congress

calls for withdrawal from Somalia: 48, 

49, 54, 58

influence on Somalia policy: 49, 50, 53, 

54, 56, 59

and troops for UNOSOM II: 50

US Foreign Service officers in Mogadishu: 

37

US Liaison Office, Mogadishu: 37, 45, 62, 

63, 65–66, 67, 84n27

US Logistical Support Command: 62

US policy, development of: 1, 4, 5, 7–10, 

19–20, 35–37

effect of distractions on: 51

exit strategy: 55, 58–62

failure to define objectives: 12

inconsistencies in decisions: 54–55

Jeremiah’s evaluation of options: 12, 

18–19, 20, 58–59

and mission creep in Somalia: 47–51

push for UN to emphasize political 

strategy: 52–57

role of public opinion in: 1, 7, 9, 19, 20, 

50, 53, 58

role of the Deputies Committee in: 19, 

33, 34, 47, 48–49, 51, 54–55

role of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in: 1–4, 

9, 19–20

US Senate Armed Services Committee: 58, 

83n18

US Transportation Command: 24, 25–26

Van Esselstyn, LTC David, USMC: 7, 8

Vietnam War, effect of the experience of 

on military thinking about Somalia: 1

Wahlquist, LTC John, USAF: 7, 18, 37, 

76n16
99

Wajir, Kenya: 8, 9–10

Wall, COL Jeffrey A., USAF: 82n7

Warlords, failure to negotiate in good faith: 

37

Warning orders to USCINCCENT: 17, 

21–22

Weapons

in Mogadishu: 26, 29, 39–40, 43–44, 50, 

81n1

and Somali clans: 2

storage of heavy weapons in 

cantonments: 2, 26, 28, 29, 81n1

“technicals”: 29

Wisner, Frank: 12, 17, 29, 34, 46, 50, 56

Withdrawal of US troops from Somalia: 

65–67

call for by General Powell: 56

calls for by the Joint Staff: 57

congressional calls for: 48, 49, 54, 56

Deputies Committee review of: 39

Joint Task Force Somalia preparations 

for: 61–62, 64

planning for: 34–35

USCINCCENT plan for: 62

Wolthuis, Robert: 9

Woods, James: 7

Zimbabwe: 28, 67
Security

Options

Political

Actions

UNOSOM II St

Decision Points/ Follow 

Passage of 

UNOSOM II 

Resolution

Food Lift Feed 

Population

Feed

Population

Pop. Fed

Port Security Food Security 

Port Security Food Security

Regional

Administration

Regional

Recon.

Humanitarian 

Actions

YES

YES

YES YE

YE

YES 

YES

YES

YES YES

YES 

NO

NO

NO 

inadequate

UN guards

local hires

select alt. port

NO conduct

negotiations

reward cooperation

bolster Sahnoun

NO invole

third parties

-regional treaties

est. schools, police

basic services

NO

increase guards

-use force

adequate

increase

operatoins

-press PVOs 

intn’l community

improve

distro network

reconsid

options

NO

change ROE

NO 

Distribution

Network

Accomplished

In Progress