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Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
* The famine depicted in the introduction had actually ended a year prior to the events of the battle. By 1993 90% of aid shipments were getting to where they were going, and Aidid's militia never fired on civilians getting food from aid stations, nor did they have any particular reason to want to do so either (as those aids often helped their own manpower). The UN also never impeded American efforts to protect aid convoys.
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* The famine depicted in the introduction had actually ended a year prior to the events of the battle. By 1993 90% of aid shipments were getting to where they were going, and Aidid's militia never fired on civilians getting food from aid stations, nor did they have any particular reason to want to do so either (as those (those aids often helped their own manpower). The UN also never impeded American efforts to protect aid convoys.
Changed line(s) 5,7 (click to see context) from:
* The briefing before the raid gives the impression that the military had asked for AC-130 gunships and been turned down by Washington politicians. In fact, as related by National Security Council veteran Richard Clarke, former 4-star Admiral Howe, the commander of the UN mission, requested and got AC-130s following the killing of the 24 Pakistanis, and they blew up some of Aidid's arms warehouses. They were withdrawn by the Pentagon itself before the Rangers and Delta arrived. Clarke gives a heavy implication that the military overall disliked the Clinton administration, who inherited the situation in Somalia, and were not inclined to do much to help Clinton succeed where preceding President George H. W. Bush had failed.
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in the movie or attributed to anything other than generic villainous ardor, was due to the conduct of that "humanitarian aid" force prior to the events of the battle. In reality, the task force often harassed and terrified the population, sometimes even firing mortars into populated areas, and in one particularly notorious incident, in response to an attack on a Pakistani convoy that killed 24 soldiers, they bombed a meeting of clan elders who were discussing plans for making a peace to end the civil war. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed in general. It should be noted that most of these things were done not solely by the Americans, but by the entire multi-national UN force, which contained forces from countries where military and/or humanitarian culture left even more to be desired, but the Americans were the public face of the effort and thus bore the brunt of the resentment.
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in the movie or attributed to anything other than generic villainous ardor, was due to the conduct of that "humanitarian aid" force prior to the events of the battle. In reality, the task force often harassed and terrified the population, sometimes even firing mortars into populated areas, and in one particularly notorious incident, in response to an attack on a Pakistani convoy that killed 24 soldiers, they bombed a meeting of clan elders who were discussing plans for making a peace to end the civil war. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed in general. It should be noted that most of these things were done not solely by the Americans, but by the entire multi-national UN force, which contained forces from countries where military and/or humanitarian culture left even more to be desired, but the Americans were the public face of the effort and thus bore the brunt of the resentment.
to:
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
* The film gives the impression the Habr-Gedir clan was the only and/or supreme hostile faction against the international foce. In reality, there were many clans who weren't allied to it, and the Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was often just as brutal to them (although that's actually pretty normal in Somalia). Habr-Gedir only were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.
* In relation to the previous, the films errs by showing Somali fighters being intensely motivated and hateful. In reality, although they were forced to obey their clan leader, many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid to begin with. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whom Aidid believed was supporting the rival Darod clan, so they ultimately regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
* Osman Atto didn't resemble the chain-smoking, earring-wearing dandy character seen in the film. In fact, while his film version behaves worldly and ridicules his captors, the real life person was instead terrified because he believed they had come with orders to execute him on the spot. His capture wasn't anywhere near as smooth as portrayed in the film, although there's a pretty neat point that was not shown either, namely a homing device hidden on a cane that a mole had presented to Atto as an innocent gift.
* The briefing before the raid gives the impression that the military had asked for AC-130 gunships and been turned down by Washington politicians. In fact, as related by National Security Council veteran Richard Clarke, former 4-star Admiral Howe, the commander of the UN mission, requested and got AC-130s following the killing of the 24 Pakistanis, and they blew up some of Aidid's arms warehouses. They were withdrawn by the Pentagon itself before the Rangers and Delta arrived. Clarke gives a heavy implication that the military overall disliked the Clinton administration, who inherited the situation in Somalia, and were not inclined to do much to help Clinton succeed where preceding President George H. W. Bush had failed.
