Blackhawk Down - Twenty Years On

[Sukerkin]

Is it just me being better informed (or at least more attentive) than most ordinary folk about military matters or is this really badly slanted and biased reporting?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24388113

It plays to me like a journalist trying to sound like he knows what he's on about and choosing his words to sting rather than inform. I'm annoyed for you, my friends here who have served in the armed forces, to have a hard won recovery from a misfortune in the theatre played as if it was a defeat. A fighting withdrawal is not a humiliation, no matter how many times this reporter kept saying it.

A couple of articles and analyses on the operations in Mogadishu that are more measured to balance out the, in my view, poor BBC article linked above:

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/general/articles/mogadishu.aspx

http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA366316

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/true-story-black-hawk-down/

 

[Tgace]

In what way is this considered a failure? Prisoners were secured as per mission objectives and we got more of them than they did of us...while SEVERELY outnumbered.

"Success" seems to be a standard of zero casualties in military operations these days. By this standard "D-Day" was a catastrophe of monumental proportions.

PS-Im going to go hear Kyle Lamb...a "Blackhawk Down" Delta Operator speak this Monday.

 

[Takai]

"Success" seems to be a standard of zero casualties in military operations these days. By this standard "D-Day" was a catastrophe of monumental proportions.

Welcome to the wonderful world of "PC" military operations.

Twenty years. That just doesn't seem possible.

 

[Rumy73]

The soldiers were very brave, but the operation had serious flaws. Journalists can be very knowledgable about military matters. While people may serve honorably in the military, he or she may not see or be able to articulate the big picture. It would be like saying a teacher knows everything about education and no one else can offer a valid insight.

 

[Rumy73]

I should add, an excellent piece of reporting. Draws a connection between militias and the newer development of terrorists in the region.