Posted on 07/30/2002 10:00:20 AM PDT by doug from upland
SOMALIA DISASTER: Letter From Capt. James Smith to Clinton
CLINTON CHRONICLES BOOK
1993 Capt. James H. Smith (Ret.)
Captain James H. Smith is a retired and disable infantry officer. His son, Jaime, died needlessly in Somalia. He bled to death over a 2-3 hour period. Had armored support been provided, he could have been evacuated and his life easily saved.
We will start with the letter that the commander in chief wrote to the parents of Corporal Smith.
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October 7, 1993
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Smith
(Address redacted)
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith:
Hillary and I were very sorry to learn of the loss of your son. Specialist James E. Smith's death is a great loss for our nation, as well as for us personally, and our hearts go out to you in your sorrow.
Our efforts in Somalia have helped bring security and stability where anarchy, famine, and suffering once prevailed. You should know that your son and his fellow service men and women have preserved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. Your son's courage, and his commitment to the ideals on which America was founded, will long be remembered with pride by his fellow citizens.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton (signature)
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President William Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C., 20500
October 25, 1993
President Clinton:
As a warrior who was disabled in the Vietnam War and as a father of a warrior killed in action in Somalia, I cannot accept your letter of condolence for the death of my son Ranger Corporal James E. Smith. To accept your letter would be contrary to all the beliefs I, my son and the Rangers hold so dear, including: loyalty, courage and tenacity.
During the battle for Anzio, in World War II, an inept indecisive field commander sent the Rangers into battle where they were slaughtered. Fifty years later the Rangers again were ordered into battle, where they were surrounded and outgunned. But this time it was no the fault of the field commanders. No - this time it was the fault of the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States. Your failure to provide the requested combat support reveals a lack of loyalty to the troops under your command and an extreme shortage of moral courage.
I had the honor to meet the Rangers who fought along side my son and were with Jamie when he died. I heard of magnificent acts of courage and sacrifice. I had Rangers, with tears in their eyes, apologize for letting my son die or their failure to break through and rescue the trapped Rangers. The failure is not theirs, it is yours. Trucks and Humvees cannot replace the requested tanks, armored personnel carriers and Spectre gunships.
As a combat veteran I know that there are no certainties on the battlefield; however, as an Infantry Officer I will always speculate that significantly less casualities would have resulted if you, as Commander in Chief, provided the Rangers with the requested combat support - equipment with which Rangers routinely train and for which approval should have been automatic. The Rangers were pinned down for twelve hours - long hours when the Rangers were fighting for their lives and a Delta Force medic fought to save my son. Jamie bled to death because the requested armor support was not there to break through to the Rangers.
Rangers pride themselves on the Ranger Creed. "Driving on to the Ranger objective," or "Surrender is not a Ranger word" are not hollow phrases to the men of the black beret. These soldiers understand the word tenacious and wanted to complete their mission. As Ranger after Ranger told me, they were hitting Aidid's forces and command structure hard. But, the United Nations was actually impeding Ranger missions by offering sanctuary to Aidid's supporters. Your willingness to allow this dangerous situation demonstrates a lack of resolve in supporting the men you sent into battle.
My son is no longer here to "Lead the Way"; however, I am. Until you as President and Commander in Chief are either willing or able to formulate a clear foreign policy, establish specific objectives and, most important, support the men and women in uniform, I will "Lead the Way" in insuring that you no longer send America's finest to a needless death. When you are capable of meeting these criteria, then I will accept your letter of condolence.
Sincerely,
James H. Smith
Captain/Infantry (Retired)
I respectfully disagree with your conclusion about the armor. A tank would have sent the "skinnies" running. The only time the skinnies showed up for battle was when our guys were surrounded and trapped in those shacks. Even 5 or 6 tanks could have smashed the buildings where the skinnies were amassing and taking pot shots from. I truly believe a few shells from a tank would have taken the fight out of them.
I also recall another thread where Bin Laden was stated that we were cowards and was emboldened to attack us again because he thought that Somalia proved that we would only fight until we suffered casualties. Tell Slick Willie to add that to his legacy also.
Wasn't this guys name CLARK?
Some people I know were prudent enough to bail out of the military the minute Clinton was elected. If I had been in the military at the time, I would have done the same thing. I can also assure you that if I had died in Somalia, my father would have written a letter just like that to every media outlet in the country. Except that it would have been addressed to me, not Bill Clinton -- and he would have asked me how I could be so naive that I would put my life in the hands of such dishonorable, incompetent people.
That doesn't leave Clinton off the hook because he should have send armor too.
It was the Secretary of Defense Les Aspin was the guy who denied the armored unit request for Somalia, and he worked for Billy Butt-Boy CLINTON.
I don't think that is accurate. Les Aspin (Powell's BOSS) would NOT approve of the requested equipment and the Clintoon was too busy tickling interns to give a rat's a... If you recall Les Aspin resigned in shame and disgrace and then died shortly thereafter.
I would also say that he was a bit out of line.
I disagree. Had the father been active or reserve, you would be technically correct. Prior service, however, does not relinquish one's 1st. Amendment rights. The father had every right to express himself to the "president". Moreover, as a former soldier, the father had a duty to other soldiers facing peril in the future, to rip Clinton.
I just saw "Black Hawk Down" over the weekend. I thought I hated Clinton before now I just hate that POS even more. This was not our war to fight. We didn't have enough troops or equipment. I was so mad at times I just had to walk away from the movie. My blood was boiling.
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