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Black Hawk Down
Apr. 27th, 2008 06:08 pmThe following is a rather lengthy entry, part book review, part history lesson, part reflection, about modern warfare and the US as a military power. It's relevant not only to the Iraq war but also the situation in Darfur. Because as Santayana said, those who don't study the past...
I just finished reading Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. The book is about the largely-overlooked Battle of Mogadishu (The Battle of the Black Sea), which happened in 1994--my senior year in high school. The battle took place just a couple of weeks before my seventeenth birthday, and the majority of the men participating in that battle were very close to my age.
( Background )
( 3-4 October 1994, or 'Fuckin' Irene' )
( Casualties and Resolution )
A couple of years ago I had a discussion with someone who was all worked up about Rwanda and couldn't understand why the US didn't do anything to stop the genocide there. I tried to tell her about Somalia, but she didn't seem to get it. In his epilogue, Mark Bowden speaks to the impact of Somalia as well--the lessons to be taken away, and the questions it raises.
( The impact of Somalia )
I don't have any answers to the predicament of being American. I know it often gets us looked on with scorn, hatred, or annoyance. I know we're often perceived as being arrogant. And sometimes it does feel arrogant to say that we should go and plant little mini-Americas, complete with Jeffersonian democracy, in cultures that aren't used to operating that way. But don't we have a responsibility to keep people from brutally murdering each other? Shouldn't we protect the Kurds from Saddam? Shouldn't we stop the brutality in Darfur?
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
The book itself was a fascinating, well-written, riveting account of the battle, and Bowden received a great deal of cooperation from those involved while writing it. He has been overwhelmed with thanks from the soldiers who were there, and has spoken to elite military groups across the US, as well as the CIA. Just the fact that I read a non-fiction book of 430+ pages in less than a week says a lot about the quality of writing and the level at which it engages you. Of course, it also helped that it was a battle I remember taking place, and spawned a movie that I've seen more than once. In any case, I would highly recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in military history, US foreign policy, or Africa.
I just finished reading Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. The book is about the largely-overlooked Battle of Mogadishu (The Battle of the Black Sea), which happened in 1994--my senior year in high school. The battle took place just a couple of weeks before my seventeenth birthday, and the majority of the men participating in that battle were very close to my age.
( Background )
( 3-4 October 1994, or 'Fuckin' Irene' )
( Casualties and Resolution )
A couple of years ago I had a discussion with someone who was all worked up about Rwanda and couldn't understand why the US didn't do anything to stop the genocide there. I tried to tell her about Somalia, but she didn't seem to get it. In his epilogue, Mark Bowden speaks to the impact of Somalia as well--the lessons to be taken away, and the questions it raises.
( The impact of Somalia )
I don't have any answers to the predicament of being American. I know it often gets us looked on with scorn, hatred, or annoyance. I know we're often perceived as being arrogant. And sometimes it does feel arrogant to say that we should go and plant little mini-Americas, complete with Jeffersonian democracy, in cultures that aren't used to operating that way. But don't we have a responsibility to keep people from brutally murdering each other? Shouldn't we protect the Kurds from Saddam? Shouldn't we stop the brutality in Darfur?
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War
The book itself was a fascinating, well-written, riveting account of the battle, and Bowden received a great deal of cooperation from those involved while writing it. He has been overwhelmed with thanks from the soldiers who were there, and has spoken to elite military groups across the US, as well as the CIA. Just the fact that I read a non-fiction book of 430+ pages in less than a week says a lot about the quality of writing and the level at which it engages you. Of course, it also helped that it was a battle I remember taking place, and spawned a movie that I've seen more than once. In any case, I would highly recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in military history, US foreign policy, or Africa.
