Black Hawk Down And It's Lessons 20 Years Later

Black Hawk Down: 20 Years Later -- Dustin Walker, Real Clear World

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of a tragic episode in American military history popularly known as “Black Hawk Down.” Twenty years later, a small mission to capture two lieutenants of an obscure warlord in a little-known desert capital has become one of the most famous battles in American history, immortalized by author Mark Bowden and filmmaker Ridley Scott.

On October 3, 1993, 160 U.S. Army Rangers and other special operators in Task Force Ranger launched a raid into the heart of Mogadishu’s Bakaara Market to capture two subordinates of the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. A routine mission was transformed into a desperate search and rescue attempt as an angry mob composed of thousands of heavily armed militiamen tried to swallow up the remains of two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters shot down providing air support. American troops, who had not seen this kind of fierce urban combat in more than a generation, battled through the night to save their brothers.

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More News On Remembering Black Hawk Down

Remembering 'Black Hawk Down', Somali leader vows never again -- Global Post/AFP
Fallout from Somalia still haunts US policy 20 years later -- Stars and Stripes
Return to Mogadishu: Former Army ranger revisits ‘Black Hawk Down’ 20 years later -- Yahoo News
Return to Mogadishu: Retired Army Ranger Revisits Black Hawk Down 20 Years Later -- ABC News
Never-before-seen military footage of "Black Hawk Down" -- CBS
20 Years After Black Hawk Down -- Heritage Foundation