Operation Gothic Serpent and The Change in Foreign Policy By Brian Grossman

Background In 1991, the Somalian government collapsed. After the collapse, a civil war began over control Somalia. The civil war caused mass famine and genocide. In 1991, the U.N. sent forces to Somalia to and distribute food and aid.

Operation Gothic Serpent Operation Gothic Serpent, better known as Black Hawk Down, was a failed peacekeeping. A collision force consisting of the United Nations, United States, Pakistan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the Red Cross. The United Nations, United States, Pakistan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and the Red Cross joined forces to help the Somalian people. Their mission was to stop the genocide in Somalia, put an end to the civil war between the Somalian factions, and to remove Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the most powerful warlord, from power.

Operation Gothic Serpent In 1993, at the height of the efforts to stop the genocide and capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, America’s elite soldiers- Delta Force, Army Rangers and the 160 th SOAR- were sent to Somalia to remove Aidid from power and restore order. Six weeks after their arrival, on October 3 rd, the U.S. forces set out to capture two of Aidid’s top officials. It was intended to be a quick, easy mission.

Black Hawk Down However, 20 minutes after it started 2 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down over the city by rocket propelled grenades. In a effort to save the downed pilots 180 American soldiers went in to secure the crash sites, but found themselves trapped in the city surrounded by over 3,000 heavily armed enemy militiamen. The fighting lasted for over a day. By the next morning, 18 Americans were dead and over 70 critically wounded.

Black Hawk Down Aftermath Six days later the United States soldiers retreated leaving only a small force behind. All of the remaining countries retreated over the course of the following days.

Change In Policy After the retreat, almost all countries involved would change their foreign policy to contend with the failed peacekeeping mission.

United States In 1993 America changed its foreign policy. They set new guidelines to determine how much and what kind of aid would be extended to nations at war. As a result, more caution is given to American workers providing humanitarian aid in hostile environments.

United States These guidelines often result in little or no aid being given to people who need help in hostile environments. Since the U.S. put these guidelines into effect, many other countries have put them into effect as well.

Effects on Other Countries and Organizations To this day, Malaysia and Pakistan are cautious in giving humanitarian aid to hostile countries. Since the withdrawal of the coalition forces, most aid agencies have stayed out of Somalia.

The United Nations In 1994, the U.N. returned to less hostile parts of Somalia to give aid.

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