Patrick
hi. i fully agree with you !
prior to the operation ,and it is reminded by Sam Sheppard, the civil war cost the live of 300,000 somalis. the UN was there to stop that and ensure (..... ) that the food and medical aid was delivered to the populatio, NOT to the rebels ( and terrorists, this is a nest ! ). the US were there to capture Hadid and his lieutenants, the "brain" of this civil (well, masacring ) war.
several elements lead to a "failure" and high casualties level by US standards:
- outnumbered
- heavily armed rebels (ground to air missiles, ground to ground rockets, machine guns , grenades, you name it ), incuding the population ( who was not told of course the westerners were there to help them )
- absence of AC130 gunships
- total failure of UN troops assistance (ok, the Malaysian helped a bit I think )
- and street fight is always one of the nastiest field of operation
- CIA failure.... (sounds familiar... )
Scott wanted to portray the operation, that's all, in an almost "LIVE" manner ( still 18hours resumed in 2 and 1/2 ). in that he succeeded.