“My Clan Against the World”: U.S. and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994

“My Clan Against the World”: U.S. and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994
Author :
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Total Pages : 234
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781437923087
ISBN-13 : 1437923089
Rating : 4/5 (87 Downloads)

Synopsis “My Clan Against the World”: U.S. and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994 by :

This study examines the American military's experience with urban operations in Somalia, particularly in the capital city of Mogadishu. That original focus can be found in the following pages, but the authors address other, broader issues as well, to include planning for a multinational intervention; workable and unworkable command and control arrangements; the advantages and problems inherent in coalition operations; the need for cultural awareness in a clan-based society whose status as a nation-state is problematic; the continuous adjustments required by a dynamic, often unpredictable situation; the political dimension of military activities at the operational and tactical levels; and the ability to match military power and capabilities to the mission at hand.

‘Mission Creep’: A Case Study In U.S. Involvement In Somalia

‘Mission Creep’: A Case Study In U.S. Involvement In Somalia
Author :
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages : 98
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781782895169
ISBN-13 : 1782895167
Rating : 4/5 (69 Downloads)

Synopsis ‘Mission Creep’: A Case Study In U.S. Involvement In Somalia by : Major Michael F. Beech

This monograph explores the problem of mission creep. The trend toward ethnic and regional unrest has characterized the world security environment since the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The U.S. has struggled to find its place in the new world order. As a result US military forces have increasingly found themselves involved in various operations other than traditional warfare. Often the political aims of these operations are difficult to identify and translate into military operational objectives and end states. Worse yet, the political aims themselves are prone to rapidly shift and evolve from those originally intended, leaving the military commander the difficult task of catching up with policy or even guessing at the political objectives. This uncertain environment sets the conditions for the delinkage between the political goal and military operations which may result in disaster. The monograph examines US operations in Somalia to provide the data for the analysis in order to determine the factors which contribute to mission creep. Examining US-Somalia policy from 1992 (Operation Restore Hope) to Oct. 1993 (United Nations Operations in Somalia II) this monograph analyses the evolution of national policy objectives and the military and political operations undertaken to achieve those objectives. An analysis of operational and tactical objectives and end states as well as military methods determines the factors which contributed to the failed US involvement in UNOSOM II. In addition, the monograph identifies the Somali geo-political, historical, cultural, and economic factors which influenced US operations. This monograph concludes that contradictory and uncoordinated national strategy and political policy resulted in poor operational planning and execution. There were also significant factors at the operational level which contributed to the failed US intervention.

Mogadishu!

Mogadishu!
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages : 145
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780275971595
ISBN-13 : 0275971597
Rating : 4/5 (95 Downloads)

Synopsis Mogadishu! by : Kent DeLong

Every American should read this book in order to gain a clear insight about military combat and war. From the foreword by Ross Perot Recommended for readers who enjoy suspenseful accounts of close combat. Publishers Weekly Most Americans remember...the two troubling televised images that follwed [the operation]....But there is more about that day that is told in this book and that should be known by Americans. The Wall Street Journal Among America's clearest memories of ongoing conflict in Somalia will certainly be the swollen, bloodied face of helicopter pilot Michael Durant, displayed on the international television news reports after his capture in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993. While the failed mission leading to Durant's imprisonment captured the rage and anguish of the world, few Americans truly understood how many U.S. Army Ranger compatriots shared Durant's fortitude and courage there. Indeed, Durant was only one member of the elite Task Force Ranger Regiment deployed to apprehend Mohammed Farrah Aidid, Somailia's most powerful warlord on the fateful October day. Here is the little-known story of the 15 fierce, deadly hours of fighting that followed the Americans tightly calibrated attempt to target Aidid. Moment by moment, Mogahishu! recounts how this mission, intended to deflate the heart of Somali resistance, became instead a tragic showcase for the heroism and breathtaking self-sacrifice of the American servicement--and the catalyst of U.S. withdrawal of peacekeeping troops. Mogadishu! reveals while the operation produced on the most decorated military units in American history, it cost 18 of America's best-trained servicemen their lives. Using rare testimony from other military personnel, Kent DeLong offers the first complete account of how these Americans died, not for glory but for each other, far from their loved ones in a God-forsaken place called Mogadishu.

United States Special Operations Forces

United States Special Operations Forces
Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Total Pages : 490
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780231545228
ISBN-13 : 0231545223
Rating : 4/5 (28 Downloads)

Synopsis United States Special Operations Forces by : Christopher J. Lamb

In this book, two national-security experts put the exploits of America’s special operation forces in historical and strategic context. David Tucker and Christopher J. Lamb offer an incisive overview of America’s turbulent experience with special operations. Starting with in-depth interviews with special operators, the authors illustrate the diversity of modern special operations forces and the strategic value of their unique attributes. Despite longstanding and growing public fascination with special operators, these forces and their contribution to national security are poorly understood. With this book, Tucker and Lamb dispel common misconceptions and offer a penetrating analysis of how these unique and valuable forces can be employed to even better effect in the future. The book builds toward a comprehensive assessment of the strategic utility of special operations forces, which it then considers in light of the demands of future warfare. This second edition of United States Special Operations Forces, revised throughout to account for lessons learned in the twelve years since its first publication, includes two new case studies, one on High Value Target Teams and another on Village Stability Operations, and two new appendixes charting the evolution of special operation missions and the best literature on all aspects of U.S. special operation forces.

