11/13   In the "Black Hawk Down" operation in Somalia, why did the US start
        the assault in daytime instead of at night?  Didn't they think the
        special forces have a much bigger advantage in darkness?
        \_ The guy(s) that they were trying to catch were elusive and erratic.
           The intelligence that the US Army had was only good for a very short
           duration, so they had to move ASAP.  BTW, the units that were
           employed Rangers, Delta, Air Force PJ's, maybe a couple of Navy
           SEALS, but no Special Forces.
           duration, so they had to move ASAP.  BTW, the force that was
           employed consisted of Army Rangers, Delta (NOT the same as Special
           \_ I think that distinction is pretty pedantic, the
              army says Delta is part of the special forces.
no
              \_ Probably true, but the distiction still exists.
           Forces), Air Force PJ's, and maybe a couple of Navy SEALS, but
           no Army Special Forces troops were used (AFAIK).
                \_ It's hard to tell people apart at night.  Which leads us
                   to the "napalm the fuckin barbarians" school of law
                   enforcement.  -John
                   \_ they didn't bring night-vision equipment
                      \_ They did.  There were just so arrogant that they left
                         the goggles at the base instead of bringing them along
                         onto the choppers.
                         \_ that's what I mean.  They left it behind at the
                            base.
        \_ So a few more grunts die. That's what they signed up for anyway.
           \_ Not only a few more of us died, the whole operation failed.  They
              failed to capture the warload.  Personally I think it's a huge
              \_ hold on there, they did capture the warlord.
                 the operation was a success.
              humiliation to US.  The most elite military force in the
              strongest country in the world initiated a surprise attack on,
              not even the govt troops, but merely a warlord in a small
              third-world African country, and was defeated big-time, and then
              had to be rescued by regular troops of another third-world
              country.  And the warlord didn't escape.  We escaped.
              \_ This is woefully erroneous.  The operation was in fact a
                 success -- they got the targets.  The attack was only nominally
                 a surprise (lookouts near the base routinely signaled any
                 military action and burned tires to alert the locals).  The
                 base was not hidden from view of the locals, and in fact
                 endured regular mortar attacks (in fact, the Delta guy depicted
                 in the movie who helped Stebbins was killed by a mortar blast
                 only a few days after the battle).  Additionally, the attack
                 occurred in the middle of one of the largest arms markets in
                 that region of the world, while the locals were hyped up on the
                 drug khat which they routinely chewed at that time of the day.
                 Finally, the rescue by "another third-world country" was a
                 rescue by a UN team which had ARMORED units, which Clinton
                 denied the US contingent.  Read some history you moron.
              \_ And soon, that same army is going to fight for
                 Truth, Justice, and the American Way in Iraq!
                 U S A!  U S A!
              \_ The operation was setup to capture not the top warlord
                 (whatever his name is) but several of his leutenants.  Some of
                 the most interesting of them managed to escape.  One simply
                 walked out of building when it all started, called a taxi car,
                 and fled. This is something that the book mentions but not the
                 movie AFAIK.
              \_ Because for some reason we actually care what the rest of the
                 socialists and fascists in the third world (and France) think
                 of us so instead of doing The Right Thing (wasting the whole
                 place) we played this pansy assed Clinton bullshit boy-with-
                 his-toys crap and tried to avoid killing civilians while
                 trying to accomplish a ridiculous and meaningless mission with
                 inadequate resources and support from Washington.  Thank you.