Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

“Whenever there was a disturbance in Mogadishu, people would throng to the spot. Men, women, children—even the aged and infirm. It was like some national imperative to bear witness.” 

The culture in Somalia is strange to the American soldiers. The civilian reaction to riots or other violent disturbances is to flock and watch. The American troops cannot understand why there are children, women, and elderly people among the militia at the scene of the fighting. Somalia’s violent history under the rule of warlords has made violence a more casual part of civilian life than in many other countries. 

“Who were these Americans who came to his neighborhood spraying bullets and spreading death?” 

Teenage student Ali Hassan Mohamed watches two of his friends fire at the Rangers, who then shoot and kill them both. Moments earlier, he was in his father’s shop working. Now, the streets are full of Americans whom he views as cruel, and they have killed his friends. As the book progresses, the foundation of Somali resentment toward American troops builds upon many such incidents, and the anger they produce in younger generations of Somali men. 

“A life, like his, ended. Was this the right thing?”

Goodale kills a man who is shooting at him. Even though he has acted in self-defense, he is still conflicted. He thinks about how far away from home he is and wonders why it is necessary for America to be in Somalia. He has saved his own life but wonders whether it can ever be right or moral for one person to kill another.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get cyclic.” 

When it becomes impossible to identify fighters among the mob, Othic and other Rangers begin shooting in all directions, treating everyone as a target. The word “cyclic” to a circular motion. In the chaos of the battle, the troops must react without thinking to survive, but this results in civilian casualties. 

“This business of sending US Rangers swooping down into their city kidnapping and killing their leaders, this was too much.” 

Mohammad Hassan Farah is initially a supporter of the UN’s mission in Somalia, including its use of American troops. But after the attack at the Abdi house, he becomes bitter and angry toward the UN. He is also disappointed in the US troops, whom he believes are pawns for Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the head of the UN and an enemy of Aidid. Firimbi will later give Durant a similar explanation for the Somali anger toward the Americans. 

“There was no pretense now of that deadpan military cool.” 

When the first Black Hawk goes down, the Rangers are horrified. As the mobs begin to close in on them, the men cannot pretend that it does not affect them. Despite their training, they are afraid as they realize that they are now in a desperate situation that will only grow worse. The men all react to their fear in different ways. Some are almost paralyzed, others become more aggressive, and others begin blaming their leadership for a poorly planned mission. 

“Breaking discipline meant becoming a greater hazard than the enemy.” 

Durant circles above the initial mob, wanting to open fire to help the Rangers, but he understands that if one man begins to operate on his own, the others might be likely to do the same. Once every Ranger or Delta operator is acting independently, they will lose the ability to act as a cohesive unit. He waits for orders, rather than break ranks and risk becoming a liability to the mission. 

“Part of the Americans’ false superiority, their unwillingness to die, meant they would do anything to protect each other, things that were courageous but also sometimes foolhardy.” 

Yousuf Dahir Mo’alim believes that the Somali recklessness in combat is a symbol of their bravery and of their willingness to die. His perception that the Rangers’ tactical strategies indicates an unwillingness to die is incorrect, because their insistence on protecting each other puts them at the risk of death throughout the book. However, he is correct in his view that their actions are sometimes, if not foolhardy, statistically irrational. For instance, the pilots are willing to brave a mission to retrieve Smith, even though the attempt to save one man would jeopardize the lives of many. 

“He felt these people must have no regard for their own lives. They just did not care.” 

Eversmann is astonished at the carelessness with which the Somalis fight. They run toward the Rangers at full speed, firing their weapons haphazardly rather than seeking cover and attacking with a strategy. Throughout the battle, other Rangers share Eversmann’s assumption that the Somalis do not care about their lives. What they do not yet understand is that the Somalis are fighting out of rage and a sense of vengeance, trying to pay the Americans back for previous attacks and civilian casualties. Somalis also view strategic retreats as cowardice.

“That was the secret core of all the Hoo-ah discipline and esprit. You would be given permission, in battle, to break the biggest social taboo of all. You killed people. You were supposed to kill people.”

Phipps is thrilled to be going into the battle. He idolizes the Delta men because of their skill in killing. Phipps sees war as the ultimate extreme sport, and he wants to take his turn playing the game. Only in war can someone who wants to know what it is like to kill reap rewards for completing the act. 

“Don’t think of yourself as a coward. I know you’re scared. I’m scared shitless. I’ve never been in a situation like this either. But we’ve got to go. It’s our job. The difference between being a hero and a coward is not whether you’re scared, it’s what you do while you’re scared.” 

Struecker tells Thomas that fear is not weakness. Several times throughout the book, men are afraid to go back into the city or back out onto a street when they have found a moment of safety. They always do because they know that if they don’t, another man will have to take their place and risk his life doing their job. 

“It was typical of the problems he’d had with Delta from the start. For better or worse, the attitudes and practices of the elite commandos started to rub off on his Rangers when they began bunking together in the hangar.” 

