As the Cold War ended, the focus of the built up military might of the USA seemed to have no target. Seeing this, the attentions of the world community turned to peace-keeping missions in the growing number of unstable areas of the world. Somalia, having come out of a recent war with Ethiopia, found itself virtually bankrupt and led by an increasingly corrupt government. Coupled with dramatic inflation and a complete lack of trade of even the most basic items of sustenance, the country quickly fell into shambles led by a series of illegitimate leaders. In response the local populations splintered into various regions often led by a local warlord and creating what would be know as ''clans'', based around the ethnic clans of the region. In the increasingly failing country these clans were able to grasp more and more power, effectively becoming the local government and engaging in land disputes with the other local clans until the government led by President Barre was soon outnumbered and by 1991 a full-fledged civil war had emerged. The fighting created a breakdown of agriculture and food distribution in the area and in turn led to a famine of massive proportions soon coming to the attention of the United Nations. In response the UN created the United Nations Operation in Somalia through Security Council Resolutions 733 and 746, which consisted of a peace keeping operation with the aims of ensuring food shipments were delivered to the people. The task force UNOSOM 1 as it became known was bound by such strict rules of engagement in dealing with the Warlords that their presence was quickly ignored by the combatants in country.
Seeking to aid the UN in their efforts, the United States initiated Operation Restore Hope or UNITAF (Unified Task Force) in December of 1992 in an effort to stabilize and secure areas of southern Somalia for the purpose of humanitarian operations. Under Resolution 794, the United States forces were to aid a UN coalition in the protection of humanitarian shipments and stabilization of the region through military means. The initial operation consisted of a joint US task-force with elements of both the US Army and Marine Corps who acted to protect the food shipments into the country from seizure by the local militias. With the new protection food was able to finally get to the starving population and the militias were kept at bay leading to an overall declaration of a mission success.
In response UNITAF handed over operations to UNOSOM II in May 1993 and Somalia was once again under UN protection. Meanwhile, a former cabinet member of former President Barre, Mohamed Farrah Aidid was adamantly opposed to the UN intervention within his country. Utilizing his clan ties, Aidid was able to establish a well armed militia to police the areas of Mogadishu, essentially locking down the city under his control. The militia, under Aidid's command acted repeatedly to disrupt the UN peacekeepers and their food shipments. Seeking to strike out at the arguably lesser trained UN soldiers, Aidid mounted attacks on the peace-keepers, finally resulting in an incident killing over 20 Pakistani Soldiers and injuring over 60 more on June 5, 1993. ''By the end of September the violence increased beyond even the Somali's already high expectations and exceeded the worst fears of US administration officials''(Rutherford, 159). In response, the United States placed a bounty on the head of Aidid with the intent of capturing him and trying him for the war crimes he had perpetrated within Somalia. In response to a series of failures the US acted under an order by President Bill Clinton, and in October 1993, Task Force Ranger was sent into the city in a series of raids to capture High-Value Targets associated with Aidid's militia. Task Force Ranger itself was an assault force of US Special Operations personnel including members of US Army Rangers, operators from the US Army 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta (Delta Force), US Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), US Navy SEAL Team 6 and Air Force Combat Controllers and Pararescuemen.
On October 3, 1993 Operation Gothic Serpent was planned to assault the town at the Olympic Hotel to capture ''...Omar Salad, the primary target, and Mohamed Hassan Awale...''(Bowden, 32). With the Operations Order calling for the Rangers and Delta to be transported via UH-60 and OH-6A helicopters to the hotel by the 160th, the Rangers would fast-rope from the helo's and take up key ''blocking positions'' at the corner of the hotel to provide security for the Delta operators to storm the building and capture their targets. The mission itself quickly faced multiple complications stemming from a UH-60 Blackhawk, Super 61, taking a round from an RPG and ultimately crashing into the heart of militia territory. Following the Army's code of ''Leave No Man Behind'' forces were diverted to secure the crash site and extract all soldiers, alive and dead, from its location. During the wait another Blackhawk, Super 64 was also hit by an RPG and downed. Lacking men near enough to secure the second crash site, MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shugart of Delta Force volunteered to secure the site themselves until extraction could be made. Despite their best efforts their position was overrun by local Somali personnel and both Operator's were killed and Super 64's pilot, CW3 Michael Durrant, was captured. With the remaining members of Task Force Ranger pinned down, taking casualties and separated throughout the city the Operation quickly fell into disarray. The men of Task Force Ranger were eventually extracted from the city the next day via elements of the UN Pakistani Force and the US Army's 10th Mountain Division.
A quick smash and grab mission in support of a local civil war quickly turned into an international incident that resulted in 19 US Soldiers killed, 84 wounded, one captures and estimates of 1000-3000 Somali's killed. This conflict marked a new era for the United States in global affairs. Prior to Somalia, events such as Iran, Grenada and Panama had shown the US unilateral response to world problems, while Somalia conversely showed the US taking a step towards globalization policies by working under UN charters in support of peace keeping missions. ''Because America's geographic location separates it from the European, Asian and Africa continents, concepts of the US national interest have depended on a broad or restricted view of the nation's place in the world''(Brune, 7). This place, following with the Gulf War some two years prior, seemed to have become the role of the UN's enforcer. With a sizable post cold-war military, the United States was uniquely positioned to lend military aid to the global community, and the UN backing in the case of Somalia lent legitimacy to the intervention. The failure of the operation however quickly turned American public opinion of using US forces to police foreign countries, even at the behest of the UN. ''The US deaths in Mogadishu triggered a bitter public backlash against the intervention. After seeing the bodies of American military personnel being dragged through the streets, Americans were bewildered as to why American soldiers were dying on an ostensibly humanitarian mission''(Rutherford, 162). The country wanted to know why US soldiers were fighting another country's war for it, again bringing to light the concept for national sovereignty. Some believed that not only was Somalia sovereign, but the US was as well and as such the UN should have no say as to how US military forces are allocated. The United States sacrificed its sovereignty in order to assist the United Nations and was in turn burned for it with the death, desecration and capture of US soldiers.