But...

I'm a little disturbed at the constant application of moral equivalency between the United States and United Nations' actions in Somalia and those of the Somali gunmen. I accept that the US and UN made grave mistakes in Somalia, mistakes that cost at least several thousand lives. But these mistakes pale in comparison to the crimes committed by the Somalis, particularly by the likes of General Aidid. I find it particularly offensive when the author alleges that American soldiers, in the wake of a helicopter attack on a house occupied by Aidid's top advisors, shot survivors without mercy. That is a very grave allegation, and the author never tries to substantiate it.

Another thing the author should have stressed about the Somalia debacle is the fact that the Somali gunmen were the ones who drew first blood. They were the ones who killed --and mutilated! -- twenty-five Pakistani peacekeepers in July 1993. Yet the author blames the UN's decision to go after Aidid and not the other clans for causing this hideous act. His thesis is that if the UN had gone after all the clans and tried to make them disarm, the Somalis would have accepted it. Maybe. And maybe there still would have been violence. And maybe in this book the author would have condemned that decision to go after all the clans as being too ambitious. Maybe.

Bottom line: a very good read if you go in realizing it is the epitome of "Monday morning quarterbacking"