Mogadishu Line
Encyclopedia
The "Mogadishu Line" is a foreign policy
term used to describe the point at which foreign involvement in a conflict
shifts from peacekeeping
or diplomacy
to combat
operations. It is used–in both pejorative and neutral contexts–to refer to the reluctance of the United States
and other international actors to intervene militarily in another state for humanitarian reasons
, often due to the fear of being engaged in combat operations which have a high human cost.
, in which several opposing factions engaged in a struggle to seize control of the state. In April 1992, following calls for action by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
, the UN Security Council approved the commencement of humanitarian operations into Somalia
, which initially involved a small contingent of UN-approved troops (UNOSOM) followed in December by a US-dominated military force UNITAF.
In March 1993, the UN Security Council authorized a new mission, UNOSOM II, endowed with enforcement powers under Chapter VII of the UN Charter
to establish a secure environment throughout Somalia. However, operations turned sour following the Battle of Mogadishu on October 3, 1993, when US forces attempted to launch an attack on the Olympic Hotel in search of Mohamed Farrah Aidid
. The subsequent combat resulted in the deaths of 18 US soldiers and a further 83 casualties. After the battle, the bodies of several US casualties of the conflict were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by crowds of local civilians and members of Aidid's Somali National Alliance
.
Following the disastrous battle, pressure immediately built for a withdrawal of US troops. President Clinton
said in the days after that "our mission from this day forward is to increase our strength, do our job, bring our soldiers out and bring them home", before announcing that troops would be withdrawn by mid-1994.
international relations
discourse. Fear of a repeat of the events in Somalia shaped US policy in subsequent years, with many commentators identifying the graphic consequences of the Battle of Mogadishu as the key reason behind the US's failure to intervene in later conflicts such as the Rwandan Genocide
of 1994. According to the US's former deputy special envoy to Somalia, Walter Clarke: "The ghosts of Somalia continue to haunt US policy. Our lack of response in Rwanda was a fear of getting involved in something like a Somalia all over again."
Clinton also refused to mobilize US ground troops in fighting the Bosnian Serb Army
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
in 1995 and the Yugoslav Army in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (specifically, the then-province of Kosovo
) in 1999.
In the 1990s, General Michael Rose, head of the United Nations Protection Force
, insisted that the United Nations would never "cross the Mogadishu Line". However, Rose's replacement, Rupert Smith
, came to the conclusion that UNPROFOR's humanitarian mandate was insufficient.
In 2003, Keane opined that changes in U.S. policy toward Liberia
suggested that the Mogadishu Line had been "erased."
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
term used to describe the point at which foreign involvement in a conflict
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
shifts from peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
or diplomacy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
to combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
operations. It is used–in both pejorative and neutral contexts–to refer to the reluctance of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and other international actors to intervene militarily in another state for humanitarian reasons
Humanitarian intervention
Humanitarian intervention "refers to a state using military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated by the state against which it is directed."...
, often due to the fear of being engaged in combat operations which have a high human cost.
Origin of the term
The term specifically refers to external intervention in the Somali Civil WarSomali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
, in which several opposing factions engaged in a struggle to seize control of the state. In April 1992, following calls for action by UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996...
, the UN Security Council approved the commencement of humanitarian operations into Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, which initially involved a small contingent of UN-approved troops (UNOSOM) followed in December by a US-dominated military force UNITAF.
In March 1993, the UN Security Council authorized a new mission, UNOSOM II, endowed with enforcement powers under Chapter VII of the UN Charter
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to establish a secure environment throughout Somalia. However, operations turned sour following the Battle of Mogadishu on October 3, 1993, when US forces attempted to launch an attack on the Olympic Hotel in search of Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Mohamed Farrah Aidid
General Mohamed Ali Farrah Aidid was a controversial Somali military leader, often described as a warlord. A former general and diplomat, he was the chairman of the United Somali Congress and later led the Somali National Alliance...
. The subsequent combat resulted in the deaths of 18 US soldiers and a further 83 casualties. After the battle, the bodies of several US casualties of the conflict were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by crowds of local civilians and members of Aidid's Somali National Alliance
Somali National Alliance
The Somali National Alliance was a political alliance formed in June, 1992 with Mohamed Farrah Aidid as its head. Its constituents included Aidid's breakaway United Somali Congress faction, the Somali Patriotic Movement and other southern factions. They were one faction in the Somali Civil War...
.
Following the disastrous battle, pressure immediately built for a withdrawal of US troops. President Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
said in the days after that "our mission from this day forward is to increase our strength, do our job, bring our soldiers out and bring them home", before announcing that troops would be withdrawn by mid-1994.
Usage
The concept of the "Mogadishu Line" became ingrained in post-Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
discourse. Fear of a repeat of the events in Somalia shaped US policy in subsequent years, with many commentators identifying the graphic consequences of the Battle of Mogadishu as the key reason behind the US's failure to intervene in later conflicts such as the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
of 1994. According to the US's former deputy special envoy to Somalia, Walter Clarke: "The ghosts of Somalia continue to haunt US policy. Our lack of response in Rwanda was a fear of getting involved in something like a Somalia all over again."
Clinton also refused to mobilize US ground troops in fighting the Bosnian Serb Army
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in 1995 and the Yugoslav Army in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (specifically, the then-province of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
) in 1999.
In the 1990s, General Michael Rose, head of the United Nations Protection Force
United Nations Protection Force
The United Nations Protection Force ', was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav wars. It existed between the beginning of UN involvement in February 1992, and its restructuring into other forces in March 1995...
, insisted that the United Nations would never "cross the Mogadishu Line". However, Rose's replacement, Rupert Smith
Rupert Smith
General Sir Rupert Smith KCB, DSO & Bar, OBE, QGM was an officer in the British Army until his retirement in 2002. He was educated at the Haileybury and Imperial Service College and later at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.- Military career :...
, came to the conclusion that UNPROFOR's humanitarian mandate was insufficient.
In 2003, Keane opined that changes in U.S. policy toward Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
suggested that the Mogadishu Line had been "erased."
Further reading
- Off, Carol (2000). The Lion, the Fox & the Eagle. Random House Canada. ISBN 0679310495.
- Scott, Derek and Simpson, Anna-Louise (2006). Power and International Politics. VASST. ISBN 978-0-975-67348-5.