WASHINGTON, 6 April 2004 — In the fall of 1992, Americans sat down to Thanksgiving dinner after watching television images of starving Somalis. A major international effort was launched to provide security and rebuild the country.
But just one year later, images of slain American soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, the capital, brought an end to the mission.
Conditions in Somalia clearly did not pose a threat to vital American interests, and the Clinton administration quickly called for the withdrawal of US forces.
There were many lessons drawn from Somalia, but an unfortunate one was certainly drawn by Al-Qaeda and other enemies of the United States By killing a few Americans, US policy can be reversed and the Americans will go home.
Terrorists know the value of imagery and use it to their advantage. This presents a terrible dilemma for a free society, and a huge responsibility for the media.
What is the balance between free access to news, and respect for the sensibilities of viewers and families of victims? Americans are treated to graphic images of violence daily in movies and TV, and at this time the media shouldn’t be criticized for its recent coverage of events in Iraq.
Iraq is not Somalia, and it is important to avoid simple comparisons of between the killings in Mogadishu and Wednesday’s in Fallujah.
In Somalia, the initial American mission was essentially humanitarian and, again, not vital to American interests.
Since 9/11, Americans have recognized that there is a direct connection between events in the Middle East and their own safety and security. The US Marines have only recently taken control of the “Sunni Triangle’’ region, the most difficult piece of geography in Iraq. It is too early to tell if the new force and the new Marine tactics will be successful. At this point, it is more important to analyze the nature of the threat, and not jump to the conclusion that this is another Somalia.
Were Wednesday’s events isolated, in a country that generally supports the US occupation? Was this a terrorist plot? Or was this an indication of a rising tide of Iraqi nationalism that will pose the real long-term danger to rebuilding Iraq? The challenge now is to find the answers and develop a strategy to deal with the threat. The answer in Somalia was straightforward — to leave, but Iraq presents more difficult choices.
— Frederick Lorenz served as senior legal adviser for US forces in Somalia in 1993.