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
* In relation to the previous, the films errs by showing Somali fighters being intensely motivated and hateful. In reality, although they were forced to obey their clan leader, many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid to begin with. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whom Aidid believed was supporting the rival Darod clan, so they ultimately regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
* Osman Atto didn't resemble the chain-smoking, earring-wearing dandy character seen in the film. In fact, while his film version behaves worldly and ridicules his captors, the real life person was instead terrified because he believed they had come with orders to execute him on the spot. His capture wasn't anywhere near as smooth as portrayed in the film, although there's a pretty neat point that was not shown either, namely a homing device hidden on a cane that a mole had presented to Atto as an innocent gift.
* The briefing before the raid gives the impression that the military had asked for AC-130 gunships and been turned down by Washington politicians. In fact, as related by National Security Council veteran Richard Clarke, former 4-star Admiral Howe, the commander of the UN mission, requested and got AC-130s following the killing of the 24 Pakistanis, and they blew up some of Aidid's arms warehouses. They were withdrawn by the Pentagon itself before the Rangers and Delta arrived. Clarke gives a heavy implication that the military overall disliked the Clinton administration, who inherited the situation in Somalia, and were not inclined to do much to help Clinton succeed where preceding President George H. W. Bush had failed.
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar, participating in many of the abuses described above.
to:
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian Pakistani and Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military their presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar, participating in many of the abuses described above.
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* The film gives the impression the Habr-Gedir clan was the only and/or supreme hostile faction against the international foce. In reality, there were many clans who weren't allied to it, and the Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was often just as brutal to them (although that's actually pretty normal in Somalia). Habr-Gedir only were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.
* The film shows Somali fighter being intensely motivated and hateful. In reality, although they were forced to obey their clan leader, many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid to begin with. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whom Aidid believed was supporting the rival Darod clan, so they ultimately regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
* The film shows Somali fighter being intensely motivated and hateful. In reality, although they were forced to obey their clan leader, many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid to begin with. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whom Aidid believed was supporting the rival Darod clan, so they ultimately regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
Deleted line(s) 19 (click to see context) :
* Osman Atto didn't resemble the chain-smoking, earring-wearing dandy character seen in the film. In fact, while his film versions ridicules his captors, the real life person was instead terrified because he believed they had come with orders to execute him on the spot. His capture wasn't anywhere near as smooth as portrayed in the film, although there's a pretty neat point that was not shown either, namely a homing device hidden on a cane that a mole had presented to Atto as an innocent gift.
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* [[UnPerson Stebbins' name was changed to Grimes]] at the request of the [[BackedByThePentagon US Army]], due to Stebbins being court-martialed for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping his own daughter in 1999]].
to:
* [[UnPerson Stebbins' name was [[UnPerson changed to Grimes]] at the request of the [[BackedByThePentagon US Army]], due to Stebbins being court-martialed for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping his own daughter in 1999]].
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Changed line(s) 5 (click to see context) from:
* The briefing before the raid gives the impression that the military had asked for AC-130 gunships and been turned down by Washington politicians. In fact, as related by National Security Council veteran Richard Clarke, former 4-star Admiral Howe, the commander of the UN mission, requested and got AC-130s following the killing of the 24 Pakistanis, and they blew up some of Aidid's arms warehouses. They were withdrawn by the Pentagon itself before the Rangers and Delta arrived. Clarke gives a heavy implication that the military overall disliked the Clinton administration, who inherited the situation in Somalia, and were not inclined to do much to help Clinton succeed where President George H. W. Bush had failed.
to:
* The briefing before the raid gives the impression that the military had asked for AC-130 gunships and been turned down by Washington politicians. In fact, as related by National Security Council veteran Richard Clarke, former 4-star Admiral Howe, the commander of the UN mission, requested and got AC-130s following the killing of the 24 Pakistanis, and they blew up some of Aidid's arms warehouses. They were withdrawn by the Pentagon itself before the Rangers and Delta arrived. Clarke gives a heavy implication that the military overall disliked the Clinton administration, who inherited the situation in Somalia, and were not inclined to do much to help Clinton succeed where preceding President George H. W. Bush had failed.
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
* Local Somalians, in particular, disliked the Black Hawks because pilots would often fly over the streets and use the rotor wash to harass the population. The updraft from a Black Hawk was strong enough to destroy weak buildings, throw marketplaces into chaos, and tear off women's robes and babies from their mother's arms. Many of the interviewed Rangers compared doing this to riding a roller coaster.
to:
* Local Somalians, in particular, disliked the Black Hawks because pilots would often fly over the streets and use the rotor wash to harass the population. The updraft from a Black Hawk was strong enough to destroy weak buildings, throw marketplaces into chaos, and tear off women's the robes from women and babies from their mother's arms. Many of the interviewed Rangers compared doing this to riding a roller coaster.
