'Black Hawk Down' Dad bristles at attempt to blame Bush

Disabled Vietnam vet retired Cat. James Smith, whose son James was killed during the disastrous raid in Somalia memorialized in the movie "Black Hawk Down," took exception Sunday to ex-President Clinton's recent attempt to blame President Bush's father for the 1993 debacle during a recent interview with Washington, D.C. TV station WJLA.

"He seems to forget that when Bush number one sent troops into Somalia he sent them in by the tens of thousands. And they had complete armor, mechanized infantry, artillery, air cover support," Smith told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg.

While Bush the elder was president, the Somali warlords "decided to keep a low profile because they knew if they stuck their head up they were going to get it shot off," he insisted, adding, "So Bush number one did it correctly."

But things changed when President Clinton took over, the former soldier told WABC.

When his son's Ranger unit was sent to Mogadishu to capture notorious Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Adid, they didn't have the artillery, helicopter gunship or tactical air support they needed, he told Malzberg.

Smith's comments were prompted by Clinton's recent attempt to dodge responsibility for the episode, where he told WJLA, "Now, you know, I didn't blame (President Bush's) father for Somalia, when we had that awful day memorialized in 'Black Hawk Down.' I didn't do that."

Although then-Defense Secretary Les Aspin was forced to resign over the deadly blunder, Smith said he had no doubt that the decision to under-equip his son's unit came directly from the White House.

When he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the episode, the former soldier said reporters privately agreed, telling him, "Les Aspin had nothing to do with this. This was a White House decision."

"They knew how the White House works. They knew there was no way Les Aspin made that decision on his own."

Smith recounted his trip to the White House to meet Clinton, an invitation he suspects was prompted by advanced word on his damaging Senate testimony.

Instead of taking responsibility, the Vietnam vet said the president "blamed Les Aspin, he blamed the Defense Department, he blamed the Joint Chiefs.... he blamed everybody except himself."

At one point, Smith recalled, Clinton even attempted to blame the Rangers "for being too aggressive."

"There were three fathers there," he told Malzberg. "The three of us just leaned over instantaneously and he backed off of that one."

After the exchange, Smith refused to shake the Commander in Chief's hand, handing him instead a 3rd Ranger Battalion patch.

"I honestly believed that the Rangers had died in vain; that the failure to provide proper combat support would have made the difference," he lamented.

Capt. Smith also revealed that he has another soldier son now in Special Operations who recently served in Afghanistan.

During a recent conversation with his son's Special Ops commander, he asked, "Sgt. Major, are we doing this one right or is this just a knee-jerk reaction?"

After a moment's hesitation, Smith said the commander responded, "Sir, we've got a real Commander-in-Chief this time. This time we're doing it right."

We cannot allow what happened in Mogadishu to be forgotten or blurred by anyone. The government must know, in advance, that it will be held accountable for such tragedy's. There are countless heroes in ALL branches of the military that deserve support before AND after they go into battle.

The road to recognition has got to begin somewhere.

http://www.petitiononline.com/USHEROES/petition.html

Petition text:

View Current Signatures - Sign the Petition

To: United States Senators and Representatives.

We hereby petition the United States Congress to support and commend all American troops who fought in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3rd 1993 and tell their story to the public by recognizing them as American heroes.

Many brave soldiers fought and died in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3rd 1993 in an attempt to bring political stability to this drought and hunger stricken region. The lives and efforts of these soldiers are no less significant to The United States than those of any other conflict in our history.

All of these unique Americans live by a simple code. Although simple, their code sustains them in time of question and strengthens their overwhelming resolve to complete any mission, thus defending us all. Whether land, sea or air, the United States soldier embodies this code: Honor, Duty, and Country.

We believe that Americans are not fully aware of:

1.What happened to United States soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 3rd 1993.
2.Why Americans were there.
3.What has been done since 1993 to support and console the brave soldiers and their families.
4.Who and/or what government officials and military personnel played a part in the incident.
5.The location of memorials that all Americans can visit, pay tribute to, and find closure to the tragedy.

October 3rd 2003 will mark the ten year anniversary of the incident. We, the undersigned, request full disclosure of all unclassified information about the Mogadishu incident be made available to the public no later than October 3rd 2003.

We request a national day of mourning and remembrance, on October 3rd 2003, honoring the brave soldiers who died in Mogadishu. We request that elected officials who wish to pay tribute to the soldiers do so publicly by October 3rd 2003.

We also request that a parade, including survivors of the incident in Mogadishu, be held on October 3rd 2003.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

True. Just as importantly, Clinton changed the mission. Nobody was hostile to the original mission to feed Somalis. It was later on when we got into "nation building" that we made enemies. The two major clans in Somalia (under former President Barre and Aidid) had been fighting a civil war for years and Aidid's clan had finally won. The Egyptians had backed Barre, and the Egyptian ambassador was none other than Butros Butros Gali, whom Aidid considered a personal enemy. As UN Secretary General Gali (with the backing of US UN Ambassador Albright) decided Adid would have no part in the new government. Adid was head of the largest clan in Somalia, the Habr Gidr, who had just won a long civil war and felt entitled lead the new government, and now they were being frozen out by their old enemy with the support of the US. That's when they decided we were enemies, and it was entirely Clinton and Halfbright's doing.

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