What were you doing on October 3, 1993? I was watching TV with my parents while 120 elite American troops were engaged in the hornet’s nest called central Mogadishu. What a battle that was, as the Somalian militia overcame inferior training and weapons with numbers and determination to really give the Americans a run for their money. It goes to show that it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog. Over 1,000 Somalians were killed versus 19 American dead and 84 wounded. That’s a casualty rate of over 85%! Not bad a for a third-world shit hole of a country. Some of the participants commented on how accurately the movie depicted the battle. All I can say is that I am damn proud to be an American after seeing that movie. I am proud we have such souls of valor protecting us. I saw a telecast in which former President Bill Clinton said “I gave the Congressional Medal of Honor (the highest award an American serviceman can receive in battle) to a bunch of them, because they were just unbelievable. I mean they were unreal.” Perhaps none were more unbelievable than the two snipers who volunteered to go and defend the crew of a downed helicopter. Two men versus two hundred, but they fought hard taking out at least 50 of those trying to kill the injured pilots. That is heroism at its finest. Operation Restore Hope was about taking the tyrannical regime led by Mohammed Farah Aidid out of power. Famine had wiped out over 300,000 Somalians up to that point. To help the UN sent relieve food to the Somalians. Aidid was taking that food away from the people and using it to starve them into submission. The US sent troops to the Olympic hotel to seize two of Aidid’s lieutenants to weaken his regime overall. It was believed that if Aidid went down that restoring Somalia to stability would be much easier. In hindsight Aidid died nearly six years ago and things have not improved very much over there. People still starve.The movie was remarkably well made. The acting and casting were great. Tom Sizemore really acted the part of convoy commander. And Josh Hartnett was great as well as the rookie unit leader. Ridley Scott has hit another homerun with this movie following 2000’s Gladiator. This movie’s popularity has only grown since the events of September 11. People appreciate the military a lot more now. How benevolent a country are we to send our troops to fight a military dictator in Somalia, without any benefit other than helping starving people? Say what you will about our country, but the fact remains that we help people in need. I give this movie five black hawks out of five. The troops who were in battle exceed my rating system