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* Osman Atto didn't resemble the chain-smoking, earring-wearing dandy character seen in the film. In fact, while his film versions ridicules his captors, the real life person was instead terrified because he believed they had come with orders to execute him on the spot. His capture wasn't nowhere near as smooth as portrayed in the film, although there's a pretty neat point that was not shown either, namely a homing device hidden on a cane that a mole had presented to Atto as an innocent gift.
to:
* Osman Atto didn't resemble the chain-smoking, earring-wearing dandy character seen in the film. In fact, while his film versions ridicules his captors, the real life person was instead terrified because he believed they had come with orders to execute him on the spot. His capture wasn't nowhere anywhere near as smooth as portrayed in the film, although there's a pretty neat point that was not shown either, namely a homing device hidden on a cane that a mole had presented to Atto as an innocent gift.
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Changed line(s) 13 (click to see context) from:
* The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995. A film about the Malaysian rescue operation, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MALBATT:_Misi_Bakara MALBATT: Misi Bakara]]'', was released in 2023.
to:
* The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995. A 2023 film about the Malaysian rescue operation, force, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MALBATT:_Misi_Bakara MALBATT: Misi Bakara]]'', was released in 2023.made to address this misconception and honor their role (''Black Hawk Down'' directly inspired it).
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Changed line(s) 13 (click to see context) from:
* The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995.
to:
* The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995. A film about the Malaysian rescue operation, ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MALBATT:_Misi_Bakara MALBATT: Misi Bakara]]'', was released in 2023.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Added DiffLines:
* The briefing before the raid gives the impression that the military had asked for AC-130 gunships and been turned down by Washington politicians. In fact, as related by National Security Council veteran Richard Clarke, former 4-star Admiral Howe, the commander of the UN mission, requested and got AC-130s following the killing of the 24 Pakistanis, and they blew up some of Aidid's arms warehouses. They were withdrawn by the Pentagon itself before the Rangers and Delta arrived. Clarke gives a heavy implication that the military overall disliked the Clinton administration, who inherited the situation in Somalia, and were not inclined to do much to help Clinton succeed where President George H. W. Bush had failed.
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
* Even were armor and gunships available, the raid on Bakara Market was exactly the wrong sort of mission to use them. Tank and armored vehicle crews absolutely hate urban warfare, with good reason; narrow streets mean no room to maneuver, while enemy infantry have plenty of cover and the ability to circle around and hit the vehicles from their weak points, and a city like Mogadishu, jam-packed with [=RPG=]s, is a big shooting gallery for armor. Meanwhile, gunships which are able to rain 105mm artillery and 20mm Gatling fire from thousands of feet overhead are also notably indiscriminate in how close they can target their weapons in an urban environment. Rather than the thousand or so Somalis killed that day, hundreds more would likely have been killed by American support fire had there been aerial gunships on the scene, without much changing the outcome for the Americans on the ground.
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None
Added DiffLines:
* Osman Atto didn't resemble the chain-smoking, earring-wearing dandy character seen in the film. In fact, while his film versions ridicules his captors, the real life person was instead terrified because he believed they had come with orders to execute him on the spot. His capture wasn't nowhere near as smooth as portrayed in the film, although there's a pretty neat point that was not shown either, namely a homing device hidden on a cane that a mole had presented to Atto as an innocent gift.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3,5 (click to see context) from:
* The famine depicted in the introduction had actually ended a year prior to the events of the battle. By 1993 90% of aid shipments were getting to where they were going, and Aideed's militia never fired on civilians getting food from aid stations, nor did they have any particular reason to want to do so either. The UN also never impeded American efforts to protect aid convoys.
* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics[[note]]Siad began as a communist dictator, but broke with the Soviets in the 1970s and became a US ally[[/note]], held total control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was viewed by many as a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.
* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in the movie, was due to the conduct of that "humanitarian aid" force prior to the events of the battle. In general, the task force harassed and terrified the population. They often fired mortars into populated areas, and in one particularly notorious incident, in response to an attack on a Pakistani convoy that killed 24 soldiers, they bombed a meeting of clan elders who were discussing plans for making a peace to end the civil war. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed. It should be noted that most of these things were done by the multi-national UN force, but the Americans were the public face of the effort and thus bore the brunt of the resentment, whether deserved or not.
* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics[[note]]Siad began as a communist dictator, but broke with the Soviets in the 1970s and became a US ally[[/note]], held total control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was viewed by many as a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.
* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in the movie, was due to the conduct of that "humanitarian aid" force prior to the events of the battle. In general, the task force harassed and terrified the population. They often fired mortars into populated areas, and in one particularly notorious incident, in response to an attack on a Pakistani convoy that killed 24 soldiers, they bombed a meeting of clan elders who were discussing plans for making a peace to end the civil war. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed. It should be noted that most of these things were done by the multi-national UN force, but the Americans were the public face of the effort and thus bore the brunt of the resentment, whether deserved or not.
to:
* The famine depicted in the introduction had actually ended a year prior to the events of the battle. By 1993 90% of aid shipments were getting to where they were going, and Aideed's Aidid's militia never fired on civilians getting food from aid stations, nor did they have any particular reason to want to do so either.either (as those aids often helped their own manpower). The UN also never impeded American efforts to protect aid convoys.
* None of the back story is explained atall.all, which can give a different impression of what was all about. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics[[note]]Siad began as a communist dictator, but broke with the Soviets in the 1970s and became a US ally[[/note]], held total control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was viewed by many as a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.
* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in themovie, movie or attributed to anything other than generic villainous ardor, was due to the conduct of that "humanitarian aid" force prior to the events of the battle. In general, reality, the task force often harassed and terrified the population. They often fired population, sometimes even firing mortars into populated areas, and in one particularly notorious incident, in response to an attack on a Pakistani convoy that killed 24 soldiers, they bombed a meeting of clan elders who were discussing plans for making a peace to end the civil war. Thousands of civilians are believed to have been killed. killed in general. It should be noted that most of these things were done not solely by the Americans, but by the entire multi-national UN force, which contained forces from countries where military and/or humanitarian culture left even more to be desired, but the Americans were the public face of the effort and thus bore the brunt of the resentment, whether deserved or not.resentment.
* None of the back story is explained at
* The actual reason the Somalis hated the Americans so much, which is not even mentioned in the
Changed line(s) 8,15 (click to see context) from:
* This is not even getting into the fact that being dropped unto rooftops in the middle of an enemy-held urban environment is not something the Rangers, or line troops in any military for that matter, receive the training for. This is because it is actually an exceptionally stupid thing to do: it opens up the force to being surrounded on all sides in a dense, intensely hostile 3D environment, and being cut off from any supporting forces on the ground, which it should be noted is in fact exactly what occurs in the movie. Those points are less artistic license than just what happened in reality, though; many retrospective analyses of the battle have come to the conclusion that the entire operation was a suicide mission from the start, though technically on paper it was successful, in that their intended targets were captured and evacuated from the city.
* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, and an incident where a group of Rangers took a family hostage is not in the movie. General Garrison himself and many of the Rangers interviewed also admitted to firing into crowds and at anything that moved towards the end of the battle. Though it should be noted it was hard to distinguish civilians from the militia in the intense city fighting. As one soldier was quoted as saying in the book, "Anyone coming to this party by now ain't bringing flowers."
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar. The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995.
** As well, it is implied that the Pakistani General purposefully delayed organizing the convoy out of spite, when it reality they hadn't been told about the mission nor had a contingency been planned, and General Garrison himself wanted the convoy to role out in force. This meant that a convoy of over a hundred vehicles had to be organized at the last minute.
** The UN convoy is shown leaving with no difficulty, when in reality at least one APC was hit by an RPG (resulting in the one Malaysian death), two [=10th=] Mountain soldiers were killed, and a number of Peacekeepers were wounded.
* The Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was brutal to non-allied clans, but that's actually pretty normal in Somalia. Habr-Gedir were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.
* Many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a member of a rival clan, and regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
* A lot of the indigenous fighters who attacked the crash sites were from other clans opposed to Aidid's Habr-Gedir, and thus at least nominally [[EnemyOfMyEnemy on the same side as the Americans]]. What happened is that they heard only that American helicopters were attacking the city, so they went to join the fight and made an already bad situation worse for everybody in a case of PoorCommunicationKills. This is somewhat referenced in the film when a Habr-Gedir fighter has to actively scare away a mob in order to get to Durant, but the backstory of this point is still not given.
* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, and an incident where a group of Rangers took a family hostage is not in the movie. General Garrison himself and many of the Rangers interviewed also admitted to firing into crowds and at anything that moved towards the end of the battle. Though it should be noted it was hard to distinguish civilians from the militia in the intense city fighting. As one soldier was quoted as saying in the book, "Anyone coming to this party by now ain't bringing flowers."
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently still drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar. The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995.
** As well, it is implied that the Pakistani General purposefully delayed organizing the convoy out of spite, when it reality they hadn't been told about the mission nor had a contingency been planned, and General Garrison himself wanted the convoy to role out in force. This meant that a convoy of over a hundred vehicles had to be organized at the last minute.
** The UN convoy is shown leaving with no difficulty, when in reality at least one APC was hit by an RPG (resulting in the one Malaysian death), two [=10th=] Mountain soldiers were killed, and a number of Peacekeepers were wounded.
* The Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was brutal to non-allied clans, but that's actually pretty normal in Somalia. Habr-Gedir were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.
* Many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a member of a rival clan, and regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
* A lot of the indigenous fighters who attacked the crash sites were from other clans opposed to Aidid's Habr-Gedir, and thus at least nominally [[EnemyOfMyEnemy on the same side as the Americans]]. What happened is that they heard only that American helicopters were attacking the city, so they went to join the fight and made an already bad situation worse for everybody in a case of PoorCommunicationKills. This is somewhat referenced in the film when a Habr-Gedir fighter has to actively scare away a mob in order to get to Durant, but the backstory of this point is still not given.
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* This is not even getting into the fact that being dropped unto rooftops in the middle of an enemy-held urban environment is not something the Rangers, or line troops in any military for that matter, receive the training for. This is because it is actually an exceptionally stupid thing to do: it opens up the force to being surrounded on all sides in a dense, intensely hostile 3D environment, and being cut off from any supporting forces on the ground, which it should be noted is in fact exactly what occurs in the movie. Those points are less artistic license than just what happened in reality, though; many retrospective analyses of the battle have come to the conclusion that the entire operation was a suicide mission from the start, though technically on paper it was successful, in that as their intended targets were captured and evacuated from the city.
* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, while in the film both of them land more safely onto the sand, and there was also an incident where a group of Rangers took a familyhostage hostage, which is similarly not in the movie. General Garrison himself and many of the Rangers interviewed also admitted to firing into crowds and at anything that moved towards the end of the battle. Though battle, although it should be noted it was hard to distinguish civilians from the militia in the intense city fighting. As fighting (as one soldier was quoted as saying in the book, "Anyone coming to this party by now ain't bringing flowers."
flowers").
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparentlystill drove off and left most of the Americans on foot without support. Also, it seems their overall conduct in Somalia was less than stellar. stellar, participating in many of the abuses described above.
* The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995.
** As well, it * It is implied that the Pakistani General purposefully delayed organizing the convoy out of spite, when it in reality they hadn't been told about the mission nor had a contingency been planned, and General Garrison himself wanted the convoy to role out in force. This meant that a convoy of over a hundred vehicles had to be organized at the last minute.
** * The UN convoy is shown leaving with no difficulty, when in reality at least one APC was hit by an RPG (resulting in the one Malaysian death), two [=10th=] Mountain soldiers were killed, and a number of Peacekeepers were wounded.
* The film gives the impression the Habr-Gedir clan was the only and/or supreme hostile faction against the international foce. In reality, there were many clans who weren't allied to it, and the Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was often just as brutal tonon-allied clans, but them (although that's actually pretty normal in Somalia. Somalia). Habr-Gedir only were the [[BlackAndGreyMorality designated "bad guys"]] in international relations because they happened to be on top of the heap in 1993. Even with Aidid dead and other clans in power, things in Somalia are only ''maybe'' slightly better today.
*Many The film shows Somali fighter being intensely motivated and hateful. In reality, although they were forced to obey their clan leader, many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, Americans and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. to begin with. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a member of a whom Aidid believed was supporting the rival Darod clan, and so they ultimately regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
* A lot of the indigenous fighters who attacked the crash sites were from other clans opposed to Aidid's Habr-Gedir, and thus at least nominally [[EnemyOfMyEnemy on the same side as the Americans]]. What happened is that they heard only that American helicopters were attacking the city, so they went to join the fight and made an already bad situation worse for everybody in a case of PoorCommunicationKills. This is somewhat referenced in the film when a Habr-Gedirfighter captain has to actively scare away a mob in order to get to Durant, but the backstory of this point is still not given.
