Somalia, an East African country of some 6 million, was decimated by
             famine and civil war in the early 1990s. International aid groups tried to
             help, but factional fighting and bandits halted the flow of food. Somalis
             were dying at an estimated rate of 1,000 per day as cargo ships were
             shelled, trucks were hijacked, and relief workers were murdered. In
             December 1992, U.S. President George H. Bush announced that the United
             States would provide the backbone of a multinational military force to
             secure supply lines and deliver food to the starving. U.S. troops were not
             greeted warmly when they arrived in Mogadishu, the seaport capital of
             Somalia. Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid was especially opposed to their
             presence. Despite the volatile situation, military intervention appeared
             to be helping Somalia. The new U.S. presidential administration of Bill
             Clinton was determined to forge a lasting solution. Clinton's team
             supported the passage of U.N. resolution 814, expanding the mandate of U.N.
             involvement in the country. The violence escalated on June 5, 1993 when
             Somalis killed 25 Pakistani soldiers in the U.N. force. U.N. forces led by
             U.S. helicopters continued to attack weapon depots. Aidid's militia struck
             back, shooting U.S., Pakistani, French, and Italian troops and massacring
             Somali civilians working for the United Nations. Thoughts of nation
             building disintegrated as more deaths mounted on both sides and the
             political situation in Somalia grew increasingly radicalized. The United
             States sent crack military troops to Mogadishu, including Task Force Ranger
             and US Army special warfare forces Delta. Their mission: bring stability
             in the region by targeting the men responsible for these atrocities.
             On October 3, Task Force Ranger and Delta commandos took positions
             around a three-story building in Mogadishu that they believed held several
             of Aidid's top lieutenants. Bl...