Steele knows that the D-Boys are good at their jobs, but he does not worship them. Many of his men aspire to join Delta, and do whatever they can to emulate them, including becoming lax with rules that apply to typical, non-operator military personnel. Steele is happy to have the Rangers emulate the fighting tactics of the D-Boys, but not their disdain for regulations. 

“Steele felt the gravity of their predicament fully hit home. This is for real.” 

The entire conflict has been serious, but when Steele sees the Delta operator Fillmore shot and killed, he knows how grave their situation is. If Somalis can kill a Delta man, they can kill any of them. Even in the middle of a firefight, he had felt safe because he knew how well-trained his men are when compared to the Somalis. For the rest of the fight, he knows they cannot assume that any of them are safe.

“Sheik Ali believed the radio broadcasts and flyers printed up by Aidid’s SNA. The Americans wanted to force all Somalis to be Christians, to give up Islam. They wanted to turn Somalis into slaves.” 

Sometimes he works for Aidid, and sometimes against him. He hates the Americans because he sees them through the lens of Aidid’s propaganda. He fights against them because it means fighting on behalf of Islam and protecting Somali freedom.

“An old platoon sergeant had told him once, ‘When war starts, a soldier wants like hell to be there, but once he’s there, he wants like hell to come home.’” 

After 14 hours of fighting and dozens of wounded troops, Stebbins remembers how badly he wanted to experience combat. Now he has had more than he ever could have wanted and wishes only for it to be over. When the new Rangers arrive at the hangar to replace Chalk Four, Stebbins sees that they are as excited for the fighting as he had been less than one day earlier. 

“It had been easy to believe, prior to this day, that the Somali warlord Aidid lacked broad popular support. But this fight had turned into something akin to a popular uprising. It seemed like everybody in the city wanted suddenly to help kill Americans.” 

The commanders at the base watch the mob swarming toward the second crash site. Aidid has been responsible for stealing the humanitarian aid that Americans deliver to the populace, but now they are fighting for him against the Americans. The commanders realize that they had not understood the Somali people as well as they though, and are paying for it with the lives of American men. 

“Howe sensed that those in charge were out of their depth. There was just too much going on. He could see it in their faces. Sensory overload. When it happened, you could almost see the fog pass over a man’s eyes. They just withdrew. They became strictly reactive.”

Howe is impatient with both the Rangers and the commanders. He and his Delta team are so highly trained for the most stressful situations that they are impervious to panic. It frustrates Howe when he sees how non-Delta military personnel react in the face of a desperate situation like the raid in Mogadishu. He feels as if he is babysitting the Rangers. 

“Today while walking back from lunch I saw two Rangers walking through the company area. It’s the dream of being one of those guys in faded fatigues and a black beret that keeps me going.” 

As he is dying, Smith remembers a letter he wrote to his father during basic training. His father was a former Ranger who had tried to scare his son away from enlisting with his own graphic war stories, but Smith always knew what he wanted to be. He dies serving his country, a point his father will later reinforce when reporters ask him whom he blames for the botched raid. 

“Smith was one of his own. He’d never lost a man before. Steele thought of them as his men, not the army’s or the regiment’s. His. They were his responsibility to train and lead and keep alive.” 

Smith’s death devastates everyone who knew him. He is the first man Steele has ever lost, and he wonders if he is to blame. Many men will later second-guess their actions and wonder if they could have saved Smith. Steele is so tightly bonded with his men that they are more like family than a company of co-workers doing a dangerous job together. 

“I can’t get out of the army. What else am I going to do after something like this?” 

While gunfire pins him down, Specialist Mike Kurth alternates between wondering why he joined the army and his certainty that he can no longer do anything else. The high and distress of the combat experience is unmatchable. He knows that if he survives the battle, he will not be able to face a normal, civilian life. 

“They ran with disbelief that the mighty and terrible army of the United States of America had plunged them into this mess and stranded them there and now left them to run through the same deadly gauntlet to get out. How could this happen?” 

After the rescue convoy reaches the fighting men, there is not enough room on the vehicles for them. They have to run again. This time, they are disappointed, scared, and furious that they their commanders have abandoned them. Their leadership’s poor planning has botched even this rescue attempt. 

“Islam called for reverential treatment and immediate burial of the dead, not this grotesque display.” 

 Bashir is appalled that the crowds are dragging the American corpses. He wants to intervene but sees how wild the crowd is. In their anger, his fellow Somalis are acting against the teachings of Islam, and they are doing so as a celebration of murder. He knows that if he tries to stop them, they will turn on him, even though he is one of their countrymen. 

“‘You should feel sorry for them,’ the sergeant said, ‘‘cause we whipped ass.’”

Even though he is suffering from a wound, Ramgalia refuses sympathy. He knows that he has participated in what was, statistically, a one-sided battle. They inflicted far greater casualties on the Somalis than they suffered. A group of less than 100 men fought against thousands and escaped with only 13 dead. The Americans killed 500 Somalis and injured over 1,000.