America's first convoluted involvement in a major military operation in the Red Sea region was immortalized in the film “Black Hawk Down” which sought to dramatize the 1993 “Battle of Mogadishu” which left 19 American soldiers dead, 25 Malaysian and Pakistani peacekeepers and as many as 1,000 Somalis. Months later the United Nations force of which the United States was part withdrew from Somalia. The battle marked its grim 25th anniversary earlier this month.
Since then Mogadishu has become a byword for a reckless military endeavor and getting bogged down in urban combat. It is often seen as a forerunner to U.S. Counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Operation Restore Hope marked the first substantial U.S. combat operations in Africa since the Second World War. Iraqi President Saddam Hussien told his loyalists and military officers to study the film on the eve of the 2003 U.S. invasion.
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