Internet Special Bulletin, 28-Jan-02

Bush Faces Another Black Hawk Down

    For a thought-provoking insight into the real strategic picture in Afghanistan, read the January 28, 2002 Wall Street Journal editorial "Get Rid of the Warlords," by Nancy deWolf Smith.  Then go see the new movie "Black Hawk Down" about the U.S. troops who were nearly wiped out in Somalia.

    The movie has the appearance of a typical Hollywood machinegun fantasy with thousands of rounds flying wildly.  In this case, however, what you see on the screen is what really happened, it is no exaggeration. This is not an adventure movie, it is an accurate documentary.  The battle killed 18 U.S. troops and somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 Somali men, women and children.  A lot of innocent bystanders were caught in the fight.

    The easy part of the Afghan war is over. George Bush now faces the same problem Clinton met in Somalia.

    With the Taliban gone, Afghanistan is in chaos, ruled by dozens or hundreds of independent guerrilla groups.  Some of the warlords will surely sell out and allow al-Qaeda back into their fiefs if they are not eliminated.

    Like Clinton, Bush must set up his own puppet government, one he can trust not to let al-Qaeda back in.  

    This will require sending in U.S. troops to capture or kill the warlords and disarm the guerrillas.

    How can Bush do this without inviting a repeat of what happened in Somalia?

  Editor, Early Warning Report