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Is the accidental killing of civilians by US forces, in places like Somalia, an unavoidable part of the war on terrorism?

The conflict the US encountered in Somalia was not part of our War on Terroism, it was a humanitarian mission entitled: "Operation Restore Hope."

I am utterly and completely confused by this question. Am I to really believe that Somalia's Civil War is part of the War on Terroism? If so, I cannot agree with that statement. The United States went into Somalia as a part of a higher calling known as "Operation Restore Hope".

Whether or not one agrees in US involvement in any war, conflict or even humanitarian relief to other countries, the accidental killings of civilians is a high price to pay, but in these types of conflicts it is unfortunately inevitable. Whether or not these so-called innocent' civilians were killed by sheer accident or by deliberate means, they are in the middle of a country at war and in being so cannot be expected to have the same protection from said war as those that are safely far away.

"By most accounts, the US intervention, Operation Restore Hope, was a success." - Gene LaRocque

25,600 American troops were sent into Somalia to feed the starving nation; a nation about the size of Texas. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions however and the United States good intentions did not last.

We, the United States were soon faced with a new reality: Mr. Aideed's people were using women and children as human shields and we were killing women and children. Operation Restore Hope, which was applauded around the world for feeding those women and children turned into us killing them instead.

President Clinton sent more than 7000 additional troops to Somalia to "protect our forces and enable our forces to complete their mission."

The United States military in Somalia turned from one of welcome to one of despair for the people there. The starving nation did get fed, we did give aid to wounded, and we did what was expected of us.

We were in the middle of a Civil War however and as such, we had to defend ourselves from threats that were sent our way. It became an us or them' situation where our troops could decide whether or not to defend them was no longer an option.

"If there's one central lesson that comes out of this whole venture, it's that it's easy to get in and very hard to get out. It's easy to fly C-130 transports and parachute food. It is much more difficult to repair, rebuild, and rejuvenate a fractured culture, a fractured political system." David Evans, an expert on military affairs and a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. He covered Operation Restore Hope as a reporter for The Chicago Tribune.

The simple truth is this: We went in with the noblest of intentions. We went in to feed a starving people that had an estimated year left to live in their current situation. We were ultimately attacked for our efforts and we defended ourselves. Not all of those civilians were as innocent as the world thinks. One would have to live under a rock to believe otherwise.

War, after all is HELL.

Learn more about this author, Carrington M. Nye.
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