If I reacall correctly they were there only to assure that food made its way to the starving population (humanitarian). It was Clinton that turned it into a military operation.
After Aidid (sp?) attacked our troops, murdered our rangers, and slick willie cut and ran from Somalia, blaming the Rangers for being too aggressive......he gave safe plane rides to Aidid to various tribe meetings.
Operation Restore Hope
United States President George Bush responded to Security Council resolution 794 (1992) with a decision on 4 December to initiate Operation Restore Hope, under which the United States would assume the unified command of the new operation in accordance with resolution 794(1992). The Secretary-General communicated to President Bush on 8 December his concept of a division of labour between the United Nations and the United States in the following terms: "The United States has undertaken to take the lead in creating the secure environment which is an inescapable condition for the United Nations to provide humanitarian relief and promote national reconciliation and economic reconstruction, objectives which have from the outset been included in the various Security Council resolutions on Somalia."
The first elements of the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) came ashore on the beaches of Mogadishu without opposition on 9 December 1992. On 13 December, United States forces had secured the airfield at Baledogle, and by 16 December they had seized Baidoa. The United States Central Command was following a four-phase programme to realize the objectives of securing major airports and seaports, key installations and food distribution points, and providing open and free passage of relief supplies, with security for convoys and relief organizations and those supplying humanitarian relief.
The number of United States forces were expected to build to approximately 28,000 personnel, to be augmented by some 17,000 UNITAF troops from over 20 countries. In addition to United States forces, UNITAF included military units from Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.