Delta Force and the U.S. Rangers were present in Somalia to assist the U.N. mission there. They had been sent by President Clinton due to an enormous amount of pressure that resulted from a series of graphic photos of starving Somali children. Their mission was to capture Aidid.

In the end, 18 Americans were killed and 73 wounded. Images of dead American corpses being drug through the streets by cheering Somali citizens were played on the evening news, and reprinted in newspapers all over the world. The political backlash against President Clinton was horrendous.

Ever since then, the American penchant for getting involved in peacekeeping operations, unilateral or otherwise, has been extremely low. In 1994 and 95, the U.S. declined to get involved in Rwanda, where over 800,000 people were eventually killed. Just a few months ago, U.S. representatives to the U.N. vetoed a resolution which would have kept U.N. peacekeepers (including U.S. ones) in Bosnia for another year.

The United States above all other nations has the power to intervene anywhere, anytime, for any reason. I would love nothing more than to see a bunch of muderous Sudanese thugs come across some U.S. Marines and try and pull the “kill, rape, loot” shit in front of them. I doubt it will happen though, and the world may be a sadder place for it.