num_pages: 191
description: The United States intervention in Somalia in 1992, on humanitarian grounds, is very relevant today as we witness the events unfolding in Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The Kurds, a people without a homeland, is also central to the problem that seem insolvable at this time. In the current situation the U.S involvement is not altogether altruistic. There is genuine concern to protect this country and its people from the threat posed by those who would destroy our way of life. This does not, of course, take away from a desire to render humanitarian assistance to those in need. In the Somali context, the United States intervention was implemented to alleviate the suffering of the Somali people. In the end, the intervention failed because of bureaucratic ineptitude on the part of the International Community. The U.S military was tasked with the responsibility of bringing some level of stability to a war torn country. However the mission failed because the equipment the military needed to carry out its mandate was refused by the bureaucrats in Washington.   Tony Dillett is on a humanitarian mission with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia in 1992-1993. It is an extremely dangerous assignment. The civil war that ended in January 1991, left a vacuum in which anarchy reigned supreme. The population is being decimated by a famine that would eventually claim the lives of some 350,000 Somalis. The United Nations Security Council establishes the United Nations Office in Somalia (UNOSOM) in April 1992. Pakistani Peacekeepers form part of UNOSOM’s mandate and try to stem the violence, but are unable to do so. Just before leaving office, President George H W Bush intervenes in Somalia on humanitarian grounds. The first contingent of US forces, that would eventually total 25,000, arrives in Somalia January 9, 1993 and the security situation improves. However, after his inauguration in January 1993, President Bill Clinton announces a reduction in the number of soldiers to 1,200 by May 1993. The planned reduction emboldens the warring factions to resume attacks on each other and US forces. On June 5, 1993 twenty-four Pakistani Peacekeepers are killed by General Mohamed Farrah Aidid’s militia. US Rangers are deployed to capture Aidid. On August 30, 1993, Tony's residence is mistakenly attacked by the Rangers, he is assaulted and subsequently suffers from PTSD. He is in Mogadishu during the "Black Hawk Down" incident. He learns afterwards that armored vehicles and Bradley tanks, requested by Officers commanding the troops, were not approved by the bureaucrats in Washington, placing the troops at risk. Tony is in Nairobi in mid-November 1993, where he becomes ill and is diagnosed with a virulent strain of typhoid fever. Providentially his wife, Raquel, is with him one night as he goes into shock and would have died but for her decisive action. Raquel takes Tony to New York where he is also diagnosed with an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm. Tony's doctor tells Raquel that she should pray for divine intervention because the combined medical skills at Lenox Hill Hospital cannot save his life…
language: English
title: An Unexpected Journey: Somalia 1992-1993