In this paper I will discuss the events that led up to Task Force Rangers conducting a raid in the Bakaar Market, Mogadishu, Somalia to capture General Mohammad Aideed. I will discuss the US military’s decision to use limited intelligence collection methods, how those methods could have been used to possibly save American lives, how Aideed utilized his limited intelligence to counter attack TFR, and how a lack of coordination with the UN quick reaction force (QRF) caused the mission to last up to 14 hours long.
The United States never wanted to have a conflict in the African country of Somalia. Somalia’s president Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted by rival clans in 1992. The country lost most of its agricultural production due to the ongoing conflicts…show more content… However, the US’s presence did not stop the clans from stealing up to 80 percent of the food that was sent to Somalia. President Bush increased US presence by sending the 10th Mountain Division along with Marines from the 15th Expeditionary Unit, the Seventh, Eleventh, and Ninth Marines (Runkle, 2013). However, by midsummer 1993, Mohammed Aideed increased attacks on UN convoys, killing 24 Pakistani troops and wounding 57. Newly inaugurated President Clinton and staff decided that Aideed needed to be prosecuted, and so he sent Bravo Company 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment to capture Aideed (Runkle, 2013).
October 3, 1993, Task Force Rangers believed they had enough intelligence to conduct a snatch and grab mission on Mohammad Aideed and some of his top councilmen. The main intelligence used to lead up to the battle of Mogadishu was human intelligence (HUMINT). U.S. and UN forces were able to utilize sources that were against the Aideed regime and some that lived in the Bakaar Market. The sources collected locational information and relayed it back to US and UN personnel for analysis and dissemination (Chun,…show more content… Soldiers flew over the city during the day, taking pictures of different hot spots, trying to collect imagery of Aideed and his officer’s movements. It was not until later that day, the US government sent AC-130 gunships to help provide reconnaissance from a higher altitude and provide accurate air strikes as needed. AC-130s are equipped with night vision, which allows for them to provide better imagery during lower illuminated time periods. The US government’s decision to not provide reliable assets, like the AC-130, in order to give Task Force Rangers the ability for continued reconnaissance, allowed Aideed and his men the ability to move with minimal recognition (Battle,