Me Against My Brother

Me Against My Brother
Author :
Publisher : Psychology Press
Total Pages : 404
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0415930634
ISBN-13 : 9780415930635
Rating : 4/5 (34 Downloads)

Synopsis Me Against My Brother by : Scott Peterson

American journalist Scott Peterson describes the violent events that have torn apart Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda during the 1990s, including the involvement of the U.S.

Somalia Operations

Somalia Operations
Author :
Publisher : National Defense University (NDU)
Total Pages : 113
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0160455774
ISBN-13 : 9780160455773
Rating : 4/5 (74 Downloads)

Synopsis Somalia Operations by : Carl Kenneth Allard

The American mission in Somalia presented the U.S. forces with a variety of difficult operational challenges as they tried to bring peace to a country ravaged by natural and man-made disasters. The author has taken the essential first step by identifying and articulating the hard lessons of Somalia with candor and objectivity.

Urban Battlefields

Urban Battlefields
Author :
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Total Pages : 408
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781682476314
ISBN-13 : 1682476316
Rating : 4/5 (14 Downloads)

Synopsis Urban Battlefields by : Gregory Fremont-Barnes

Urban Battlefields: Lessons Learned from World War II to the Modern Era offers a detailed study of the complexities of urban operations, demonstrating through historical conflicts their key features, the various weapons and tactics employed by both sides, and the factors that contributed to success or failure. Urban operations are a relatively recent phenomenon and an increasingly prominent feature of today’s operational environment, typified by on-going fighting in Syria and Iraq. Here, Gregory Fremont-Barnes has enlisted ten experts to examine the key elements that characterize this particularly costly and difficult method of fighting by focusing on notable examples across the modern era. He covers their nineteenth-century roots, and follows with case studies ranging from major conventional formations to counterinsurgency and civil resistance. The contributors analyze the distinct features of urban warfare, which separate it from fighting in open areas, particularly the three-dimensional nature of the operating environment. These include: the restricted fields of fire and view; the substantial advantages conferred on the defender as a result of concealed positions and ubiquitous cover; the often- abundant presence of subterranean features including cellars, tunnels, and drainage and sewer systems; and the recurrent problems imposed by snipers holding up the progress of troops many times their number. Further, the authors consider how the presence of civilians may influence the rules of engagement and also may provide an advantage to the defender. Urban Battlefields illustrates why warfare in metropolises can be protracted and costly. It also illustrates why modest numbers of soldiers, militia, or insurgents with nothing more than shoulder-borne anti-tank weapons or ground-to-air missile systems, small arms, and improvised explosive devices can drastically reduce the effectiveness of much better disciplined, trained, and armed adversaries. Furthermore, it explains how those short-term advantages can be neutralized and ultimately overcome.

Gothic Serpent

Gothic Serpent
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages : 180
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781780964324
ISBN-13 : 1780964323
Rating : 4/5 (24 Downloads)

Synopsis Gothic Serpent by : Clayton K. S. Chun

This book tells the story of Task Force Ranger – a unit of US Rangers and Special Forces – and their attempt to capture the lieutenants of the Somali warlord Muhamed Farrah Aideed, during the 1993 United Nations' humanitarian relief mission. What started as a simple snatch-and-grab mission quickly degenerated into a desperate battle for survival when US Black Hawk helicopters were struck by rocket-propelled grenades and crashed into the streets of Mogadishu. Racing to save the crew, Task Force Ranger was surrounded by mobs of hostile Somali gunmen. The battle in the city raged all night as the better-equipped and better-trained US forces kept the nearly overwhelming numbers of Somalis at bay. Finally, battered, bloodied, and low on ammunition, the Task Force was rescued by a combined UN and US relief force and extracted to safety. Containing detailed maps and declassified information, this is a dramatic retelling of a brutal battle that had a far-reaching impact on US military policy.

The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations

The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations
Author :
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Total Pages : 945
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780191509537
ISBN-13 : 0191509531
Rating : 4/5 (37 Downloads)

Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations by : Joachim Koops

The Oxford Handbook on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations presents an innovative, authoritative, and accessible examination and critique of the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Since the late 1940s, but particularly since the end of the cold war, peacekeeping has been a central part of the core activities of the United Nations and a major process in global security governance and the management of international relations in general. The volume will present a chronological analysis, designed to provide a comprehensive perspective that highlights the evolution of UN peacekeeping and offers a detailed picture of how the decisions of UN bureaucrats and national governments on the set-up and design of particular UN missions were, and remain, influenced by the impact of preceding operations. The volume will bring together leading scholars and senior practitioners in order to provide overviews and analyses of all 65 peacekeeping operations that have been carried out by the United Nations since 1948. As with all Oxford Handbooks, the volume will be agenda-setting in importance, providing the authoritative point of reference for all those working throughout international relations and beyond.