Young Conservative Movement

Clinton's Pacifism in Somalia Shows That We Should Stay in Iraq

In light of recent renewed calls for a pull out in Iraq to try and discredit the fact that we just made a big step towards victory, I have decided to republish this article so one can recall why we must settle for nothing less than complete victory.

10/06/2005:

There was something today that President George Bush said today in his speech that really made me think. He cited the battle of Mogadishu, Somalia as a rationale for staying in Iraq until the mission is completed. This battle, known by many as “Blackhawk Down,” was really a pivotal moment in recent history. This fairly unknown battle was the beginning of what is now “The War on Terror.” What if things were done differently? Would we be where we are today as a country? This will be evident after understanding Bill Clinton’s course of action, what he should have done differently, and what would be different if the right course of action was taken.

In order to fully understand, one must first understand the course of action taken by former President Bill Clinton. The date was October 3, 1993 and the plan was to send the two small, elite groups known as the Delta Force and the Army Rangers in to Mogadishu, Somalia to capture two terrorist clan members. This mission was successful. However, success would not be justly associated with this in any other contexts. It was during this mission in which the locals shot down two Blackhawk helicopters full of United States Special Forces. There were thousands of people shooting at our troops. In the end 18 troops died in action. The obvious thing to do would be to finish cleansing Somalia of these terrorists. However, the very next day, Bill Clinton gave into partisan pressure and called off the mission.

This was an enormous misjudgment on President Clinton’s part. This sent out a signal to everyone around the world saying that if they killed any of our Americans, we would falter. This is why Bill Clinton should not have backed off his mission goal, to cleanse Somalia of terrorists. Those 18 deaths were absolutely horrible; however, they were nothing compared to what the number of deaths that the falter resulted in. This clan of terrorists would soon be part of an organization known as Al Qaeda. I believe we all know what they are responsible for. Bill Clinton should have finished the mission and done whatever it took to stop this revolt because to our enemies, this was a sign of weakness. Just like any enemy who detects a weakness, they exploited it. They continue trying to exploit this weakness today; however, now it is no longer a weakness. We are strong and will not falter in the face of terrorism. That being said, resestablishing this strenth has resulted in many deaths that could have been avoided if Bill Clinton had finished the mission.

One has to ask what the world would be like without this falter, without this signal to the world that America is weak. For one, the culture of terrorism would not be spreading so rapidly throughout the world. On October 12, 2000 the terrorists bombed the USS Cole in Yemen. However, Bill Clinton perpetuated his culture of pacifism once again. If Bill Clinton would have stomped on the match before it caught the whole forest on fire, it would have been a lot easier to put out. It is likely that the current war in Iraq would have been over for a long time by now if he had not been a pacifist. It is possible that an authoritative response to these would have discouraged the attacks on September 11th, 2001.

This has lead to a lot of frustration throughout the Republican Party. The Democrats are quick to blame President Bush on everything related to terrorism. Even Bill Clinton himself came out to criticize Bush’s position on the war. The reality is, the fire will keep on getting bigger. Clinton could have stomped out the burning match; however, he chose to let the fire spread. It may not be easy to put out now, but the longer we wait, the bigger it’s going to get. President Bush is doing the right thing to change the culture of pacifism that was developed throughout the Clinton years. Although it will not be easy, we must do whatever it takes to be victorious. We must prove to these terrorists that their efforts are in vain by staying in Iraq until our mission is complete. The moment we leave Iraq is the moment the terrorists win and have an unregulated terrorism breeding ground. We will prove that America is strong, and we will not falter again.