* The grim realities of war and many of the morally reprehensible things the Rangers did during the actual battle are also glossed over or not depicted at all. One of the crashed helicopters crushed a building with a child inside, while in the film both of them land more safely onto the sand, and there was also an incident where a group of Rangers took a family
* The Rangers and Delta members stranded in the city were ultimately rescued by a Pakistani[=/=]Malaysian armored brigade, which the Americans had almost nothing to do with. In the film, Pakistani military presence ''is'' mentioned, but barely and in passing. There might be some justification to this decision, though, as their real contribution to the battle is actually disputed: they apparently
* The [=APCs=] in the UN convoy are said to be Pakistani, when in real life they were part of the Malaysian military, who are mentioned but do not appear in the film. The Pakistani contribution to the convoy was four tanks. Both the Malaysians and the Pakistanis lost a soldier, and one of the two members of the [=10th=] Mountain division that die died of wounds sustained while recovering a severely wounded Malaysian soldier. The [=APCs=] shown appear to be [=M113s=] and the six-wheeled WZ-551. The actual [=APCs=] were the four-wheeled [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condor_(APC) Condors]], and the WZ-551 was still in development by the Chinese, and would only be completed in 1995.
* The film gives the impression the Habr-Gedir clan was the only and/or supreme hostile faction against the international foce. In reality, there were many clans who weren't allied to it, and the Habr-Gedir clan under Aidid was often just as brutal to
*
* A lot of the indigenous fighters who attacked the crash sites were from other clans opposed to Aidid's Habr-Gedir, and thus at least nominally [[EnemyOfMyEnemy on the same side as the Americans]]. What happened is that they heard only that American helicopters were attacking the city, so they went to join the fight and made an already bad situation worse for everybody in a case of PoorCommunicationKills. This is somewhat referenced in the film when a Habr-Gedir
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** One Ranger in the film (Joyce) is killed by a shot to the back after refusing to wear a back plate in his vest. While the real Sgt. Joyce died from a shot to the back during the actual battle, it wasn't due to neglect; the vest did not support the addition of a back plate at the time. Support for a back plate was added to the vest one year after the battle in 1994, exactly ''because'' of this fatality.
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* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics[[note]]Siad began as a communist dictator, but broke with the Soviets in the 1970s and became a US ally[[/note]], held total control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was essentially just a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.
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* None of the back story is explained at all. The civil war and aforementioned famine had actually been caused by the policies of Siad Barre, the dictator who with American aid given due to Cold War geopolitics[[note]]Siad began as a communist dictator, but broke with the Soviets in the 1970s and became a US ally[[/note]], held total control of Somalia from 1969 to 1991. The "international aid mission" was essentially just viewed by many as a convenient cover story for America to attempt to go back in with a force of 30,000 ground troops and reassert control after Barre was driven into exile.
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* Many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and an UN official, and regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
to:
* Many Habr-Gedir clan soldiers had no particular desire to fight the Americans, and didn't even like Mohammad Farrah Aidid, but Aidid was their recognized clan leader, which is a big deal in Somalia. In fact, many in Habr-Gedir felt that the American mission against Aidid was the result of a personal grudge between Aidid and an UN official, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a member of a rival clan, and regarded the US soldiers as {{unwitting pawn}}s.
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* Two other helicopters were also hit by [=RPGs=] on the day of the battle: Super 68, who inserted a group of rescuers at crashsite 1, and Super 62, who inserted the Delta snipers at crashsite 2. Both managed to return to safety and neither RPG hit was shown in the film.
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* Two other helicopters were also hit by [=RPGs=] on the day of the battle: Super 68, who inserted a group of rescuers at crashsite crash site 1, and Super 62, who inserted the Delta snipers at crashsite crash site 2. Both managed to return to safety and neither RPG hit was shown in the film.
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Changed line(s) 21 (click to see context) from:
* Two other helicopters were also hit by [=RPGs=] on the day of the battle: Super 68, who inserted a group of rescuers at crashsite 1, and Super 62, who inserted the Delta snipers at crashsite 2. Both managed to return to safety and neither RPG hit were shown in the film.
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* Two other helicopters were also hit by [=RPGs=] on the day of the battle: Super 68, who inserted a group of rescuers at crashsite 1, and Super 62, who inserted the Delta snipers at crashsite 2. Both managed to return to safety and neither RPG hit were was shown in the film.
