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August 2nd, 2007
| Post 1 |
| Optio | Post; Why wasn't Durant rescued?I just finished reading "In the Company of Heroes", Michael Durant's autobiography where he talks about his capture by Somalians during the events popularized in the Black Hawk Down book and movie. My question is, why wasn't Durant rescued by force? He never explained this in the book. Did the US believe a political solution was more realistic (which is true in the later stages, because they were relatively nice to him after a while)? Did they never locate where Durant was hidden? Was a forced rescue deemed too difficult since two helicopters had just been shot down?
__________________ Midshipman Third Class Trojan Battalion NROTC |
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August 3rd, 2007
| Post 2 |
| No Chance Outside | Maybe they didn't know exactly where he was.
__________________ I don't exist.  TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSTITUTED  Next time you travel http://www.epictrip.com |
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August 3rd, 2007
| Post 3 |
| Centurion | I was under the impression that with the rabbit warren that made up the MOG, there would have been great difficulty in finding him or effecting a safe rescue. Either way he was released not that long after. |
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August 3rd, 2007
| Post 4 |
| Centurion | He was released to the Swedish field hospital after negotiations. At no time were american forces sure enough of his location to execute an extraction by force. //KJ.
__________________ "We are the pilgrims, Master We shall go always a little further, it may be beyond the last blue mountain barred with snow, Across that angry or glimmering sea..." |
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August 3rd, 2007
| Post 5 |
| Primus Pilus | I've Read Black Hawk Down, as well as The Battle Of Mogadishu. And am currently going to obtain Nightstalkers, the 160th SOAR. The unit Durant was in. But, ask yourself this, if you were a hostage negotiator in say, a city somewhere in the U.S., and you could A. reason with the hostage taker, not to harm the hostage, and take more time, but get him safely. Or, you B. Send in the SWAT or CIRT team, and blow everybody's heads off, possible enticing the hostage taker to kill your man in the process, or loose some of your guys taking him down. That's roughly like Mike Durant's encounter. Sorry about that, but I think you understand the point.
__________________  "This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience"- Dwight D. Eisenhower , Jan 17,1961. |
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August 4th, 2007
| Post 6 |
| Milforum Swamp Dweller  | As I recall (and I did a research paper on the battle as a whole), Durant was traded to a rival clan, then handed to Habr Gidr. After having changed hands, and slipping into the labyrinthine city that is the Mog, chances of locating him would have been slim to none.
__________________ Screwing over bureaucratic organizations, one paper tiger at a time. Trespassers will be shot and fed to the dogs. |
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August 4th, 2007
| Post 7 |
| Tribunus Laticlavius | As was said before, 'The Mog' is a twisted laberinth of streets and huts. Its quite easy to get lost (as what happened during the Battle of Mogadishu). The reason Durant wasn't rescued was because they couldn't get a fix on his position.
__________________ "My center is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack." -Foch I get this question a lot. I am from NYC. I fly a French flag because I work for the Paris Office of a International company. |
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August 4th, 2007
| Post 8 |
| Primus Pilus | Intelligence is key. |
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